New Life Foundation | Trauma Release Therapy
By Susan Munro
Trauma releasing exercises (TRE) were adult by David Berceli, who initially noticed that animals and small-scale children shook when experiencing trauma, a practice that seemed to help with their recovery. Nosotros were pleased to invite Lori Ann Hitchcock and Joan McDonald to New Life Foundation to teach TRE recently. Here, New Life volunteer Susan Munro interviews Lori and Joan about this unique, body-based therapy.
How did you come to this therapy?
Lori: Joan introduced it to me in the summertime of 2010 when I was back (in Canada) from some travelling so she just invited me over and idea it was something I would be interested in learning. I am now based in Chiang Mai.
How does this technique differ from traditional therapy for mail-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Lori: Information technology's a trunk-based practice which works with the neurology and the beefcake of the body. There are other practices likewise which are torso-based simply there are a lot more that are focused on the ego part of the brain, the neocortex (college-brain-function) cognitive treatments.
Then does this technique work quite well with other treatments for PTSD and other trauma-related issues?
Joan: I remember information technology is a great combination because it helps lessen the emotional charge and so that people can more ably speak about their experiences. Because with PTSD, for example in the military, people don't desire to talk about information technology beccause it is then emotionally charged. When they practice TRE they will naturally begin to speak about their experiences considering they're no longer emotionally charged nearly it.
Would you say this technique has benefits for people who accept not actually suffered trauma?
Lori: Yeah, because it is re-initiating the natural response that has to do with stress, and everybody has stress in their lives, and the accumulation of the stress, and because we accept turned off the mechanism of releasing that stress then everybody can benefit from TRE, so it tin really assistance everybody on the stress continuum, from the aggregating of everyday stress that'due south never dealt with, such as beingness cut off in traffic and the alert going off, all of those things build upward, and so if we don't have a way of releasing that it volition build up.
This technique has grown the fastest in the developing world – it's just recently that it's come to the Westward. Why do you think this is?
Lori: I think it is about how nosotros recognise trauma. A lot of people in the Western World, when they hear the give-and-take 'trauma' call back of natural disasters, earth-torn countries, we recall of the farthermost situations just in reality, trauma is feeling overwhelmed to the point of feeling that you tin't help yourself, which is common everywhere, but certainly we feel that the places that TRE has grown the quickest is in areas where there has been some kind of natural disaster, or something that's really brought on mass trauma, because then we really recognise the need for that kind of practice, while in Western civilization, nosotros've only gotten used to information technology.
Joan: South Africa has hundreds and hundreds of providers of TRE now – a very extensive plan, and that's because everyone knows they are traumatised because of apartheid. In whatever country where at that place has been some kind of natural or cultural traumatic experiences or generational cultural issues, they recognise that they are highly effected by these experiences whereas in the Western World we oasis't really fabricated a connectedness between stress and health and the furnishings of that. I call up in the West we've so segmented our whole existence, and nosotros have distanced ourselves from our globe and nature, and then because of that we're asunder than other countries.
Y'all obviously use these techniques yourselves – what changes do you think TRE has wrought in your lives?
Lori: For me – presence, and being more than grounded in my body. Also, body and listen awareness – and becoming more of the observer in my life, and so really noticing and being able to make clear, decisive decisions about what is all-time for me – equally well equally relief of stress-related pain in my torso, more looseness, a clear listen, feeling more at-home, more empowerment, and confidence.
Joan: I don't have the aforementioned emotional reactivity to the things around me that I may accept had ten years agone. I have much more sensation of my stress, considering I've been more grounded and centered.
I've noticed that certain people become fond to stress, and existence on the go and keeping plates spinning and things like that, and withal when you exercise TRE and are forced to come into the moment and into your torso, you lot realise it is non healthy to be that person who is ever running.
Joan: The addiction is to adrenaline, and when I do workshops on stress I talk about the adrenaline addiction and three things, decorated-ness, worry and drama – personal life drama – and we go fond to them, but like an adrenaline drug – and energy drinks, we're addicted to those because they become the adrenaline pumping.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and be honest – it does look slightly weird, this do. How would you convince people who are skeptical of this therapy, to come and join?
Lori: TRE is a natural torso response, information technology is something nosotros are innately designed to exercise, and then that in itself is difficult to ignore. Also, I think that when people are told that it uses the brain stalk, it bypasses the ego part of the listen and it allows you to use your body in movement, that is often attractive for people. A lot of people can't sit there and tell themselves to slow down their thoughts (similar in meditation).
So you mean it is liberating for people to know they're not consciously making these movements themselves?
Lori: Exactly, a lot of people feel like they should be meditating and doing yoga because they know their mind is decorated and they demand to slow downwardly their mind, just they experience like they can't practice that, so this gives them an opportunity to utilise their body and the neurology of the body, it slows downwardly their nervous arrangement and allows them to become to that place where this their kind of meditation without actually having to go through that thinking brain (of slowing downwards their thoughts).
I did find that compared to regular mindfulness meditation where y'all are sitting in a room with your eyes closed, there is less activity in the heed.
Joan: TRE is a wonderful adjunct to mindfulness meditation for those that have that decorated mind. Then actually TRE helps you live more mindfully.
Lori: Yep, and when people come across animals shake, they recognise that they've experienced actually high emotions, and they remember experiencing shaking when they've had really high emotions, and that nosotros don't desire to milkshake, we tin all relate to having to say a speech and shaking and non wanting people to see.
It's good that you are trying to approach people intellectually as well every bit through the experience, that works really well. At present, I'm simply curious, how does someone with express physical capability manage? I noticed some people can't sit on the ground very well, or has trouble bending their knees. How would you accost something like that?
Lori: Well the whole process is about tensioning the muscles and so releasing to tire the muscles, and so the goal is e'er to adapt the exercises, so we are tiring the muscles that are involved, so it tin be washed in a chair, it can exist done on the floor.
Joan: I accept worked with people in wheelchairs, have worked with amputees, and everyone tremors. When I worked with someone who was in a wheelchair positioned his legs in a certain way and he started to tremor. I've watched a video of David (Berceli, the founder of TRE) working with a woman who was a double-amputee and she tremoured and information technology helped with her phantom pain. That'south really absurd.
What is the virtually surprising, or fulfilling, experience you have had with teaching the handling?
Lori: I would say information technology is the results that we see people experience. There is 1 example that comes to listen of a person with anxiety, and the difference in that person over iii sessions over five days, in her ability to place and cocky-regulate the anxiety was astonishing. TRE brings out what yous are experiencing in the world. And so if y'all're really tired, really anxious, then TRE volition bring it out. I've seen the technique help people to cocky-regulate themselves in TRE and them they can do it exterior in the real world which has been relly gratifying. And it'due south something that people tin exercise themselves, they don't demand to come to a therapist either, they tin self-exercise.
What is on your didactics schedule for the rest of the year?
Our biggest goal for the next six months is to train people to be trainers, because we cannot be the magic of spreading this in Thailand – we need people to train and then they tin go out and train people and accept it spread that fashion.
Is you could teach this technique anywhere, where would you go?
Lori: I think more so than choosing a location, it is more about beingness called as a response team, which is another part we could play here in Thailand – that if at that place were disaster to happen we could be role of that team so that we tin help masses of people, because that is part of the reason David Berceli came up with this, if we need to aid masses of people, nosotros can't practise that 1-on-ane counselling and therapy, and you know not everybody has the coin or the time to go to therapy, so to teach them something that they tin can exercise on their ain would exist wonderful.
Good luck with that, I hope that y'all get out in that location and manage to do that because that would be awesome.
Lori: Absolutely, Joan has been to Japan to work with tsunami victims already, and been to South Africa, and then definitely, it's coming.
New Life hopes to host further workshops in TRE in the future. Lori is based at TRE Thailand, in Chiang Mai, and teaches both 1-on-one and in groups.
Source: https://www.newlifefoundation.com/th/trauma-release-therapy/