Episode 17: Trauma Healing, Somatic Psychology, and Human Rights Advocacy: Live Audience Recording Q&A w/ Amber Gray
IN THIS EPISODE:
HEADS UP: We do briefly discuss torture, and there are a few swears words bandied.
This is a recording from our recent live event. Each of our events is aimed at connecting all you lovely bodies with pioneering leaders in our mission to help humans (along with other species) live our embodied wholeness for the benefit of individual and collective healing. We host multiple free events each month. Find our schedule here.
Step into the world of trauma healing, somatic psychology, and human rights advocacy with Amber Gray. With over two decades of experience in supporting survivors of trauma, including torture, war, and human rights abuses, Amber brings a wealth of expertise to her work. Through her innovative approach, which integrates dance/movement therapy, mindfulness, and creative arts, Amber offers a unique perspective on healing that honors the resilience and strength of the human spirit.
Join Ali and Amber, and our participating listeners, as they explore the profound lessons gleaned from working with survivors from diverse cultural backgrounds. From the complexities of dissociation to the transformative power of Restorative Movement Psychotherapy, Amber shares invaluable insights and practices for healing trauma. Gain a deeper understanding of the adaptive function of dissociation and discover practical tools for promoting resilience and well-being in the face of adversity.
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MORE ALI MEZEY:
Website: www.alimezey.com
Personal Geometry® and the Magic of Mat Work Course information:
www.alimezey.com/personal-geometry-foundations
Transgenerational Healing Films: www.constellationarts.com
MORE AMBER GRAY:
To be with Amber and the whales
Amber's Episode of The Brilliant Body Podcast: Trauma and the Body with Amber Gray: Regulation, Restoration, & The Patience of Whales
BIO: Amber is a Human Rights Psychotherapist and a Somatic and Dance/Movement Therapist who has worked with survivors of interpersonal, collective and intergenerational trauma, particularly torture, war, and human rights abuses, for 25 years. Amber provides clinical and transformational training on her Right to Embody trainings integrating refugee mental health and torture treatment with creative arts, mindfulness, and body-based therapies for programs serving survivors worldwide. She, with her clients, created a resiliency-based framework and clinical approach (Restorative Movement Psychotherapy) for somatic and movement therapies with survivors of trauma in multi-cultural contexts, and they also co-created Polyvagal-informed Somatic and Dance/Movement therapy, based on 24 years immersion in Polyvagal Theory. The latter is the subject of her upcoming book, Roots, Rhythm and Reciprocity, to be published by Norton. She regularly facilitates WildZeNess Eco-somatic Body of Change retreats for survivors, and caregivers and practitioners, serving communities affected by injustice, oppression and trauma.
ALI'S FAVORITE AMBER QUOTES FROM THIS SESSION:
"The prayer makes itself."
"Show up, shut up and get what's going on."
"Who's your body now?"
"I am, therefore I am. I sense therefore I am." (Take that, René!)
"Our neural circuitry is cheerleading our survival at all times."
GLOSSARY:
Interception: the collection of senses providing information to the organism about the internal state of the body. This can be both conscious and subconscious. It is the ability to be aware of internal sensations in the body, including heart rate, respiration, hunger, fullness, temperature, and pain, as well as emotion sensations.
Bioplasticity: every system in your body can change and adapt based on your life experiences and environment.
LINKS, RESOURCES & INSPIRATION:
VoDou: “ Vodou is both a religion and a way of being. It is a uniquely Haitian religion; an amalgam of the religions and traditions originating in and on the Continent, that arrived to Haiti’s shores with the ships carrying those enslaved and stolen from their land. To learn more read Mimerose Beaubrun's book Nan Domi: https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/nan-domi-1/
CONTINUUM MOVEMENT: Founder, the brilliant Emilie Conrad, gives an introduction
JUDY HERMAN: Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror
THE POLYVAGAL THEORY/Stephen Porges
MARIAN CHACE: Founder of Dance Therapy
GABRIELLE ROTH: Founder of 5RHYTHMS
DR. ANGWYNN ST JUST: Founder of Trauma University
GOLDSMITHS University of London: MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy
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[From time to time, a word or phrase goes wonky. Please forgive my wandering wifi.]