Healing After Trauma with Dr. Peter Levine

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Somatic psychology legend Dr. Peter Levine joins Dr. Rick and Forrest to explore how we can use body-based approaches to recover from traumatic experiences. Peter uses his personal history with trauma to illustrate the practices he’s taught to thousands of people through his work. They discuss the importance of resourcing experiences, creating safety, developing interoception, abandonment wounds, bringing a diverse perspective to somatic work, and working with shame.

Please be aware that this episode includes a description of sexual assault.

About our Guest: Dr. Peter Levine is the creator of Somatic Experiencing and the Founder and President of the Ergos Institute for Somatic Education. He’s taught at a number of universities, has received Lifetime Achievement awards from numerous organizations, and is the best-selling author of several books, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma, and his most recent book An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:15: Peter’s dream about publishing his recent book

6:40: Themes connecting the personal and professional for Peter

10:15: Physicalization, pendulation, and decontextualization of trauma

16:15: Presence with others, and moving gently into shame to move through it

20:55: The fundamental view that we our innately healthy, and completing the arc

23:05: When the prompt “feel it in your body” doesn’t work

28:15: Advice for when you don’t have access to therapy or a SEP practitioner

30:35: Tenderness

34:30: Anchoring in the here and now when accessing past memories

39:35: Conceiving of yourself as a source of safety

43:30: Generating your own internal wellbeing

46:20: Acknowledging the reality of your history, patience, and completion

49:45: Living by dying

52:15: Recap

Offer from Dr. Rick: If you'd like to improve your self-worth, check out Rick's new 4-hour, live online workshop. You'll learn methods and practices that can actually change your brain and your habits, so you start nurturing your sense of worth and belonging. Our listeners can get 20% off with coupon code BeingWell20: https://selfworthworkshop.com/

Forrest is now writing on Substack, check out his work there.

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