Feminist Counsellor Edmonton
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • Groups
    • Boundaries, Burnout, & The Art of Saying No
    • Never Good Enough: Moving from Shame to Self-Acceptance
  • Workshops and Courses
    • Big Hearted Boundaries
    • How to Prevent Burnout
    • Shame Resilience Skills
    • Other Workshops & Courses
  • Resources
    • Articles & Podcasts
    • Setting better boundaries: Downloadable handouts
    • Videos
    • Other Feminist Counsellors in Edmonton
  • Supervision
  • CONNECT WITH ME
  • Blog
I AM

This Feminist Therapist

Writing about mental health from a feminist counselling perspective

#5: T is for Trauma

2/23/2014

0 Comments

 
When I saw Dr. Gabor Mate -  author and renowned addiction expert - speak in October 2012, he gave a definition of trauma that I wrote down, and since then I’ve been collecting other definitions. I think it’s important to have a clear understanding of what it is we’re trying to heal. Dr. Mate would say that trauma is the suppression of natural fears and emotions, and that all mental illness is an attempt to get away from ourselves.
Picture
Likewise, psychologist James Pennebaker posits that “traumatic experiences do not cause illness.  Instead keeping secrets and being unable to communicate about traumatic information – even to one’s self -  is what makes people physically and mentally sick.  In fact, when people begin to link events, give them meaning, and communicate their experiences with others, they rapidly move toward health and develop good coping skills, regardless of what happened to them”. – quoted from Mary Pipher’s “The Green Boat” (page 76).

Pennebaker isn’t the only one to talk about the importance of communicating these events to others. Chris Fraley studied 9/11 survivors and found that having someone to rely on for connection and support made healing easier. It seems that a connected relationship can make a difference. And when we recognize that trauma isn’t as uncommon as we once thought, we see how important this is (from Sue Johnson’s "Hold Me Tight").

So I’ve saved the best for last. And it’s fitting, considering I just came back from a training that is based on Peter Levine’s work. Though, I found this quote many months before I even signed up for the training. And this is why I do what I do:

"Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside us in the absence of an empathetic witness" -Peter Levine in "In an Unspoken Voice".

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Nicole Perry is a Registered Psychologist and writer with a private practice in Edmonton. Her approach is collaborative and feminist at its heart. She specializes in healing trauma, building shame resilience, and setting boundaries.

    About the Blog

    This space will provide information, stories, and answers to big questions about some of my favorite topics - boundaries, burnout, trauma, self compassion, and shame resilience - all from a feminist counselling perspective. It's also a space I'm exploring and refining new ideas.

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    April 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    May 2014
    February 2014
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Book
    Boundaries
    Burnout
    Food And Body Image
    Good Therapy
    Mindfulness
    Motherhood
    Pain
    Podcast
    Practice News
    Relationships
    Self Care
    Self Compassion
    Sexuality
    Shame
    Trauma

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • Groups
    • Boundaries, Burnout, & The Art of Saying No
    • Never Good Enough: Moving from Shame to Self-Acceptance
  • Workshops and Courses
    • Big Hearted Boundaries
    • How to Prevent Burnout
    • Shame Resilience Skills
    • Other Workshops & Courses
  • Resources
    • Articles & Podcasts
    • Setting better boundaries: Downloadable handouts
    • Videos
    • Other Feminist Counsellors in Edmonton
  • Supervision
  • CONNECT WITH ME
  • Blog