An additional healing modality--Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP™)
The entire staff of the Trauma Treatment Center and Resources (TTCR) in Saitama, Japan with Dr. Raja Selvam
Okay. This will be a little graphic. Vomiting. Diarrhea. Inability to eat and a greenish complexion for a couple of days. And it (thankfully) wasn't the flu. What in the world?!
I just returned from Dr. Raja Selvam's first ever Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP™) training in Japan, and to say I learned a lot is an understatement. But not only that, I also experienced the power of this work.
Dr. Selvam combines his decades as student, psychotherapist, and teacher into his four step method of fully embodying our emotions in order to more quickly and effectively move through trauma into health.
As I worked with my own deeply-held sense of worthlessness, familiar bodily sensations began to morph into unbelievable emotions. With the guidance and support of my therapist, I was able, for perhaps the first time, to access some of the rage I'd been suppressing and to give it a voice.
So, yes, I then experienced the above “healing crisis.” But it passed. And I'm left with a renewed vigor and the beginnings of a new self-definition. (I'm also very grateful not to have all of that suppressed negative energy still housed within my body!)
My extreme reaction was not replicated among the other 60 or so students attending. All, however, were able to locate and expand an emotion, and through that process remove and even transform some of the “charge” surrounding past trauma. These practical experiences clearly illustrated that accessing and embodying the emotions which underlie our sensations can be an extremely effective method of healing.
“At Bodhisattva Bodywork, I offer a variety of trauma resolution therapeutic services in my Chapel Hill office and online via a secure video link. I’m also affiliated with a trauma-focused group psychotherapy practice in Japan: Trauma Treatment Center and Resources (TTCR), which offers body-based therapy sessions and educational seminars in both English and Japanese.”