BEYOND TRAUMA SYMPTOMS

2012-01-19T19:10:00.001-08:00

~ AS OF JANUARY 1, 2012
I WILL NO LONGER TAKE ANY NEW CLIENTS. ~

I WILL LEAVE THE BLOG AS IS
AS A REFERENCE / INFORMATIVE GUIDE

PLEASE REFER TO
http://selfregulating.blogspot.com/
FOR LINKS, REFERRALS, AND MORE INFO

MAY YOU FIND WHAT OR WHO
YOU ARE LOOKING FOR!

And no matter what ...

Never never never Give up
on yourself, or the process
no matter how long or frustrating it might get.

Home

2010-12-23T20:56:00.001-08:00

D E L P H I N E ~ L I P P E N S , SEP +
______________________________________________________

Somatic Experiencing® + Touch

trauma recovery - somatic touch
resilience - sensory integration
self-regulating skills
stress reduction
. . .

~ specializing in phone sessions ~

~ ~ ~

3301 Ocean Park Blvd. Suite 209
Santa Monica, CA 90405

O 310 4 7 1 3 6 0 2

M 310 8 5 0 8 5 3 5

selfregulating@gmail.com

http://beyondtraumasymptoms.blogspot.com/

http://selfregulating.blogspot.com/

~ ~ ~

From~physical~to~metaphysical
From~body~to~mind~to~spirit~to~soul
From~symptoms~&~emotions
To~regulation

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THE BOTTOM LINE

"When the "right man” makes use of the “wrong method”,
He finds a way to make it work, and work well;
When the “wrong man” makes use of the “right method”,
Nothing good comes of it at all.
Thus it is my experience that all professional skills are
“Right methods”, no matter how disparate –
Whether surgery, astrology, or homeopathy –
But one has to search out the “right” practitioners.”

– C.G. Jung, Ph.D.

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~ N O T I C E ~ Y O U R ~ B R E A T H ~

Welcome

2010-12-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

If you have been led here, you will probably find "medicine" or information that will lead you closer to your own healing or the healing of someone you know and love.

I hope that as you read on, you will find something here that will help you understand what trauma is, how it has come to exist in your body-mind, what it is doing to you, what it's trying to achieve, the purpose of your symptoms and what your body needs from you to help complete what it originally set out to do at the time of the event but couldn't. Once you give your body a chance to do that, it will then be able to complete the original impulse and discharge the residual trauma-bound energy leading to a re-regulation of your nervous system and (in most cases) the resolution of symptoms which made you search for answers in the first place!

If you are seeking a different approach, maybe more energetic or hands-on such as Aromatherapy, Energetic Realignment, Spiritual Touch, Assisted Meditation, Intuitive CranioSacral Unwinding, Somatic Experiencing, Somatic Trauma Resolution, or just plain relaxation ... I invite you to browse these different modalities and see which one(s) resonate with you the most and are in line with the type of healing you are seeking. All of these might be gentle techniques, but they are powerful enough to create a shift in your system! To read more about these, please refer to my other blogs ...

http://selfregulating.blogspot.com/
http://beyondtraumasymptoms.blogspot.com/

~ ~ ~

~ Listening to your gut and following your instincts
is a crucial part of your healing journey ~

~ ~ ~

~ B R E A T H E ~

Introduction to SE & STR + FAQ

2010-12-23T20:41:00.001-08:00

Somatic Experiencing (SE) ...
Somatic Trauma Resolution (STR) ...
Self-Regulatory & Body-Centered Experiencing ...

somatic so·mat·ic (sō-māt'ĭk) adj.
1- Of, relating to, or affecting the body, especially as distinguished from a body part, the mind, or the environment; corporeal or physical.
2- Of or relating to the wall of the body cavity, especially as distinguished from the head, limbs, or viscera.

These are all different names for a technique (Somatic Experiencing - originally developed by Peter Levine, Ph.D.) and its spin-offs (taught by different teachers - in different schools), but the concept is the same: the re-regulation of the nervous system as an integrated body/mind approach to healing. Simply put: SE & STR deal with the impact of the event on the nervous system. It is a short term therapy!

Somatic Experiencing (SE), Somatic Trauma Resolution (STR) means that this work is NOT about words, story, or meaning of the story; rather, it is about focusing and tracking the (somatic/physical) sensations felt/experienced in the body! By telling our story over and over again, it rarely resolves anything at a body level, or it would take *7 times as long because the trauma is stuck in the body - and not the mind!

* The language of sensation is 7 times slower than the neo-cortex ("mind").

Self-Regulating & Body-Centered Experiencing is the trusting of our body’s self-regulating intelligence and its innate ability to heal. Body-centered experiencing is the grounded experiencing of our bodily sensations in relations to thoughts, images, metaphors, memories and other information we connect to, as we scan what type of charge might be present in our system … so that it may then be discharged and let go from the body! This work is not about the intellectual or rational story; rather, it is body-centered, as we listen to what the body has to say and wants to do, as opposed to transcend or bypassing it.

SE & STR bypass both the intellectual and emotional brain to deal with the part which governs our nervous system and our fight/flight/freeze responses: the reptilian brain! In the same way WORDS are the language of the frontal brain (intellectual/rational), SENSATIONS are the language of our hind brain (instinctive/reptilian). And THAT is why we want to keep the words simple, using the mind to observe the sensations (and out of the story) - keeping this work grounded in the body ... because that is where we hold our stress/shock/trauma!

The goal of SE & STR is to re-regulate the nervous system, keeping the work grounded - in the body - as this is a body/mind approach! The work is gentle, and avoids big dives into the emotional and meaning aspects of what happened. Trauma happens when our system gets overloaded: when we experience shock/trauma, the ‘charge’ happens in the body and remains there until we are able to ‘discharge’ it on a physical (somatic) level. By communicating with our nervous system through our hind (reptilian) brain (the language of it being ‘sensations & instincts’), we are allowing the body to let go of traumas in a safe and gentle way … layer by layer, as trauma cannot be resolved just by talking alone! As we track the discharges happening in your system, trusting your body’s own self-regulating intelligence, memories might come up as well as answers, metaphors, new and/or suppressed sensations, breathing might change, etc…

TRAUMA is just another word for overwhelm!!! Trauma manifests when the fight/flight response(s) were uncompleted and its energy undischarged ... remaining in the system where it wreaks chaos (just like a child crying out for attention). EX: When you have an indigestion of food: you can feel the sensations telling you your digestive system is not happy, you ate too much and/or can't seem to digest what you ingested earlier. The sensations are 'in your face' ... and because we are so used to recognizing them, they're hard to ignore. Well ... the same goes for trauma: the body/nervous system can only handle so much at a time, and all those symptoms you have been experiencing are just residual trauma-bound energy trapped in your system.

Stress, developmental trauma, and shock trauma are different categories of overwhelm, and of course, there are sub-categories in each of them as well. SE & STR are techniques that help the body release and discharge the excess trauma-bound energy locked in your system: which in turn helps the nervous-system re-regulate.

Some examples of symptoms and emotions that can be helped with an SE or STR approach are PTSD/PTSR*, cumulative stress, insomnia, falls, grief, anger, addiction, fears, and many MANY more. Remember, it’s not about the intensity of the shock/trauma experienced, but rather how intensely the shock/trauma affected your nervous system!

* ‘PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ should be changed to ‘PTSR = Post Traumatic Stress Response’ because your symptoms are a normal response to what happened to you (in an abnormal circumstance) and they are NOT a ‘disorder’!”
– Peter Levine, Ph.D.

In life, everything has a polarity (an opposite). Think of male & female, positive & negative, day & night, life & death, hope & despair, hot & cold, joy & grief, black & white ... and so forth: at the very moment trauma happens, as it forms a (trauma) vortex, it also forms a healing vortex along with it. This is what really happens in nature - it is not a metaphor - but can be used as one! SE & STR are based in resourcing: what we are trying to achieve with this work is to build up the resource(s) vortex (aka healing vortex) until it is large enough to "digest" the trauma vortex - it's that simple!

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~ B R E A T H E ~

SE / STR ?

Awareness ~ Body Awareness ~ Body-Centered Experiencing ~ Body-Mind Experiencing ~ Mindfulness ~ Self-Regulatory Experiencing ~ Somato Emotional Release (SER) ~ Somatic Experiencing (SE) ~ Somatic Trauma Resolution (STR) ~ Somatic Trauma Release (STR) ~ etc.

The names are endless because they are all taught via different teachers, schools and/or institutions … but the goal is the same: working with the nervous system to release trapped trauma-bound (survival) energies from the bodymind thereby boosting its own capacity to self-regulate and heal.

SE (Somatic Experiencing) – created by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. - is taught by various teachers through FHE (Foundation for Human Enrichment) and STR (Somatic Trauma Release or Somatic Trauma Resolution as some people call it) is taught through PHA (Polarity Healing Arts) or FFLE (Foundation For Life Energy) by Sharon Porter, a student of Peter. A. Levine.

So what does SE do and how does it work?

In short: SE is about working with your bodymind to release (discharge) survival energies still trapped in your nervous system. SE is about re-association, re-integration and re-regulation of your nervous system which, in turn, affects all the other systems connected to it.

“…Discharging happens through sensations (shaking, trembling, tingling, heat, warmth, yawning, sighing and deep organic breaths) and is the body’s way of releasing excess trapped energy. Once the body has released its excess energy, and then rested, it will return to a normal energy baseline. The autonomic nervous system can then re-regulate, and involuntary functioning can normalize. Example: normal sleep patterns replace chronic sleep disturbances or avoidance of feelings by oversleeping. Appetite becomes regular and over/under eating is no longer an issue. Emotions even out and are realistically responsive to current circumstances. Fear and anger subside and are no longer constant companions. You feel like you live in your body again, and feel re-connected to it, your sense of self, and your significant others …”

– Diane Poole-Heller, Ph.D.

SE is also, in part, based on the polarity (opposites) principals that exist in nature (male & female, dark & light, day & night, positive & negative, etc.). If we call an overwhelming event and its consequences in the body a TRAUMA VORTEX, then based on nature’s very own principals: an instant HEALING VORTEX develops at the same time. What we do in SE is to help you develop that healing vortex until it is large enough to digest the trauma vortex – and we do this a little piece at time so that the process itself is never overwhelming and/or re-traumatizing.

SE is about empowerment as well because you will learn tools you can apply into your everyday life. YOU are doing the work, while we, as practitioners, guide you and hold space for your process.

What do you mean by SENSATIONS and why are they so important?

Sensations describe a physical (NOT emotional) awareness in the body. Some examples of terms could be: DENSE – WARM – TINGLY – SWEATY – FLOATY – FROZEN – TIGHT – ACHY – NUMB – SHAKY – TREMBLING – FLUID – ENERGIZED – CALM – Etc …

Sensations are the language of the nervous system (reptilian-instinctual brain) in the same way that words are the language of the neo-cortex (intellectual-rational brain). The language of the reptilian brain must remain extremely simple and very basic as it processes information slowly. Sensations, imagery, and metaphors are all languages the reptilian brain can comprehend: not stories, fancy word or complex vocabulary.

“… It is fundamentally though sensations that healing happens …”

– Pat Ogden, Ph.D.

SE is NOT about interpretation, words, or story. Rather, it about the here & now, and the direct contact with and the re-regulation of the nervous system (and all the systems connected to it) which can happen only through A) sensations, B) present time (here & now)!

What is the goal of SE

To discharge trapped trauma-bound (survival) energy from your nervous system, to re-establish the connection between your body-mind, restoring your sense of self, restoring ruptured boundaries, restoring balance and harmony in your system as a whole (body-mind-spirit), and boost your body’s own capacity to self-regulate and heal so that it may be more resilient in coping with the up and down cycles of everyday life.

BREATH = AIR

A I R = Associate Integrate Regulate

re-associate ~ re-integrate ~ re-regulate

I’m already in / I’ve already tried traditional therapy, why would SE be any different?

“… Trauma resides in the body as well as the mind; so an approach that does not deal with the body AND mind together will only have a limited success …”

“…Trauma is neither a physical nor psychological problem, rather, it is a problem of learning a normal response to an abnormal situation…”

– Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. (founder of SE)

So what is ‘trauma’ and why does it happen?

Trauma is just another word for overwhelm. For some, trauma comes after being in a war, for others, the same exact symptoms could manifest after loosing a pet. Trauma happens in the body, NOT the event!!!

“… In SE jargon, trauma means experiencing too much, too fast, too soon …”

– Diane Poole-Heller, Ph.D.

Trauma happens in the face of helplessness, when our nervous system gets overloaded beyond our capacity to cope with a certain situation. Trauma happens after the event – and only if we were unable to discharge the excess survival energies from our system, remaining stuck (FROZEN) in a FIGHT, FLIGHT mode (or both)!

“… When we are unable to properly / instinctually respond in the face of an event by fighting or fleeing; we have a tendency to freeze; and all that survival energy gets locked into our bodies and minds. It is as though the energy is all dressed up with nowhere to go – but that energy must go somewhere and so in trauma it goes! Our nervous system gets so aroused that we cannot sleep or rest well. Our minds begin to fret in anxious worry. We begin to develop phobias and/or more general anxieties. We may become fatigued and depressed from the pain, lack of sleep, and feeling of anxiety and helplessness. We get stuck in survival mode! …”

– Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. (founder of SE)

How can I tell if trauma is “locked” in my body?

Hypo & Hyper (extremes) states, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, clumsiness, disproportioned or exaggerated emotional reactions, nightmares, flashbacks, mood swings, insomnia, phobias and irrational fears, anxiety, depression, addictions, feeling shut down, numb, recreating destructive patterns – in life, in relationships, etc. These are just a few examples / signs of overwhelm which can be improved through a body-mind approach to healing such as SE.

“… Trauma shows that it is not about the intensity of the event, but rather, in the way the event was perceived by our nervous system …”

“… Traumatic symptoms are not caused by the dangerous event itself, rather, they arise when the residual energy triggered by the event is not discharged from the body …”

– Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. (founder of SE)

How many sessions will I need? And do I need to stop seeing other practitioners?

It varies from person to person. SE usually works faster and deeper than traditional therapy, but it is also a great companion to psychotherapy, cranial, kinesiology, EMDR, NAET and/or any other modality you might currently be benefiting from. SE enhances, complements and in no way counteracts the work you might be doing with someone else!

The goal of SE is to help you regain resiliency, in your system and in your life. Since we all have a different rhythm, the speediness of the process will depend on YOU and your timing of integration. YOU will feel the difference, and only YOU can tell how fast, slow, or how often you want to do SE.

Is it expensive?

Not when you consider the profound healing that comes out of it! Plus the fact that SE is not something you’ll need to be doing every week the rest of your life. You do it as long as YOU feel the need and as long as you see results. Then, you might want to continue as maintenance or as a safety net for when you are challenged with something. YOU are in control.

How will I know if you are the “right practitioner” for me?

I am here to help YOU heal yourself. If/when you contact me, it means I have ‘medicine’ for you (metaphorically) – so whether it is to participate in your process during one-on-one sessions, individual phone sessions or by referring you to another practitioner, you need to follow your instinct and find the right practitioner for YOU. If I’m not the one, then kudos to you for acknowledging that! I would be more than happy to refer you to someone else and would only be offended if you gave up on the process or gave up on yourself, not by anything else!

Are there books I can read on the subject?

Yes, there are many books written on the subject of SE, but I would start with these because they are short, easy to read, and easy to understand.

“Beyond the trauma vortex into the healing vortex: a guide for you” by Gina Ross

“Crash course: a self-healing guide to (auto accident) trauma and recovery” by Diane Poole-Heller & Larry Heller

How about websites?

www.traumahealing.com

http://beyondtraumasymptoms.blogspot.com/

The resources are out there; all you need to do is ask!

Ask me; ask your other practitioners,

Ask around you; ask your network of support,

Search Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others,

Contact healing schools.

Become a detective for your own healing.

You will find what you seek!

Especially if you are ready for it!

And never ever EVER give up !!!

Delphine Lippens

SE is a body-mind approach to healing.

SE is gentle, but has profound benefits.

SE works with your nervous system thereby affecting all the other systems connected to it.

SE empowers you with techniques that can be used and applied to everyday life.

SE boosts your innate capacity to self-regulate and heal.

SE builds your resiliency and your own capacity for life.

SE is logical.

SE is experiential!!!

SE works!

SE works with you from the INSIDE-OUT.

SE is not cathartic.

SE is not about fancy words or story … but the story within the body

SE is not psychotherapy.

SE is not contraindicated with and in no way undoes or counters other modalities.

SE only enhances their benefits.

TRY SOMETHING NEW . . .

Increasing your capacity for life

2010-12-23T20:39:00.001-08:00

As an SE practitioner my job is to create a safe container and hold space for your process as you discharge residual trauma-bound energy stuck in your body, thereby increasing your capacity for the ups and downs of life. Once resiliency is restored in your system, many of the missing pieces will fall into place and many of your questions answered - organically.

Example: If you can't sleep at night, waking up every night at two in the morning ... you might know it has something to do with your past, but you are not quite sure what. Let's say you decide to go for a traditional therapeutic approach, such as psychotherapy; after a few months (or years), you might finally realize WHY you can't sleep at night and always wake up at the same time, however, though you now understand the WHY, you still can't sleep! WHY? Because nothing has been resolved in your body! Psychotherapy and other story-based therapies can be really helpful in conjunction with SE, but they are not enough on their own for that very reason: they focus on the story and the overwhelming emotions but too often - sadly - bypass the body and its impulses for resolution. Resolution needs to take place in the body (as well as the mind) - and that is why it is important to work with a body-mind approach to healing!!!

SE works with the nervous system, so by bypassing the story (the mind/ego) and listening to the body; 'experiencing' the language of the body (somatic/sensations); we are able to restore its functions therefore helping you regain harmony in your body-mind-spirit.

NO you have not been experiencing "abnormal symptoms": your symptoms are trying to convey a message about an "abnormal" experience which you've lived through, survived, yet seem to be trapped in - as if stuck in that traumatic moment of overwhelm like an endless loop ...

YES, I am repeating myself from the previous entries, or rather, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the fact that healing needs to happen in the body as well as the mind! Healing can only happen in the present - so it is by tracking your body, in the now, as you recall a past event, that you will find resolution.

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~ B R E A T H E ~

Can PTSD be cured? YES!

2010-12-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

“Do PTSD symptoms ever really go away?” was a question asked on "Paging Dr. Gupta": a new feature of CNNhealth.com, where their team of expert doctors answer readers’ questions."

Below is the comment I left ...

" ... YES – YES – YES – PTSD can be helped a great deal and often completely cured! And let’s just make a small change to those letters ….

“‘PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ should be changed to ‘PTSR = Post Traumatic Stress Response’ because your symptoms are a normal response to what happened to you (in abnormal circumstances) and they are NOT a ‘disorder’!”
– Peter Levine, Ph.D.

I recommend EVERYONE, who has or presently experiences any symptoms due to trauma, to look into SE (SOMATIC EXPERIENCING) or STR (SOMATIC TRAUMA RESOLUTION). There are also 2 books I HIGHLY recommend: “Beyond the trauma vortex into the healing vortex – a guide for you” by Gina Ross and if your trauma is car related, please read “Crash Course” by Diane Poole-Heller & Larry Heller.

TRAUMA/PTSD is not about the intensity of the event experienced, but rather how intensely the shock/trauma experience(d) affected your nervous system!

All your body is trying to do is complete an interrupted impulse which happened when you were unable to fight or flight and probably froze in the event because the circumstance became too much to handle at that time and so you had to disassociate somehow in order to survive what happened to you.

Look for SE (Somatic Experiencing) practitioners or STR (Somatic Trauma Resolution) practitioners …. and start healing! Don’t give up on your search for healing …. you don’t have to stay stuck with the symptoms!!!! And like Carl Jung said … find the “right” practitioner for YOU ... "

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~ B R E A T H E ~

Dr. Robert Scaer on trauma and PTSD

2010-12-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

Here is Dr. Robert Scaer discussing trauma, PTSD, fight-flight-freeze responses and the importance of discharging excess trauma-bound energies from the nervous system in animals and human beings ... as well as the power of using SE (Somatic Experiencing) as a way to complete these interrupted impulses of survival. He also talks about the survival process in a simple and clear manner. A must to deepen the understanding of the symptoms too many people experience due to trauma and PTSD.

Robert Scaer: http://www.traumasoma.com/

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~ B R E A T H E ~

Dr. Peter Levine Interviews

2010-12-23T20:33:00.004-08:00

This is a 10 minute video of an interview with Dr. Peter Levine - creator of Somatic Experiencing and founder of The Foundation for Human Enrichment (FHE). This is a rough cut ... but worth watching!

More info on FHE at http://traumahealing.com

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~ B R E A T H E ~

Somatic Experiencing with Brian Mahan

2010-12-23T20:33:00.003-08:00

There are a few videos on Somatic Experiencing and Somatic Trauma Resolution ... but this one is a (very brief) yet good example of what an SE session might look and sound like. However, the work might be done on a couch, on a massage table, on the floor and /or standing up - depending if touch is being used and/or an exercise is necessary to create resolution and resilience to repair certain symptomologies that manifested due to undischarged survival energies and/or interrupted responses associated to specific event(s) and/or cumulative stress.

Emergency Reading

2010-12-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

"A guide for you"

When searching for answers, it is always good to read as much as you can to educate yourself on the subject. Below are just a few books I've recommend to clients - however, if you read just one book on the subject: I highly recommend "Beyond the trauma vortex into the healing vortex - a guide for you" by Gina Ross (pictured above). Her books are easy to read, simple to understand and highly practical with exercises, case studies and diagrams. I insist that you really look at the title and get "A guide for you" as this is the most basic one in the series ... because they all look very similar!

Most of Gina Ross' books are now available on Amazon, but if you buy it/them through her website http://www.beyondthetraumavortex.com/index.htm all the money goes to the non-profit "I nternational Trauma-Healing Institute" she put together in order to educate the world about trauma.

These books are currently being translated and soon to be available in French, Spanish and Hebrew.

Below are links to some of her more advanced books currently offered on Amazon.com ... for your convenience.

More at http://www.traumainstitute.org/

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And if your trauma is due to a car accident, get the only useful book on the subject ever written: "Crash Course" by Diane Poole-Heller & Larry Heller (also available in German).

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~ B R E A T H E ~

Bio

2010-12-23T20:29:00.001-08:00

Delphine Lippens is a Body-Mind practitioner, as well as a Metaphysical and Intuitive Bodyworker. She is certified by the Polarity Healing Arts (PHA) and the Foundation for Life Energy (FFLE) as a CranioSacral Unwinding Practitioner (CSU) and a Somatic Trauma Resolution Practitioner (STRP). She is certified by the Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing (IPSB) as a Massage Therapist (CMT) and a Sensory Repatterning Practitioner (SRP). She is certified by the Foundation for Human Enrichment (FHE ... aka SETI Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute) as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). Delphine is also currently following post-graduate courses in Somatic Experiencing with Kathy Kain - in regards to weaving the benefits of SE with mindful touch. She is a Minister via Universal Life Church Monastery and practices Spiritual Touch.

Except for massage, California state law does not require the above-mentioned modalities to be licensed as long as the practitioner follows a Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct. Delphine is a proud member of ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals), IMA (International Massage Association) & Spiritual Touch Association. (Click here for her linked Webpage)

Delphine sees clients in a private practice in Santa Monica.
She also specializes in SE phone sessions.