Beginning Level

Develop foundational knowledge and skills in the SE biophysiological model for the resolution of trauma.

Typically consists of two 5-day live training modules, spaced 2 to 4 months apart.

• Understand the physiology of traumatic stress and its effect on the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Practice the fundamental SE method of tracking sensation to access responses in the ANS
• Learn the neurophysiology of each aspect of the threat response: defensive orientation, fight/flight/freeze, deactivation and completion, and exploratory orienting
• Develop skill in working with the SE model of tracking sensation to support completion of the threat-response cycle and incomplete survival responses
• Learn how to “titrate” (modulate) the SE trauma-renegotiation process to ensure healthy integration of experience
• Begin to integrate Porges’ Polyvagal Theory of ANS function
• Understand the SE model of SIBAM (Sensation, Image, Behavior, Affect, Meaning) and its significance in trauma
• Explore coupling dynamics-the over- and under-association of the elements of SIBAM and elements of physiological responses to traumatically-stressing experiences
• Support clients in re-establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries
• Learn to identify, normalize, and stabilize traumatic reactions
• Acquire brief intervention skills that provide long-term solutions to acute and chronic symptoms of trauma
• Explore the integration of SE into ongoing professional practice
• Explore the appropriate use of touch in the context of SE