The Body Keeps the Score:
Healing Trauma Through Somatics
An Intimate Conversation with Bessel van der Kolk, MD and Peter A. Levine, PhD
Hosted by Dr. Scott Lyons
ABOUT THE EVENT
Join Bessel van der Kolk MD, author of The Body Keeps The Score, and Peter A. Levine PhD, developer of Somatic Experiencing® (SE™), with your host Dr. Scott Lyons, author of Addicted to Drama and founder of The Embody Lab, in this intimate online conversation to explore the power of somatics to heal trauma, repair past wounds, and create a brighter, more resilient future for yourself and others!
“Trauma affects the entire human organism—body, mind, and brain. In PTSD the body continues to defend against a threat that belongs to the past.”
— Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
In this 60-minte FREE online conversation with the founders of somatic approaches to trauma healing and recovery we’ll explore:
The origins of trauma and its impact on individuals and communities
Key body-based principles to release and heal trauma through breath, touch, movement, and connection with others
The foundations of Somatic Experiencing® as a framework to assess where a person is "stuck" in their protective responses, like fight, flight, freeze, or collapse
Tools to resolve stuck physiological states to facilitate effective, long-lasting healing
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn directly from Bessel van der Kolk, MD and Peter A. Levine, PhD—the original pioneers of somatic approaches to trauma healing and recovery.
“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.”
— Peter A. Levine, PhD
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUESTS & HOST
Bessel van der Kolk, MD
SPECIAL GUEST
Bessel van der Kolk, MD spends his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults.
In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood.
Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide.
He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns.
His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) that consisted of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applied treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studied the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel.
Peter A. Levine, PhD
SPECIAL GUEST
Peter A Levine, Ph.D., is the developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma. He holds doctorates in both Biophysics and Psychology. He is the Founder and President of the Ergos Institute for Somatic Education and the Founder and Advisor for Somatic Experiencing® International.
Dr. Levine is the author of several best-selling books on trauma, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma (published in over 29 languages). He has received multiple Lifetime Achievement awards, including from Psychotherapy Networker and from the US Association for Body-Oriented Psychotherapy. His work has been taught to over 50,000 practitioners in over 42 countries. He is currently a Senior Fellow and consultant at The Meadows Addiction and Trauma Treatment Center in Wickenburg, Arizona, and continues to teach trauma healing workshops internationally. To learn more visit somaticexperiencing.com.
Dr. Scott Lyons
OUR HOST
Dr. Scott Lyons is a holistic psychologist, educator and author of the book Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others, with Hachette publishing. As a renowned body-based trauma expert, Doctor of Osteopathy and Mind-Body Medicine specialist, Scott helps people to break free of cycles of pain, limited beliefs, and trauma. Scott is an innovator in transformative wellness and trauma therapy, teaching over half a million people internationally over the past twenty years how to relieve stress and restore vitality. Scott has worked with many of the country’s top leaders and CEOs as an executive coach and wellness consultant.
Scott is the creator of The Embody Lab — the largest online learning platform for body-based trauma therapies— and developer of Somatic Stress Release™, a holistic process of restoring biological resilience, taught in over 20 countries. Scott is also the founder and progressive designer of Omala, a wellness brand dedicated to creating sustainably sourced tools for transformation.
Scott has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Women’s Forbes Magazine, Fast Company, The Telegraph and on The Jordan Harbinger Show, The Mental Illness Happy Hour, The Genius Life and How to Talk to Girls.
DIVE DEEPER INTO THE POWER OF SOMATICS TO HEAL TRAUMA
Join us for our upcoming in-person and live-streamed Somatic Trauma Healing Immersion starting February 29th, 2024! Featuring Bessel van der Kolk MD, Peter A. Levine PhD, Gabor Maté and many others at the forefront of somatic approaches to healing trauma.
