Somatic Approach to Healing Early Developmental Trauma

I offer an opportunity to heal early traumatic imprints in a safe nurturing relational field. As a facilitator I help create a safe supportive container in which a client can discover, understand, give words to and re-pattern early experiences, which may have overwhelmed us when we were little, and the effects of which followed us through childhood into our adult behaviors. As modern science is exploring neuroplasticity many clients are delighted to discover that even as an adult and even in a later stage of life we can experience profound transformation in brain and nervous system function, which, in turn, reflects itself in many facets of our life.

This work can benefit:

  • Infants with their families

  • Children with their families

  • Adults

  • Adults in a group

The benefits reported by individuals experiencing this work are:

  • Increased health mentally and emotionally -- particularly in the felt sense of safety and love

  • Increased health physically -- digestion, structural benefits and other body functions

  • Increased health in immune function and vitality

  • Increased sense of peace, feeling grounded and wellbeing

  • Healthier response to stress

  • Increased connection and sense of belonging in relationships

  • Increased clarity in finding ones direction, meaning and purpose in life

  • Ability to move through and transform compulsive patterns which hold us back from what we desire in life.

Are you experiencing effects of early trauma?

From conception to around two years old, infants are fully sentient beings taking in information from their surroundings regarding their safety and lovableness even though cognitive function has not yet developed. Because most birth professionals and parents measure the beginning of an infants awareness connected to cognitive function, protocols for birth and infant care are not baby centered (considering the feelings wants and needs of the baby) and the infant is not included in communication. There are many procedures and behaviors around a newborn that are traumatizing by being painful, too fast, overwhelming and in isolation from their most important resource their -- mother's body. Many hospital and infant care procedures considered normal and standard care are actually contrary to the infants basic needs and biological imperative as they are transitioning and integrating coming from the womb to outside the mother. Because infants don't differentiate from their surroundings and because there is no cognitive function and no words for their experiences, early traumatic memories are experienced somatically, in the cells of the body as a felt sense. In order to survive these experiences infants often isolate and dissociate becoming hypotonic while others cry inconsolably, behave in disjointed restless hyperactive ways and are unable to settle.

Some signs that you could benefit from working with your early trauma:

  • General dissociation, paralysis, anger or anxiety that can feel overwhelming and debilitating

  • Difficulty initiating and following through with intentions

  • Difficulty in being able to feel love even when it is being expressed to us by others

  • General feeling of disconnection, isolation and not belonging

  • Difficulty in finding ones place and direction in the world -- inner direction, sense of meaning and purpose in life.

  • Difficulty in establishing and maintaining healthy relationships and healthy boundaries

  • Additionally, there are many chronic health conditions that become acute and even debilitating because of all of the above. There is a real biological connection between mind, emotions, nervous system, immune function, structural health and general physiology.

The Form of the Work

Every step of the form of a session is for the purpose of creating a safe, comfortable and responsive environment where the client gets to set an intention (something they want for themselves) and then experience in a slow gradual regression into early traumatic memories in a supported way, experiencing transformation in a new way around that memory and then integrating the new experience into life after the womb surround. 

  • We begin by slowing down, settling and beginning a process of creating resonance with each other. I will introduce you to the form, guidelines and principles of the work.

  • After setting up the container the there about a 1 to 2 hour session exploring early material in a right brain experience, somatically with support. Once a client is more accustomed to the form profound work can be done even in short bits of time. It is helpful and appropriate for a client to define the amount of time they would like to work in order that each session takes on a manageable piece of material.

  • In addition to the somatic, more right brained experiential session each participant can have a 15 to 45 minute "Debrief" of their session. The debrief is a more adult, left brained review of the session in order to support left and right brain cooperation in integrating the experience in life after the session. In some cases the debrief can be done on a separate day if the nature of the session requires.

  • In closing, sometimes I give exercises and protocols for further integration of what was gained from the session and debrief.

I offer private sessions at my office but the work can also be done in pairs or small groups with the stipulation that we are working with one person at a time and their individual intention. The work in a group follows the form called a Womb Surround Process Workshop. 

 

Intake Form

Please fill out and email to eileensendrey@mac.com 24 hours before your first appointment.