"Trauma is about loss of connection -- to ourselves, to our bodies, to our families, to others, and to the world around us."
- Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, Peter Levine, Ph.D.
I believe that the health of a person's body is directly proportionate to their ability to fully physically and emotionally inhabit their body. Often, individuals experience traumatic events that prevent them from feeling comfortable in their own skin. Whether it is due to physical/sexual assault, emotional abuse, chronic illness, an automobile accident, surgery, military service, incarceration, or some other reason, some people whose bodies need massage therapy experience challenges in feeling safe while receiving one. I also understand the need for those who experience secondary trauma to have a space for recovery from compassion fatigue. People involved in care-giving, social services, health care providers, clergy and spiritual leaders, direct action activists, and others often experience secondary trauma.
Individuals who experience trauma tense up and remain in stress mode, to the detriment of their physical health. Sometimes, the effects of trauma are more subtle. Sometimes it's more about not being able to breath fully, or of having a spot that is chronically tense because it takes responsibility for the rest of the body.
While there are many self-help books and programs available, it is most helpful if a person works to heal from trauma in the presence of someone else (someone who is skilled at holding space and keeping them focused). This is because we humans are social creatures, and we simply feel safer when we are not alone. It is well known that people who have a buddy to help them quit smoking, go to the gym, or study for a test, tend to achieve their goal faster. I can offer you the same level of accountability for your trauma healing.
Because this sort of work can only be accomplished through mutual trust, I find it most helpful to have a short pre-session meeting for new BSTRT clients, in which we get a sense for each other and chat about appropriate goals for our work together.
I have been working, in various capacities, with individuals experiencing body-stored trauma since 1986. Specific populations I have worked with include: former military servicepeople living with PTSD; current sex workers; chronic intravenous drug users; those who have been physically and/or sexually assulted; surviving siblings; and transgender people and others with body dysphoria.
This is a link to an article called The Trauma of Being Alive, by Mark Epstein, published in the New York Times 3 Aug 2013. If you or anyone you know doubts your feeling that something from your past is affecting your present, please read this.