Family Doctor and Clinical Integrated Traumatologist Safer Spaces Training Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Workshop Description: Trauma and toxic stress are pervasive. We need to enhance our healing toolkits in order to facilitate stress reduction. More material is emerging linking trauma and toxic stress to ill health, proving somatic skills are an integral part of the solution. The work of Drs. Bessel Van Der Kolk, Gabor Maté, Ruth Lanius, Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, Stephen Porges, and Janina Fisher are gaining traction. As lifestyle medicine practitioners, we have all been taught the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and positive psychology. There’s a whole branch of the tree of stress reduction that is open to explore: somatic, or body-based practices. Many people whose amygdalas are overactive struggle to access their neocortex. What this translates to in clinical practice is people who are either dissociated or overthinking. It makes participation in cognitive process difficult. Luckily, there’s another entry point to reduce stress. The body. This workshop will be a mix of didactic and experiential, participatory skills-based training.
Learning Objectives:
Differentiate between polyvagal scenarios where somatic and cognitive skills would be most effective for stress management
Develop an approach to somatic skill sharing that can be done in a few minutes during your clinical intervention
Design an enhanced therapeutic toolkit to teach patients or clients somatic methods to regulate their nervous system
