I want to take this opportunity to say thank you. This month, as we begin a new cycle for the board and committees, I want to say thank you to everyone who shares their time and experience with SEI on committees, workgroups, and advisory councils.
Over the course of the past 2.5 years, one of the key components of our work at Somatic Experiencing International has been to increase and improve structures that support more community involvement. This includes, of course, the listening@traumahealing.org email address, the Global Town Halls, and the Community Conversations. In addition, we have made a very concerted effort to increase committees, workgroups, and advisory councils within the organization. Calls for committees are open to everyone, and we hope to get as diverse a group as possible in every group.
When I joined the board of directors three years ago, there were very few committees and workgroups that had community involvement. Now there are more than 15, and we continue to work to find new ways for members of our global community to get involved. One of the questions we asked ourselves when developing the strategic plan was how to create structures that provide the opportunity for more voices at the table. Committees, workgroups, and advisory councils provide those spaces. This issue of SE Today includes a call for volunteers for the brand-new Communications Advisory Committee.
My experience in many different professional organizations is that service and community go hand-in-hand. A few months ago, I talked about our name change to Somatic Experiencing International and how different pockets of the world could support each other in our community. That begins with individuals. It begins with us getting to know each other, learning who each other are, and working together to support SEI’s vision: “Transforming lives through healing trauma.” Each of the various committees, workgroups, and advisory councils has its own mission, but each of them strives to support that larger vision.
Somatic Experiencing, the modality, is in large part about finding coherence in nervous systems. SEI, as an organization, continues to strive to find coherence in structure, connection, and healing. We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go. Committees, workgroups, and advisory councils are some of the ways we hope to continue to find this organizational coherence. When we come together in these groups, our community web grows, we can connect more to each other, and we can deepen the organization’s energy wells. In other words, these committees, workgroups, and advisory councils are core to SEI the organization modeling SE the modality.
If you are interested in being a part of any of our committees, workgroups, or advisory councils, please feel free to respond to the call for volunteers or to reach out to listening@traumahealing.org or to me at rmstahl@traumahealing.org with any questions. You can find the list of all current committees at https://traumahealing.org/committees-workgroups/. Thank you, as always, for being a part of this community.
Warmly,
Rebecca