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Bottom-Up Healing for Childhood Sexual Abuse
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Jenny came to Peter ready to work: “I realized that I was living mostly in my head and not understanding my body at all and what was happening to me.” She also came with a history of traumas-awakening during surgery, being hit broadside by a semi-trailer truck and something she first referred to as “my early childhood trauma.” That trauma was sexual abuse by a brother that began early-three to four years-and continued into her early teens. Peter’s work with Jenny is carefully paced. He begins with a question “what do you want today?” That question is intended to instill, from the very beginning, the idea that Jenny is in charge-providing an antidote to the sense of powerlessness Jenny carries from the trauma of sexual abuse. Once Jenny inhabits a physical stance that’s contrary to shame and powerlessness, they take another step. Once she is physically engaged, feeling lighter and less afraid, they move on to create another beneficial experience-sensing and maintaining her boundaries. Finally, Jenny imagines herself-feels herself-running which is the body’s natural response to threat. So instead of freeze and collapse, she experiences the relief and release she could not get as a child.
Peter Levine, PhD
Peter A. Levine, PhD, holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. The developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a body-awareness approach to healing trauma, and founder of the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, which conducts trainings in this work throughout the world and in various indigenous cultures, with 26 faculty members and over five thousand students. Dr. Levine was a stress consultant for NASA on the development of the space shuttle project and was a member of the Institute of World Affairs Task Force of Psychologists for Social Responsibility in developing responses to large-scale disasters and ethno-political warfare. Levine’s international best seller, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, has been translated into 22 languages. His recent interests include the prevention of trauma in children, and he has co-written two books, with Maggie Kline, in this area: Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes and Trauma-Proofing Your Kids. His most recent book: In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, was recently released to rave reviews. Levine’s original contribution to the field of Body-Psychotherapy was honored in 2010 when he received the LifeTime Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP).
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Peter Levine is the founder and president of the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education, the president and editorial director of Ergos Institute Press, and receives a consulting fee from the Meadows Addiction Center. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Levine receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Peter Levine is a senior clinical fellow and advisor to the Meadows Addiction Treatment Center. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Humanistic Psychological Association, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
