Transforming Trauma

“First of all, I think all trauma is complex… Secondly, it's a question of what we define as trauma. For me, the essence of trauma is the disconnection from the self.” ~Dr. Gabor Maté Our host Sarah Buino facilitates an extraordinary conversation between trauma visionaries Dr. Laurence Heller and Dr. Gabor Maté centered on complex trauma, its effects on human development, and their views on the future of trauma-informed care.  At the core of both Dr. Heller’s and Dr. Maté’s thinking on trauma is the understanding that trauma is not what happens to someone, it is what happens within someone.  Both Dr. Heller and Dr. Maté address the profound effects of disconnection and misattunement that lead to complex trauma. The clinical models they have developed over the course of their careers - the NeuroAffective Relational Model (Heller) and Compassionate Inquiry (Maté) - both focus on how using aspects of the self, like compassion and agency, can support the healing of complex trauma. Sarah, Dr. Heller, and Dr. Maté address the gap in the mental health and healthcare fields with understanding C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This means that many therapists are working with clients without fully comprehending the complex psychobiological patterns that leads to such suffering for their clients. As Dr. Maté puts it, “If I could pass a law...if you don't understand trauma, you’re not allowed to practice psychotherapy. You can coach people. You can be a friend to people. You can lend an empathetic ear to people. That's all therapeutic. But, if you don't understand trauma, there is no basis for you doing deep therapy with people.” Both Dr. Heller and Dr. Maté share the intention of bringing their important work into the trauma-informed field, and to anyone suffering from unresolved trauma, so that we can address the unrelenting personal and social impacts of unresolved trauma. At the end of this lively discussion. Dr. Heller and Dr. Maté begin making plans for future collaboration. “The word trauma itself is being thrown around a lot. I just want to emphasize that [early trauma leads to an] adaptation, a way that we distort our sense of self and the sense of other in adapting to developmental trauma that creates the difficulties that we experienced as human beings.” ~Dr. Laurence Heller   RESOURCES MENTIONED Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship - Dr. Laurence Heller When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-disease Connection - Dr. Gabor Maté Aaron T Beck, MD CONTACTS Dr. Gabor Maté Dr. Laurence Heller, PhD   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com *** 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.   For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios. *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

“It Is a very basic, ancient understanding that emotions come and they go. And if we don't push them away, we don't fight them and we don't attach to them in a strong way, they tend to move through much more quickly.” - Laurence Heller, PhD In this special episode, our host Sarah is joined by Dr. Laurence Heller, creator of the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) and Brad Kammer, NARM Training Director and Senior Faculty. As we face the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the trio reflects on how to come together in community to support each other in times of crisis. Faced with the need for physical distancing and isolation, it can be difficult to connect to the resources that we rely on to manage the stressors in our lives. Additionally, the fear and anxieties triggered by the unknown - our uncertain future - can create additional challenges for us all.  Dr. Heller and Brad Kammer share constructive advice for managing the powerful emotions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. Feelings of fear, helplessness, uncertainty, and grief, valid during any crisis, are often overwhelming. What if, instead of avoiding them, we followed Dr. Heller’s suggestion and allowed ourselves to fully experience these emotions? What if we gave ourselves the same compassion we show others and created space for self-reflection and self-compassion? “Emotions are not designed to be permanent,” says Dr. Heller. “They only tend to stay permanent and fixed if we run away from them.”  Recognizing that we’re all in this together, the NARM Training Institute was created to support individuals, families and communities in facing the impacts of complex trauma, and provide effective strategies for navigating the fear, isolation and uncertainty during this challenging time for our world.   “The way that we show up in ourselves is really going to be the best model for them [children]] about how to navigate this really scary time.” - Brad Kammer   RESOURCE MENTIONED: Netflix Watch Party   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com   *** 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.   For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios. *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

“I believe everyone has [complex trauma]. And we may know it logically, and tell ourselves ‘Oh, it’s okay,’ and all that. For me my journey has been to really deepen my own compassion for myself and recognize my own complex trauma.” Claude Cayemitte, MSW, RCSWI Claude Cayemitte, a clinical social worker and NARM Therapist, joins our host Sarah Buino to examine how complex trauma impacts individuals from marginalized communities and how unrecognized cultural trauma can lead to misattunement in the therapeutic relationship. Using his NARM training as a foundation, and his own background as a Haitian-American male therapist, Claude addresses blind spots, such as privilege, biases and fear, that impact connection between therapists and their clients, particularly from non-dominant cultures. These blind spots can prevent much-needed introspection within and outside of the therapeutic setting, and can lead to further distrust and disconnection between individuals and communities. When talking about his own experience as a therapist who is also a person of color, Claude identifies the difference between what it feels like when people are acting-out from their own unconscious biases - even well-intended ones - versus when they show up with cultural humility. Cultural humility is not something that can be faked, it emerges from self-reflection that requires exploring one’s unconscious biases. When someone shows up with curiosity and openness, and is continually doing the work of self-reflection, they build the ability to tolerate the complexity of being connected to others even in difference and disagreement. Claude sees this as an important distinction to understand, especially for therapists working cross-culturally, or anyone working with social justice issues.  As a recipient of the Minority Fellowship Award from the Council of Social Work Education for his work with at-risk teens, Claude has witnessed first-hand what happens when therapists bring their whole selves, and a willingness to examine their own biases and fears, into their therapeutic practice: long-standing cultural trauma - social injustices and disconnection between individuals and communities - can begin to shift and heal. RESOURCES MENTIONED Family First Adolescent Services White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism Conversations With A Wounded Healer   CONTACT CLAUDE Claude Cayemitte Primary Therapist Family First Adolescent Services LinkedIn   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com   *** 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.   For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

“Complex trauma shows up in so many different ways that are covert and overt. And, the more we can recognize it, the more we're able to approach it in a way that moves towards healing and not isolation.” ~Gina Essex, MA, LPC-S Our host Sarah is joined by Gina Essex, a psychotherapist, NARM Therapist and Senior Training Assistant, who began working with the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) in 2013. Gina has a passion for making this trauma healing work accessible to everyone, as she says: “It’s so important for everyone to know that the effects of trauma can be healed over time.” Over the past few years Gina has been focused on introducing NARM to first responders in her community. Gina works with firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement, and military— populations that tend to present unique challenges for traditional therapists. “These people run toward danger. They run toward life threat. They’re trained to go against their normal human instinct: to get away from danger.” Gina describes how she thinks of running toward danger as the flip side of what these first responders are dealing with internally. She suggests that in order to run toward danger, they have to run away from themselves.  In addition to the tolerance for high-risk experiences required in these professions, there’s an element of fraternity that frames any evidence of vulnerability as a potential liability. The constant desensitization to high-risk experiences can prevent these deeply-caring professionals from accessing and expressing their real feelings. “There are stigmas within these communities, ‘Don’t show your emotion. Don’t cry. You'll look weak, or you'll be weak and people don't want to work with you, or you won't have our back, or you'll be shunned if you’re weak.’” As for her own journey, Gina says that NARM training has opened her up to areas where she had, in the past, focused too much attention on the doing. She’s learning to trust the process more, including her clients’ capacity to be their own healers.  “It’s a very sacred space and not to be overlooked.” Hear how the work Gina does with the first responders address these stigmas head-on, and how she has witnessed the power of NARM in her private practice to transform people shackled to complex trauma into fully engaged participants of life.  CONTACT GINA (616) 930-0214 View Gina's Listing Here   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com   *** 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.   For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

“NARM really helped me through all of these protective strategies I had that were getting in the way of me showing up the way I authentically wanted to show up. So, I found something that has been personally transformative. And, whenever I do that, I want to tell everyone about it! I’ve seen my friends and peers go through NARM and really transform how they’re showing up in the world. It’s just really life-changing.” ~Bianka Hardin, PsyD Our host Sarah is joined by Psychologist, Professor and NARM Therapist Dr. Bianka Hardin, to discuss the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) and its role in professional development for helping professionals, including its central focus on the therapist’s own personal development, as a tool for impacting personal healing and social change.  Bianka was already an accomplished trauma therapist and professor working in Chicago, had completed many previous therapy trainings, and had been a leader in the trauma-informed movement for years when she was introduced to NARM.  She recalls the moment in her NARM training when she went all in -- using her own life as case study.  Although originally drawn to NARM’s “bottom-up” and “top-down” methodology, and its blending of somatic mindfulness with mindful awareness, it was the experiential practice that helped her feel the power of this work and that differentiated NARM from other approaches she had studied.  Bianka credits NARM for promoting an environment where a person’s protective strategies are honored, not forcibly eradicated.  Sarah and Bianka share the relief at finding a healing modality that provides less pressure for both the therapist and client, and a vehicle for embodying a sense of adult agency, a feeling of truly “growing up”. NARM prepares therapists to bring this impactful work to their clients by giving them a learning experience  to learn from the inside-out. Bianka wouldn’t have it any other way: “You can’t have joy if you’re not able to tolerate the experience of your own pain.”  Bianka and Sarah reflect on the gift they’re able to give to their clients in supporting their capacity to discover what they most want for themselves in their lives and to be able to more deeply connect to themselves and others. Bianka credits NARM with her growth as a therapist, teacher, mother, wife, friend and an individual. She is thrilled to be an ambassador for this cutting-edge model, in a field of complex trauma still in its infancy, and she’s honored and optimistic about sharing it with the world.   CONTACT BIANKA Bianka Hardin - Centered Therapy Chicago   RESOURCES DISCUSSED Trauma & Recovery: The Aftermath Of Violence - Judith Herman The Body Keeps The Score: Brain Mind & Body In The Healing Of Trauma - Bessel Van Der Kolk   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com   *** 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.   For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

“Learning how to support someone gain greater depth of experience and tolerance for their more primary emotions that feel scary to them, that experience within myself has changed absolutely everything… I have the capacity, now, to be resilient in those moments that, if those things do happen, I can meet them. And that’s what we’re really supporting.” ~Mike Giresi Sarah chats with Mike Giresi, Director of Clinical Development at Family First Adolescent Services in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and NARM Practitioner, about the profound impact the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) has made in his work with adolescents and teens.  The drive to help others heal often stems from one’s own healing. Mike’s journey to sobriety ignited a desire for personal growth and professional development that led him to the study of psychology, and ultimately his passion for helping others understand the relationship between addiction and complex trauma.  These days, when he’s not traveling the country speaking on the relationship between addiction and trauma treatment, or teaching on NARM, Mike is busy helping teens and adolescents navigate the tricky transition from dependency to agency. But guiding a teen through that emotional process of self-inquiry has its hazards. Regardless of how well-intentioned adults might be, teens are hyper-vigilant against anyone coming at them with an agenda.  That offer of help can trigger memories of the early childhood disruptions and objectification that played a role in the teen’s current challenges. For this reason, the entire staff at Family First Adolescent Services has become NARM-trained. Mike believes that the resulting agenda-neutral environment is a safer place in which young clients with complex trauma can heal old patterns that have been in their way of a healthier, happier adolescence. “With complex trauma (C-PTSD), safety is about working with a person’s sense of agency, the kind of various relational and emotional difficulties that everyone faces in everyday life. Those aren’t about mortal threats to the physical self, like shock trauma (PTSD). It’s much more about a threat to the psychological self or our sense of self.” In utilizing NARM to resolve complex trauma, Mike has been blown-away by the new possibilities opening up for the boys as they begin relating to themselves and others in new ways, including feeling more hopeful and confident in moving forward into adulthood. The changes, he says, are dramatic. Every day, Mike feels blessed to be part of supporting transformation in the teens and their families.  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.   *** For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma   CONTACT MIKE: Mike Giresi, CAC, CTP, ICADC, RYT Director of Clinical Development Family First Adolescent Services Mgiresi@familyfirstas.com  561-328-7370   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com   *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

In understanding how effective the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) can be in support of Transforming Trauma, we must broaden the conversation around trauma to recognize Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) and a new understanding of Post-Traumatic Growth.  As Dr. Laurence Heller, creator of NARM®, states in his book Healing Developmental Trauma,  “No matter how withdrawn or isolated we have become on the deepest level, just as a plant spontaneously moves towards sunlight, there is in each of us an impulse toward connection and healing.”  Sarah is joined by Brad Kammer, psychotherapist, educator, and the NARM® training director and senior trainer, to discuss the roots of developmental trauma, our current understanding of complex trauma, where NARM® fits in the current trauma field, and the transformative power of NARM®. NARM is a model specifically designed to resolve the impacts of Complex Trauma: including attachment, developmental, relational, cultural and intergenerational trauma.  NARM is a top-down, bottom-up approach that integrates psychodynamic and somatic psychotherapy, within a mindful, interpersonal process, in order to provide an unparalleled full-spectrum of care.  Sarah and Brad agree: “Trauma is the underlying cause of most, if not all, psychological disorders.”   For anyone that is interested in the trauma-informed movement - and how it can support psychotherapy, healthcare, education, public policy, and social justice - it is important to unpack the nuances of complex trauma. Sarah informs podcast listeners that they do not need to hold degrees in mental health in order to engage with NARM work. What is required is an open, inquisitive mind, with a basic understanding of complex trauma and a desire to help people with resources to move through their trauma. Brad shares that Oprah Winfrey is a fierce advocate for helping put C-PTSD and the trauma-informed movement on the map. Brad says that even though it’s still early in the trauma field movement, there are models that are aimed at resolving complex trauma.  “NARM is designed for working with people that have experienced and are still dealing and living with unresolved complex trauma,” says Brad. “That’s where NARM fits in.” His vision is that at-risk individuals -- especially children -- will get the assistance they deserve to thrive beyond the confines of their trauma.  Accessibility is key. Through this podcast and with its global training initiatives, NARM is expanding its reach. Brad hopes to not only help individuals who are focusing on healing from complex trauma, but also to extend the program’s influence to families and communities plagued by violence, conflict and social injustice.  As he says, “NARM can be a vehicle for both personal and social transformation.” 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.   *** For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma   CONTACTS Brad Kammer, MA, LMFT, LPCC, SEP, NMT Body Mind Psychotherapy   Sarah Buino, LCSW, CADC, CDWF Head Heart Therapy   NARM Training Institute http://www.NARMtraining.com   *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute   Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial

In a modern world beset by trauma and a legacy of suffering, conflict and disconnection, healing trauma can serve as a vehicle for personal and social transformation.  Brought to you by The NARM Training Institute and hosted by psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker, Sarah Buino, Transforming Trauma will introduce you to the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), a revolutionary approach for healing Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) and restoring connection to self and others. Interviews with NARM Therapists, and other prominent trauma specialists, will highlight how NARM fills a missing gap in our current efforts to address the legacy of childhood, cultural and intergenerational trauma.  And most importantly, we'll share the stories of individuals and communities thriving after Complex Trauma. In this brief trailer, you'll meet our host, Sarah Buino, and hear how she discovered and became as student of NARM. Whether you are a healthcare professional, an educator, a parent, a public policy maker, a trauma survivor, or someone interested in personal healing and social justice; this podcast will provide you with a map for increased resiliency, greater health outcomes, healthier relationships, personal growth and social change through transforming trauma. *** We want to connect with you! Facebook @NARMtraining Twitter @NARMtraining YouTube Instagram @thenarmtraininginstitute Learn more about The NARM Training Institute: http://www.narmtraining.com Sign up for a free preview of The NARM Inner Circle Online Membership Program: http://www.narmtraining.com/freetrial