Somatic Healing for Trauma

Somatic Therapy vs Talk Therapy

Reasons women seek support:

  • reproductive trauma + fertility difficulties

  • birth trauma

  • unexpected birth outcomes (incl. prematurity & NICU admission)

  • adoption (recent or past)

  • perinatal trauma (pre & postnatal)

  • traumatic grief

  • pregnancy + infant loss

  • complex PTSD

  • developmental trauma + early childhood neglect trauma

  • attachment ruptures

  • trauma relating to women's health conditions and medical intervention

  • sexual assault

  • domestic + family violence

  • building greater emotional regulation & resilience

  • creating a more empowered connection with themselves, their body & others

Working from an understanding that our mind and bodies are interconnected, consideration of the influence of hormonal change, nervous system regulation and women's health related conditions on a woman's mental and emotional wellbeing are fundamental in my approach.

I provide counselling which integrates evidence based therapies including the somatic modalities of TCTSY and Somatic Experiencing® and body based mindfulness techniques, with traditional talk therapies drawing on contemporary grief, attachment and trauma theories, which can support empowered choices towards embodied healing.

My approach supports you to untangle your traumatic experiences from the beliefs, thoughts and emotions that have become enmeshed with your body's survival responses. In understanding your attachment patterns which formed in early childhood alongside your emotional regulation capacity, I offer opportunities to renegotiate these patterns finding a greater sense of safety in your body, emotional regulation and reconnection to yourself and others.

Trauma & Women’s Health & your Nervous System

Somatic Experiencing

If you are experiencing the grief of losing a child, either recently or from years past, my heart goes out to you. I am so sorry you are experiencing this unimaginable heartbreak and I acknowledge the courage you have in seeking out support.

The loss of a child is one of the most profound and devastating losses a parent can experience. It is often a hidden grief experienced by parents and one that often struggles to be acknowledged or supported well by others.

I offer you a safe and compassionate space in which you can access support as you navigate this journey. I offer bereavement counselling specifically with an embodied healing approach. Drawing on eight years as a perinatal social worker walking alongside parents who have experienced the loss of their child, I have been honoured to witness the anguish as well as strength within parents. Combining this lived experience of many parents with a range of therapeutic approaches and theories, including attachment theory, trauma theory, mind-body practices and current grief models, I collaborate with you in navigating your grief and the process of integrating your loss into your ongoing life.

Sessions are offered face to face on the Gold Coast and Northern NSW or Online.

Trauma Sensitive Yoga

Understanding that trauma is a human adaptive response to something that has happened, and that this response resides within the body provides an opportunity to explore an wholistic approach to healing. The lived experience of trauma influences all aspects of a person’s wellbeing, psychological, emotional and physical, including a person’s connection with their body and their relationship with others. Integrating embodiment practices which invite awareness of sensations and choice over their body, can assist a persons ability to reconnect, re-pattern and restore safety as they integrate changes within their nervous system, supporting recovery.

Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is a methodology developed by the Justice Resource Centre’s Trauma Centre in Massachusetts. It is an empirically validated clinical treatment for complex and developmental trauma or treatment resistant PTSD. A mindful, body based therapy with a foundation in trauma theory, attachment theory and neuroscience, this approach is based on traditional Hatha yoga.

In all sessions an environment is offered from a foundation of:

Respect - for your personal boundaries and experiences, with no hands on assists or adjustments or sharing of experiences of trauma

Choice - in all options which are offered from a place of invitation and self agency over your body, with no emphasis on “doing it right”

Reconnection - a shared authentic experience offering opportunities of reconnection to your physical experience at your own pace

Empowered - through nurturing a person’s capacity and choice in their recovery and growth 

Maia offers TCTSY through individual sessions, groups and workshops, including:

  • Individual sessions (in person or online)

  • Small group classes

  • Trauma Sensitive Yoga programs customised for clients accessing organisations & services

  • Trauma Sensitive Yoga & Trauma Informed Care information sessions for workplaces

  • Trauma Sensitive Yoga Self Care sessions for organisations & staff who care for others

Maia offers all sessions and workshops face to face on the Gold Coast and Northern NSW.

For more information or research on Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga:

https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/

The Centre for Trauma and Embodiment