SE™ TODAY | October 18, 2021 Somatic Experiencing® International Newsletter
VOICES
Letter From the Board Chair
Rebecca Stahl, SEP
Rebecca Stahl
"What about SE helps us navigate the world in which we live outside of our SE sessions? This process has been front and center for me the past few days. I am writing this letter from Setúbal, Portugal, outside of Lisboa. I am here as a guest at the European Association of Somatic Experiencing (EASE) General Assembly. This experience has helped me to understand better what it means to find moments of safety within new experiences and also to think about how discomfort and curiosity relate in our felt senses."
Meet the Newest Members of the SEI Board of Directors
Yadira Velazquez, MD
"Studying and applying Somatic Experiencing has brought significant benefits to my personal life and professional career while treating patients with functional neurological disorders (FND). Joining the board of SEI is an incredible opportunity to share with the medical community, particularly those in the areas of neurology, psychiatry, psychosomatic, and functional medicine, the value of this method of healing trauma.
My mission during the coming years is to use my experience in the medical sciences to expand the scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of Somatic Experiencing, turning this therapeutic method into an evidence-based standard of care for treating and preventing trauma." – Yadira Velazquez, MD
Scott Palmer, PhD, SEP
"I want to use my 18 years of experience leading community mental health programs to help SEI transform how services are provided to culturally diverse traumatized youth and families in the child protective, juvenile justice, mental health, and special education systems. I would also like to work on helping SEI develop multiple sustainable funding streams to help spread the mission and benefits of Somatic Experiencing worldwide. " – Scott Palmer, PhD, SEP
Defne Erdur, MA, PhD
“Somatic Experiencing has been the missing piece, kind of a ‘connective tissue’ of my eclectic healing formation and practice. I have immensely benefited from SE on a personal and professional level. Coming from a multi-cultural family background and geography I have learned to respect and celebrate differences. I profoundly feel that the SE community is the community I am ready to serve wholeheartedly.
I have been active in leadership roles in different communities and activist collectives via the arts, social work, and research and believe my experiences can serve the different interests, goals, and abilities within our international, interdisciplinary, and intercultural SE community.” – Defne Erdur, MA, PhD
Please Don’t Miss the Opening Ceremony of the 2021 Virtual Conference
Donald “Del” Laverdure, JD, P-SEP
Donald “Del” Laverdure, JD, P-SEP, opens our gathering with a Plains Indian Welcome, Opening Song, and Blessing – and it may just be the most unique (and meaningful) conference opening you’ve been to. Del is an enrolled citizen of the Crow Nation, a member of the Ties the Bundle Clan, and a descendant of the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians.
A highly respected and renowned leader for indigenous communities, he held a U.S. presidential appointment from 2009-2012, held numerous tribal judgeships, and was an assistant professor of law. Here’s what you can look forward to:
“We will begin by smudging (cleansing) ourselves and the common space for us (virtual in this case) to create a safe space and healing container for our activities and sharing of spirit. We will thank the indigenous people of this homeland and their ancestors for allowing us to have our healing container. We will have an opening prayer and set our intentions regarding soul, spirit, place, and alignment of our true selves. We will discuss the four directions and four elements to have a witness to our words, feelings, and thoughts that we will carry with us for the next four seasons. In addition to a welcoming song, we will align the conference attendees with our seven realms of relations – above, below, animals, people, spirits, self and family, and the great mystery of life. It is an ancient welcoming and expression of sincere gratitude for that morning, that day, that moment, and to be present in good thoughts, feelings, and relations. We will close with an indigenous song to honor the life’s work of Dr. Peter Levine.”
Amie Leigh, director of public health initiatives for SEI, recently responded to Hurricane Ida in the immediate aftermath of it in south Louisiana, working with several relief organizations. Following her time there, Amie spoke at the annual conference of the National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA) on Crisis Stabilization and Safety, presenting to 1,300 victim advocates from around the country across the array of social services, from domestic violence and sexual assault advocates to military and public safety partners.
Our learning and knowledge library has a wealth of valuable, relevant webinars from leaders in the SE field. All webinars in the membership portal are free for members to stream. To take advantage of this learning library, join SEI.
Michael Changaris, PhD, SEP On the Power of Mindful Touch
On the Relational Implicit Podcast
Michael Changaris, PhD, SEP
“Animals that are not licked and groomed enough in their infancy have fundamental change in their epigenetics that predispose them to all kinds of health conditions and addiction. You can take a person’s touch history and have understandings of likelihood of depression or trauma. So, understanding how safe we feel in our bodies, how connected we feel to others, and a sense of support from one another is quite profound.”
Trauma is a fact of life but it doesn't have to be a life sentence.
By Bríd Keenan
"I have always been wary of another ‘new cure’, particularly coming as I do from the North of Ireland. There have been various government-funded approaches to trauma introduced over the last 30 years. Predominantly, this has applied a trauma approach focused on the individual experience which has pathologised and medicalised the impact of trauma ... What became clear to me was that unfinished business of the traumatic experience, the incomplete self-protective responses of fight/flight, need to be completed in order to live well in the present."
The town hall format offers an additional live opportunity to ask questions and share perspectives about the direction, strategic priorities, and current projects underway at SE International. After opening updates and comments from representatives of the SE International Board of Directors, the remainder of the Town Hall session will be devoted to your questions and comments.
Rural Resilience: Mental Health in Rural Communities
New Date: November 12, 2021 12 PM MT
Rural communities experience unique challenges when it comes to mental health on both the individual and community levels. At the same time, rural communities are incredibly hard working, resilient, and well connected. Despite their complexity, rural communities are often excluded from traditional conversations on mental health. In this special session, practitioners who live and work in these communities share their experience. This event is FREE to attend.
In every SE Conversation series, you can count on lively discussion, tips and tools, and group exercises. The insights and perspectives on this topic of mental health for medical professionals, the challenges, opportunities, and specific issues prevalent to this field all promise to be more worthwhile than ever, worldwide.
Registration for this Conversation will be opening soon. Keep an eye out for the next SE Today for the updated link.
Our most recent Community Conversation was Mental Wellness in the Line of Duty: Supporting Public Safety Professionals. You can watch replays of all SE Community Conversations here.
Share Your Story
We’re developing a library of SE case studies and stories for our website.
Find us – and engage with us – on our social media channels or by email. We’d love to connect.
RESOLVING TRAUMA. FOR GOOD.
Somatic Experiencing International is dedicated to supporting trauma resolution and reliance through culturally responsive professional training and education, research, and outreach around the globe.
