Join Traci and I in a fun, depthful conversation about the intersection between spirituality and psychology. She shares how she was magically led to therapy and how transpersonal therapy specifically spoke to her soul. She also shares her about her deepening as a Relational Somatic Healing teacher and temple priestess, and her sacred online offerings for those on a spiritual path.

This episode is intended to give you an experience. I encourage you to actively participate. I’ll gently invite you to imagine, sense, and move your body. You can think of it as a mini-workshop. Give yourself the time and space to connect to yourself using movement.

Our earliest relationships with our caregivers are schematized in our brains and the rest of our bodies. These messages implicit or explicit become internalized and over the years form our automatic way of relating to ourselves. Learn 3 easy ways to cultivate a healthier relationship with yourself.

In this week’s episode we’ll be hearing from Jacki Hull who shares her heart felt story about how Ketamine Assisted Therapy helped her and her husband get through the hardest time in their lives. Also find out how the combination of touch therapy and Ketamine Assisted Therapy can beautifully support the healing of developmental trauma.

Touch in psychotherapy is definitely a taboo topic so we absolutely have to address the elephant in the room and explore what makes it ethical. The linage of psychotherapy has a shadow side that includes the abuse of power and the violation of patients and clients without recourse. But many therapists, myself included, no longer want this shadow side to prevent us from receiving and sharing the healing benefits of what is such an ancient and fundamental part of our human experience…touch. Just as touch can be harmful, and has harmed many of us, it can also be extremely healing and reach places words alone cannot. If you are interested in learning what makes touch in therapy ethical this interview will be illuminating. Guest: Erica’s website: https://www.ericaelenaberman.com Referenced Resources: US Association of Body Psychotherapy Book: Ethics of Caring by Kylea Taylor

Tamura Method, Brainspotting, & RLT w/Shanna Lopresti (S2,E7) This is a 30 minute conversation where Shanna and I dive into how she blends body work, energy healing, and somatic therapy with individuals and couples. We talk about things clients and clinicians can relate to such as the importance of feeling safe in the therapeutic relationship for deep healing to happen and how the therapist being themselves gives permission for their client to also be themselves. Tune in and learn about a variety of modalities that you may want to explore for yourself. Guest: Shanna Lopresti https://www.wholeyoutherapy.com

Connecting to your body enables you to live in your life rather than observing it from the outside. It brings presence to your present moment experiences so that you can act and make decisions accordingly. In our busy, modern lives where cognitive ability and production is prioritize we have lost our natural connection to ourselves. Taking time to practice tuning in through the senses can help you come back home to yourself. Enjoy this nourishing, guided meditation.

Have you ever heard of Rosen Method bodywork? It is a touch modality that is known to be helpful with dissociation which often is a tool used to cope with traumatic experiences; it can also be maladaptive when it becomes our default way to being. Jess talks about how Rosen Method supported her in feeling more present and safe in her body. She also talks about how she uses present moment awareness in her therapy practice. Guest: Jessica Provenza ~ https://jessicaprovenzatherapy.com

Here I am briefly sharing what I’ve been up to recently and introducing the touch modality called Beholding: Relational Somatic Healing. Find out why it’s supportive in healing developmental trauma.

Hi, I’m Lu. Welcome to Season 2 of Therapy and The body! Join me on my journey as a therapist, a teacher, and lifelong student of the beautiful healing art, somatic therapy. Get Inspired and be curious about the connection between your mind and body. Get some tips and tidbits on topics like listening to your body's language and using touch in psychotherapy. One thing we always have during this lifetime is our bodies. They follow us everywhere we go, sensing our excitement, fear, joy and more. So, let’s include the body in the therapeutic process. Come with me. Let's explore how together… Get Inspired and be curious about the connection between your mind and body. Get some tips and tidbits on topics like listening to your body's language and using touch in psychotherapy.

Oftentimes we judge ourselves harshly when we don’t prefer our patterned ways of being or default ways of reacting to people or circumstances. We can use the cultivation of self compassion to acknowledge and feel the way we are being and make space for new behaviors and beliefs to emerge.

A grounding and clearing meditation to support balance and restfulness I find that letting go of the day is essential to my overall sense of wellness. Anxiously thinking about what I should do, will do, or have already done leaves me feeling exhausted. Grounding and clearing practices can support the process of renewal and a sense of peace.

Erica beautifully describes the essence of Relational Somatic Healing. We’ve talked about the window of tolerance here before, but Erica takes it even further by sharing how, with touch, we can actually see and hear when our bodies come into more regulation. Erica also shares how being with clients with loving presence is the most essential part of supporting another. Guest Contact Info: Erica Berman https://www.ericaelenaberman.com somatictherapywitherica@ericaelenaberman.com Learn more about Relational Somatic Healing: https://relationalsomatichealing.com

Similarly to how small children enjoy bedtime stories told by their caregivers to help them wind down for the night, sometimes us adults need support with letting go of the day and resting too. Let the sound of my voice and the imagery in your mind’s eye support you in resting your mind and body.

Phoenix shares about her journey to becoming a therapist and gives us an easy to use technique to reduce anxiety and increase safety. Phoenix Jackson shares vulnerably about her journey toward healing physical pain by acknowledging the anger she unconsciously held on to from past trauma. She also shares how her practice of material arts and her experience with body pain lead her down the journey to becoming a somatic therapist. Phoenix also shares a practical somatic intervention that decreases anxiety and increases the level of safety felt in the body.

Rory shares about traumatic experiences growing up as a gay kid in the Jersey Shore. As a young adult, he found community in City Center Philadelphia where he dove into visual and performance arts and learned that embodied creativity provided an amazing healing opportunity for him. His personal experiences with the healing power of creative expression directly informs his clinical work today.

We’ve been taught through harsh measures to keep our anger stuffed inside, but it’s not gone, it’s right beneath our skin. When anger is unexpressed it can explode out of us in unexpected and sometimes unsafe ways. Hear how I explore and express anger in a way that’s safe and life-affirming. (Please note that there’s a point where I say “our anger is valid” but it kinda sounds like I say “invalid” because of the way I rolled my words together.

According to Steven Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, our autonomic nervous system has 3 functional systems which correspond to our evolutionary development as humans. When we are met with stimuli, first we respond with the most recent neural pathways, and if that’s not working, we go to the next and so on. Listen to some real life examples of what this means.    

This episode introduces the polyvagal theory as important scientific backing for body oriented healing modalities. I’ll share the difference between neuroception and perception which will prompt us to consider how we define safety. I’ll share a personal example to demonstrate how our bodies can be triggered into feeling unsafe, even when external circumstances seem like business as usual. Resource: The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges