Transforming Trauma Trauma Healing, Hope and Bringing NARM into Residential Treatment with Deirdre Stewart
"This is what makes NARM different...than any other modality I've encountered, is that we're exploring or inquiring not to get anywhere, just for curiosity sake. And...that's one of the missing ingredients of healthy attachment.” ~Deirdre Stewart
Our host Sarah Buino interviews Deirdre Stewart, the Vice President of Trauma Resolution Services for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare in Wickenburg, Arizona. The Meadows is a well-known, cutting-edge treatment facility providing a full continuum of care, specializing in trauma and addiction. In addition to being a NARM Therapist, Deirdre is trained in Neurofeedback, Somatic Attachment Focused EMDR, and Somatic Experiencing.
Sarah and Deirdre share their reflections on what the NARM training has brought to them in their professional and personal lives, and the deep sense of hope that healing from trauma does exist-- that joy and freedom are possible.
Deirdre shares that she has seen a sharp increase in the complexity and disorganization of patients more recently at The Meadows. When she was introduced to the NARM approach for working with Complex Trauma, she found hope in helping clients who are suffering from such disorganization and trauma. Specifically, Deirdre shares about the fundamental shifts that she sees through how NARM supports therapeutic consent.
Sarah asks Deirdre what she would do if she could wave a magic wand to change current trauma treatment systems. Deirdre emphasizes the need for trauma-informed education, specifically as our understanding of trauma shifts from shock or event trauma (PTSD) to greater recognition of complex trauma (C-PTSD). Deirdre finds that the way NARM operates through both a “top-down” and “bottom-up” perspective simultaneously, working with both the mind and the body, helps work more effectively with complexity and disorganization. She has learned that therapeutic models that support behavioral change only go so far, and that models that support self-regulation can be very helpful for many conditions, but as they say in NARM, “you can’t regulate Self-Hatred away.”
Sarah and Deirdre discuss how going through the NARM Therapist Training has impacted them both professionally and personally. They reflect on the experience of heartfulness in NARM, and how this resonates among the training participants. Deirdre shares her personal experience of shifting old patterns in an environment of heartful support.
The interview concludes with the pair reflecting on the transformation that happens within the therapist as they deepen into the principles and understanding of NARM. They both express the gratitude and inspiration they have experienced in learning to relate to themselves in a new way, and how this supports them to stay open, receptive and curious with their clients.
About Deirdre: Deirdre Stewart, LPC, SEP, BCN is the Vice President of Trauma Resolution Services for Meadow’s Behavioral Healthcare. She’s been with The Meadows nearly 12 years - The Meadows provides a full continuum of care, specializing in trauma & addiction. Deirdre is a licensed professional in the state of Arizona, board certified in Neurofeedback, trained in Somatic Attachment Focused EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM).
To read the full show notes and discover more resources visit http://www.narmtraining.com/podcast
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NARM Training Institute
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The NARM Training Institute provides tools for transforming complex trauma through: in-person and online trainings for mental health care professionals; in-person and online workshops on complex trauma and how it interplays with areas like addiction, parenting, and cultural trauma; an online self-paced learning program, the NARM Inner Circle; and other trauma-informed learning resources.
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