Reasons why Energy Healing and Somatic Experiencing are good for survivor centered care
Addressing the whole self
After something traumatic happens to us it affects every aspect of our lives, so we also need care that addresses every aspect of our lives. Whether it is housing, medical care or emotional support sometimes therapy alone cannot provide everything for the complex healing journey ahead. Healing is not linear and we might need extra support at different times in our journey. Energy healing, acupuncture and other holistic health care can help fill the gaps where we need extra support in our healing that might address different areas in our lives. Energy healing works well as a complementary care with therapy and medical care to help facilitate the body healing itself emotionally, physically and spiritually. Many trauma responses include disassociation or other bodily responses that can make a survivor feel not at home in their own body or have trouble feeling grounded. Energy healing and other techniques can gently bring that awareness back and help with healing the whole self.
A space where someone doesn’t have to speak about what happened to them.
Clients can tell me as much as they want to but it isn’t necessary for them to tell me anything. (unless there is something pertinent I should know for medical or emotional care) If a client wants they can just tell me any physical or emotional things they want to work on and we can set mutual goals together, there is no need to go into details of what has happened to them unless they choose to in a session.
Check out this wonderful article talking more about this point from the Breathe Network: :http://www.thebreathenetwork.org/beyond-language-healing-techniques-that-dont-require-telling-your-story (I’m proud to be listed on their site as a practitioner)
This modality doesn’t need to use touch which can sometimes be a triggering experience for survivors.
Most of the time the ‘go to ‘’relaxation modality is massage which works great for some people but for others who have had a bad experience with touch it can be overwhelming or triggering. Energy healing can be practiced off the body if the client wants. It can also be a safe space, if the client chooses, to introduce light touch on the shoulders and feet gradually or after trust is built after multiple sessions. Clients have total control of who and when and where touch is used that is discussed at the beginning of the session.
A safe space for people to have another human being have an intention for their healing to share time with. A great complementary treatment to other therapies to create multi-faceted support.
Sometimes it is nice to be in a space where you can feel the care of another human being that wants to support you in your healing where you can relax and feel safe. Many clients have commented that it was just nice to have another person come alongside them in their healing journey that played a different role than their therapist or medical doctor. There might be different aspects of their healing that they can focus on with different supports. Creating more safe spaces for healing can only be a good thing!
Energy healing can be a powerful tool for self-care as many of the techniques can be done on yourself
At the end of each session I provide feedback, if the client wants, to where they might be holding stress or trauma energy in their system and provide options and resources for self-care. There are many energy healing techniques that can be done on yourself and can be helpful for emotional safety planning and also builds awareness of how their body is responding to stress and trauma and helps with grounding and being able to feel at home in their own body again. I also help with building self-care plans addressing trauma informed, holistic, techniques that address each particular body and energy.
Energy healing has many physical and emotional benefits!
Everyone reacts differently but clients have reported that energy healing has benefited them by:
Increasing relaxation
Helping with trauma release and anxiety
Reducing pain
Enhancing a sense of well-being
Helping with grounding and centering the body helping to become more focused
And more!
There are no known adverse effects to energy healing because of its non-invasive techniques.