Simple Rituals Can Help You Be Fully Present with Clients in Pain
Jack Kornfield • 3 Comments
It can be difficult to leave your emotions in the consulting room at the end of the day, especially when a client's story is heartbreaking or horrifying. But being shadowed by a client's pain can leave you depleted and ultimately interfere with your ability to be present and effective in session. Jack Kornfield explains how to keep a wise and compassionate balance.
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After Decades, a 77-Year-Old Therapist and His Global Program Show No Signs of Slowing Down
Marian Sandmaier • No Comments
By Marian Sandmaier - For almost 25 years, Jim Gordon and his team at the Center for Mind-Body Medicine has worked in war zones, refugee camps, and communities struck by natural disasters and mass shootings, both in the United States and internationally. And still doing this work at 77, he has no plans to slow down.
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Helping Veterans Move Beyond Victimization
Roy Clymer • 7 Comments
By Roy Clymer - My main objection to the way we understand and use PTSD is that it tempts all of us—providers, society, and veterans—to view the veteran as a victim. We owe it to veterans to give them a form of help that fully acknowledges their experience of unimaginable terror and horror. More than this, however, we must convey to them that they're affected, but not damaged, and they're capable of responsible, rather than simply reflexive, behavior.
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A Trauma Therapist’s Passage with Chicago Gang Members
Mary Jo Barrett • No Comments
By Mary Jo Barrett - I'm on a five-day camping trip with 20 gang members as part of a program called Pride ROC. Most of these guys have suffered repeated abuse and severe poverty, seen friends and family members shot, stabbed, or fatally overdosed on drugs. Not surprisingly, every one of them suffers from complex trauma—which is why I’m here as a therapist, trying to apply what I know and use in my office in a place far away from the comfortable world I usually inhabit.
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A Trauma Specialist Shares Her Most Therapeutic Moment
Mary Jo Barrett • No Comments
By Mary Jo Barrett - My very first case was the Byford family. The father was serving a six-month sentence for domestic abuse. During a home visit several months into treatment, the daughter, Laura, announced, “Dad is getting out of jail today! And he’s coming here!” My mind went blank. Her mother looked at me. Suddenly, it was as though I passed whatever strength I had to her, and she then passed it back to me.
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The Secret to Tapping Into Inner Resources
Janina Fisher • 1 Comment
For many traumatized clients, even beginning to explore a traumatic event can be an act of bravery. According to therapist and trauma expert Janina Fisher, in order for clients to take this first step, they first need to be empowered. In the following video clip, she explains how to make this happen.
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Tapping into the Power of the Body
Peter Levine • No Comments
According to trauma specialist Peter Levine, the body is the therapist's greatest tool in helping clients understand and heal from a traumatic event. So rather than focus on the event itself, Levine asks clients to focus on how their body manifests the trauma. In this brief video clip, he shares his method.
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The Three Things Successful Mental Health Podcasts Have in Common
Chris Lyford • No Comments
By Chris Lyford - The last 15 years has witnessed the meteoric rise of podcasts as a new means of educating, entertaining, and marketing. But while the podcast may be over a decade old, it shows no sign of slowing down, and experts say there’s a piece of the pie for everyone.
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Creating a Path to Client Independence
Peter Levine • 11 Comments
Often, traumatized clients find that they become dependent on their therapists to help them handle their extreme emotional states. But according to Peter Levine, originator of Somatic Experiencing Therapy, the key to helping clients achieve more autonomy is giving them tools that enable them to better regulate their own body states.
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What Role Can Therapists Play in Addressing Chronic Pain?
Howard Schubiner • 3 Comments
By Howard Schubiner - Few people in the medical profession look at the disconnect between pain and structural abnormalities in the body. Could it be that we're attributing some of our physical pain to body disorders when the pain has an emotional source instead?
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