Befriending the Body: Neuroscience & Yoga in Trauma Treatment
Presenters: Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. & David Emerson, RYT
Date: POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Cost: Early Registration: $290, Regular Registration: $315, Student/Group Discount- Early: $265, Regular: $290
Location: Providence, RI
Description
Yoga is an ancient practice that combines physical movement and posture with special attention to breath. For the past 4 years, the Trauma Center JRI has conducted innovative research looking at how Hatha Yoga affects some common symptomatology of PTSD. Along with some very compelling subjective feedback from trauma survivors such as, "I feel like I can use my body again," we have shown for the first time that yoga effects core physiology, namely Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which is associated with PTSD.
In this two-day training, clinicians will learn yoga techniques that can be introduced into a typical one-to-one therapy or small group session. We will present a range of simple practices from seated breathing to some gentle bending and twisting that will give the clinician or Healthcare provider a new set of tools to address some of the most fundamental and persistent symptoms of PTSD such as feeling totally overwhelmed by sensation, disembodied, dissociated, powerless and more. The Training Team will also provide clinicians and other Healthcare workers with some self-care techniques, recognizing that the work of being with severely traumatized clients on the path to healing is extremely challenging and requires special attention to one's own health and well-being.
About the Presentors
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Medical Director and founder of The Trauma Center, has been active as a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress and related phenomena since the 1970s. His work integrates developmental, biological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment. His book Psychological Trauma was the first integrative text on the subject, painting the far ranging impact of trauma on the entire person and the range of therapeutic issues which need to be addressed for recovery. Dr. van der Kolk has taught at universities and hospitals across the United States and around the world, and has published extensively on the impact of trauma on development. He was co-principal investigator of the DSM-IV Field Trials for PTSD, past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, a founding member of the Steering Committee of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and is currently working with colleagues to bring a Developmental Trauma Disorder diagnosis to the DSM-V.
David Emerson, RYT, Coordinator of the Yoga Services Program at the Trauma Center JRI, is an accomplished yoga instructor and founder of the Black Lotus Yoga Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to the teaching of yoga to individuals with PTSD. Mr. Emerson was responsible for the implementation, supervision and oversight of the yoga intervention component of two recent pilot studies conducted by Dr. van der Kolk to assess the utility and feasibility of yoga instruction with adults with PTSD. Mr. Emerson has extensive experience in the instruction of yoga with PTSD and mental illness populations, and has developed and conducted yoga groups for several rape crisis, domestic violence, mental health and veterans administration centers and clinics throughout Greater Boston.
Registration Information and Policy
Please be sure to submit both the registration form and payment. To register by mail, please send the following information (or equivalent), along with a check, payable to "The Trauma Center at JRI," for the full workshop fee. Early registration is $290; after the early registration date ends (TBA) the registration fee is $315. Student and group discounts are available (early registration $265, regular registration $290). Registration will be confirmed when payment is received. Space is limited, and registration will be on a first come, first served basis. We will hold a space for three (3) business days, pending receipt of your payment, if you indicate your interest via-email by contacting ehopper@jri.org.
