3rd conference “Talking is not enough” – bifocal-multisensory intervention techniques –

From June 20-23, 2019, the Carl-Auer Academy, the advanced training institute for process and embodiment-focused psychology PEP in Bremen and the Milton Erickson Institute Heidelberg and Rottweil hosted an exciting conference. The lectures and workshops focused on the importance of the body in psychotherapy. Angela Dunemann offered a three-hour workshop on “Trauma-sensitive yoga in psychotherapy”. The response was very positive and confirmed how much a perception-oriented yoga can contribute in this context. See abstract

Workshop – trauma-sensitive yoga in psychotherapy

Connection versus dissociation

Yoga, this “ancient science”, has a lot to offer for the healing of people who suffer from the secondary disorders of a trauma. Yoga is a holistic approach, stabilizes the body and mind and has been shown to reduce the symptoms of PTSD.

Both the shape and the effects of traumatic experiences are complex and often complex to consider. The body is always affected in its reactions, the ability to sense is limited or lost.

Bessel van der Kolk was able to show in various clinical studies that yoga significantly reduces the classic PTSD symptoms such as intrusions and hyperarousal.

A trauma leads, among other things, to a changed breath, restricted freedom of movement and past-bound awareness.

Trauma-sensitive yoga is a body-oriented therapeutic approach that is based on classic Hatha yoga and describes itself as perception-oriented.

The special chance lies in the stabilization, the stimulation of self-efficacy and the harmonization of the psycho-vegetative system. The connection of the consciousness with the body’s own resources enables fundamental stabilizing experiences. Certain yoga techniques, such as pranayama, promote self-regulation. This is of central importance in hyper- or hypoarousal states.

It is taught how Hatha Yoga can be adapted in such a way that it can be described as trauma-sensitive. Based on mindful practice, personal experience and communication of sensitivities and body sensations is an integral part. This means that dealing with trigger situations becomes a matter of course in both individual and group settings. It is shown how trauma-sensitive yoga can be integrated into the psychotherapeutic context. Lecture and practical exercises will alternate.

The lecturer draws on her many years of experience with children, adolescents and adults.

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