Emotional Process Work

How to be elegant, efficient and effective when healing traumatized hearts

Patricia Clason, founder of Taking It Lightly and the Taking It Lightly—Renewal for sexual abuse survivors, co-founder of Vets Journey Home (formerly the Bamboo Bridge) weekend for military veterans, and Grandmother of the New Warrior Training Adventure, is presenting this powerful weekend training.

The emotional process work done in Taking It Lightly was a major inspiration for the GutsWork or CarpetWork of the Mankind Project and Woman Within. It is the work of healing the heart, with everyday language and experiences. Influenced by Gestalt, Psychodrama and many other modalities, it remains simple and basic, without formula or archetypes. One could liken it to the study of Tai Chi. Tai Chi focuses on a basic practice that allows one to master the principles. Many other permutations and specialized skill practices have evolved from the core practice. Each has it is place and time and use. All are more powerful when the principles are mastered. From her work with trauma survivors (sexual abuse, military/war experiences), Patricia has finely-tuned her skills to reach the highly-guarded, deeply-wounded heart and gently guide it to an experience of safety and healing.

Next offered:
Thursday, December 16, 2010 (CCL Milwaukee 12/2010)
Thursday, February 24, 2011 (Houston February 2011)

The Trainers

Patricia Clason was a student of emotional intelligence (EQ) long before the term became popular. She has studied intensively in the fields of trauma and EQ. For information about Patricia Clason, visit www.patriciaclason.com.

Barbara David is a certified instructor for Taking It Lightly, a psychologist, and very wise woman. She has 20+ of experience with Taking It Lightly and Taking It Lightly—Renewal, as well as training in hypnosis and other modalities.

Curtis Mitchell is an Advanced Rolfer and Bioresonant Energy Worker, has been a student and teacher of metaphysics for over forty years. His expertise in working with the body, as well as the spirit, for emotional healing work is among the best. Curtis will share his wisdom and skills for dealing with healing energy on levels rarely included or considered in weekend personal growth programs.

The Training

This training program will include:

Emotional Intelligence research and concepts, including how the brain and body and emotions work together
Understanding the differences between trauma wounds and emotional issues
Guidelines for emotional process work with trauma survivors
Dealing with Flashbacks
Process work experiences with debriefing opportunities
Resources
- Foundations for safe trauma therapy
- Bibliography
- Web resources

Anyone who is facilitating emotional process work—"guts" work, shadow work—or who works in bodywork or energywork (massage, Reiki, acupuncture and other modalities) will find this training invaluable.

Logistical Information

Days/Times:

Thursday, 7 pm to 10 pm (plan to arrive for dinner before the course starts at 7 pm)
Friday, 10 am to 10 pm
Saturday, 10 am to 8 pm
Sunday, 10 am to 2 pm

Cost: $525 program fee, plus lodging and meals. We have purposely priced this event as low as possible to support the leaders and trainers of emotional process work (Guts, ShadowWork, CarpetWork, EnergyWork) in attending.

Spaces Available: Enrollment is limited to 25 participants—a $100 deposit is required

How To Register/Prepare for the Course

Fill out our online registration form immediately to reserve your spot! (You can leave answers to the questions in #3 below in the comments field.)
Send your deposit of $100 to: Patricia Clason • 2437 N Booth S • Milwaukee, WI 53212
Include with your deposit, in registration form comments, or email separately to Patricia answers to the following:
- What motivated you to enter into this type of work?
- In what formats/venues have you practiced emotional release/process work?
- Have you personally experienced trauma? If so,
  - When was it (year, your age at the time)?
  - What happened?
  - What work have you done on this and with whom?
Highly recommended pre-course reading: Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine
What to bring:
1. casual, comfortable clothes
2. a journal or notebook
3. all of your questions about emotional process work and energy work

Questions? Contact Patricia at 414-374-5433 or by email.

More Information

The following information speaks to the work we will be doing in this training.

Excerpts from “Sierra Tucson’s Model for Trauma Treatment” by Bill Coleman, LMSW, TEP

The work of healing trauma involves a very gentle and slow process of first building trust and safety, along with attempts to express openly what can be remembered. Trauma is damaged memory, both declarative and emotional (or implicit and explicit). Trauma victims can remember the facts of their lives but without any affect; or, they are overpowered by affect and cannot connect the feelings with any facts; or both.

We now know that the hippocampus, which works closely with the medial prefrontal cortex and is the locus of initial memory processing and retention, has been damaged by traumatic stress. It has shrunk. Though trauma is not the only stress which impairs the hippocampus, think of it as a flash drive that has been pounded by a hammer. Whatever information comes back out is going to be horribly scrambled. Further, damage to the hippocampus from traumatic stress can not only cause memory problems, it can also impair new learning. Researchers in Complex Post-Traumatic Stress refer to the trauma sufferer as having shifted from a learning brain to a survivor brain. Attached to the hippocampus is a tiny little knob called the amygdala, which acts as a gateway for information processing and for triggering survival responses throughout the brain. It has also been damaged by traumatic stress and has, in fact, increased in size, further compounding the problem. In consort with the hippocampus, the amygdala, in the trauma sufferer, is prone to constantly trigger a survival response, whether one is appropriate or not. There are many other areas of the brain that are impacted and damaged by traumatic stress. For example, there are disconnects to the Broca’s area of the brain, which manages speech production and is involved with organizing hierarchies of behaviors. The upshot is that traumatic stress produces essential survival responses that evolve into dysfunctional behaviors.

Balance the central nervous system which has been thrown into chaos by traumatic intrusions helps to further complement the healing. Once all of these processes have begun, the brain and nervous system begin to heal themselves. We now know there is such a thing as neurogenesis, where the brain actually creates new cells. We also know about neuroplasticity, where the brain will begin to create new pathways to compensate for damaged ones. It is something akin to how our cardiovascular system will develop ancillary blood flow to compensate for areas of impaired flow. It is miraculous for a trauma therapist to witness this happening in a patient and to be part of that healing.

Sierra Tucson is a residential healing center for trauma and recovery. http://www.sierratucson.com

David Grove

In his work with trauma survivors, David Grove identified T-1, the moment prior to the experience of trauma, and the importance of creating enough safety to bring the dissociated aspect of the survivor back from T-1 to the realization that they have survived. This piece of healing work creates a different outcome which allows the shift out of survival responses and into more functional, present-time behaviors.

Grove also made a distinction between issues and wounds. Understanding this distinction can be critical to avoiding re-traumatization and further wounding, especially in the context of weekend programs doing emotional process work.

What People Are Saying About This Course

The actual process of trauma really worked as a learning experience for me. Being part of it was very rewarding. I definitely recommend this program. I am honored to have been a part of it. The leaders were very down to earth with relaying information in “layman’s terms.”

Watching a client do emotional process work was excellent - it made it very real and engaging. Curtis’ contributions on somatic release were very valuable.

I really liked the balance of head, heart and body and particularly the body/soma focus. The interactive style of learning helped me to understand more.

This was an incredible experience! I didn’t know what to expect and I got so much. It helped me heal and educated me enough to help others who have experienced trauma. I am excited about the possibilities of this leading to more healing of myself, trauma victims and PTSD.

This was very helpful and information on both a personal and professional level. I feel more prepared to help at future weekends. I wish all VA psychologists and psychiatrists would attend this workshop.

I can only say thank you from the bottom of my heart, which I now recognize as the roof of my soul, for whatever it is was that each of you gave out that helped me to begin to trust again. Thank you for helping me to help myself.

This program was well-organized, easy-to-follow, with many opportunities for questions and interaction. I will definitely recommend it to others!

We invite you to join us, develop your awareness, and receive tools to help you elegantly heal hearts!