Any event that occurs impacts our whole being—physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. Indeed, any event must come through the sensory systems, permeating our flesh in order to register in the rest of our organism, including our mind.
~ Christine Caldwell, PhD, Somatic Psychology Department, Naropa Institute
Trauma
When a traumatic or distressing event occurs it may overwhelm our usual coping skills. Flashbacks of the disturbing event may occur, triggered by normally harmless stimuli. Symptoms of trauma can include body reactions such as intrusive sounds, smells, sensations, physical pain, numbing, or intrusive images, as well as disturbing thoughts. A person may have what seem to be irrational fears at times and yet at other times feel quite normal. If someone has witnessed a traumatic event they may feel guilty for having survived it when others did not.
My approach to treating Trauma
My approach to treating trauma comes from a somatic perspective. I have been influenced by two main modalities of trauma treatment, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, developed by Pat Ogden PhD, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD.
Traditional talk therapy, while helpful, excludes the body and focuses on re-telling of the traumatic story that may actually be re-traumatizing. A Sensorimotor approach includes using wisdom from the body while also making use of thoughts to create a holistic healing. EMDR is a widely researched treatment for trauma as well as being shown useful for treating depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and performance anxiety. When a trauma occurs, traumatic memories and associated stimuli are inadequately processed, and are dysfunctionally stored in an isolated part of memory. The goal of EMDR therapy is to re-process those distressing memories, thereby reducing their lingering influence and allowing for more adaptive coping mechanisms to develop.
To find out more about my approach to helping you heal from trauma call me, Sharon Riley, MFT at 831.320.2397
~ Christine Caldwell, PhD, Somatic Psychology Department, Naropa Institute
Trauma
When a traumatic or distressing event occurs it may overwhelm our usual coping skills. Flashbacks of the disturbing event may occur, triggered by normally harmless stimuli. Symptoms of trauma can include body reactions such as intrusive sounds, smells, sensations, physical pain, numbing, or intrusive images, as well as disturbing thoughts. A person may have what seem to be irrational fears at times and yet at other times feel quite normal. If someone has witnessed a traumatic event they may feel guilty for having survived it when others did not.
My approach to treating Trauma
My approach to treating trauma comes from a somatic perspective. I have been influenced by two main modalities of trauma treatment, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, developed by Pat Ogden PhD, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD.
Traditional talk therapy, while helpful, excludes the body and focuses on re-telling of the traumatic story that may actually be re-traumatizing. A Sensorimotor approach includes using wisdom from the body while also making use of thoughts to create a holistic healing. EMDR is a widely researched treatment for trauma as well as being shown useful for treating depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and performance anxiety. When a trauma occurs, traumatic memories and associated stimuli are inadequately processed, and are dysfunctionally stored in an isolated part of memory. The goal of EMDR therapy is to re-process those distressing memories, thereby reducing their lingering influence and allowing for more adaptive coping mechanisms to develop.
To find out more about my approach to helping you heal from trauma call me, Sharon Riley, MFT at 831.320.2397
