VOICES

Letter from SE International

Board Chair Rebecca Stahl | May 2021

In Their Own Words:

The first Peter Levine Research Award Winners

Professional Research Award:
Didem Caylak and Volunteer Team, Turkey

Student Research Award:
Dr. Madeleine Lowman, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Raise Your Voice for Mental Health Month

Since 1949, Mental Health America (mhanational.org) and its affiliates across the country have observed May as Mental Health Month by reaching out to millions of people through the media, local events, and screenings. We invite other organizations to join us in spreading the word that mental health is something everyone should care about by using the May is Mental Health Month toolkit materials and conducting awareness activities. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health of people of all ages. Now, more than ever, it is critical to reduce the stigma around mental health struggles, because that stigma often prevents individuals from seeking help.

As a member of the SE community, you know the importance of mental health, especially as it relates to people who have suffered trauma. Read this article on Adapting After Trauma and Stress, just one of the many pieces in MHA’s Mental Health Month downloadable Toolkit:

INSIDE SEI

In those early years of training Steve would joke about his under conditioned ventral vagal nerve as he watched the other students socially engage with ease at break time.  It didn’t stay that way for long; over the next few years Steve became a beloved assistant and a pillar in our SE community.  He was brilliant and had a special way of making difficult concepts so simple.  He also loved working with the students and nurturing their development.  He would often leave personal sessions with an overflowing heart, excited to be witness to the healing and growth of the students.  Steve was full of love, full of joy, and humble to his core.  He leaves behind his beloved family, his wife, Janai and daughter, Kynnadi.  Please keep his family and the communities that loved him in your hearts as we grieve the loss of our dear friend and colleague.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family with funeral arrangements and ongoing expenses.

CONVERSATIONS

SE Community Conversation

Substance Abuse, Addiction Recovery, and Frontiers in Neuropsychology, our most recent Community Conversation, was held Friday, May 14. Our panelists discussed how advances in neuroscience are rapidly affecting how we understand addiction – how it affects the brain, the body, and the nervous system. Recent advances in brain science and body-based therapies have transformed approaches to healing trauma in the nervous system and methods of crisis stabilization. They are making an impact in traditional approaches to dealing with substance abuse and addiction recovery. We’re grateful to these panelists for their participation: Lindy Devine, MEd, RCC, SEP; Robert Hong, BFA, SEP, CAIS II;  Robina Silva, MB, BS FRANZCOG; Greg Struve, MA, SEP.

“Addiction is a way of adapting to certain trauma situations. SE helps us understand neurobiology and offers solutions – guiding people to self-regulation.” – Robina Silva

Our next SE Community Conversation will be Friday, June 11, 12pm-1:30pm MT. Our panel of experts will discuss parenting through crisis. Parenting in today’s world can be a challenge. Somatic Experiencing can be a powerful modality, not only to support children’s innate resilience but also to help parents regulate themselves in times of crisis.

In every SE Conversation series, you can count on some lively discussion, some tips and tools, and some group exercises. The insights and perspectives on this topic of parenting through crisis – the challenges, opportunities, and specific issues prevalent in this area – all promise to be more worthwhile than ever, worldwide. We have a particular focus on neurobiological methods of resolving and supporting people in crisis, in this case, parents, young children, and teens.  This a free event – all are welcome!

Global Town Hall:

A Community in Conversation

Our most recent Town Hall was held May 11 and included several SEI Board members and staff. Our Town Halls offer an additional live opportunity to ask questions and share perspectives about the direction, strategic priorities, and current projects underway at SE International.

LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE

Virtual International Conference 2021:

New Dates Announced

To ensure that we can deliver the best conference experience and a high level of participation we are moving the dates of our virtual conference from June 11-13, 2021 to October 22-24, 2021.

Our goal with this conference continues to be to provide an opportunity to bring our community together after a long year of upheaval. Community connection has been so important to us over the past year, and we look forward to this as not only a celebration of Dr. Peter Levine and his life’s work but also to celebrate you, our SE community, and your successes. Our agenda as of now includes 3 keynote speakers, 6 plenary sessions, 22 educational sessions, 2 live international roundtables, and several pre-recorded on-demand sessions – primarily because we received so many presentation proposals from our Call for Abstracts. Clearly, this community has been busy! We look forward to sharing our final agenda in June.

Upcoming Webinars

Reclaiming Shakti:

Moving Out of the Chair:

Building Meaningful Conversations with Mindful Communication

Join SEI and Access Past Webinars for Free

Our learning and knowledge library has a wealth of valuable, timely webinars from leaders in the SE field. All are free for members to stream through the membership portal. To take advantage of this learning library, join SEI.

READ, LISTEN, WATCH, LEARN

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