A Trauma-Warrior Learns to Be Her Own Hero

The following is a blog piece I was invited to write for The Hope Chest, which includes survivor stories, at the Tristate Trauma Network:

For those of you working as trauma recovery advocates, I applaud you. And I thank you with all of my heart. I could not have made it to this beautiful place of tranquility and joy without the guidance of my therapists, most notably my four years in EMDR therapy. As healing guides, you know that it is up to survivors to do the necessary work. There is no magic wand to be waved over the adverse experiences and their resulting impact on the brain, body, and spirit. As much as we survivors wish it so. We are the ones who must return to the darkness, and, at the very least, allow the remnants of those bleak experiences to be processed in a healthy manner.

As I dumped my compartmentalized traumas onto the floor in the safety of Dr. Hensley’s office, I was also working in a mental health agency with kids through the school system. There we were, these struggling kiddos and me, learning about breathing strategies for reregulating our bodies, and silly-fun animal yoga poses, and taking nature walks on the playground searching for treasures and heart-shaped pebbles. I was helping them build their coping skills toolboxes . . . not realizing I was building my own in the process. A beautiful podcast guest on my show once named these skills: complimentary healing strategies. And that spoke to my soul.

I walked away from my Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (that’s a mouthful!) therapy and my mental health agency position feeling empowered and hopeful. Knowing my brain was malleable, due to learning about the science of neuroplasticity, I knew I had to share my story of hope with others in every way possible. A blog. A podcast. A book. Therapy dog volunteer work. Speaking engagements. Online summits. Interviews. And now . . . online courses and coaching!

I had reached out to several of my previous podcast guests, many of whom are #1 best-selling authors and successful therapists, coaches, researchers, and motivational speakers, asking for their guidance on growing my audience, publishing my book, and helping my soul work blossom. Over forty of them responded with an enthusiastic, “Of course I’ll help you!”. I now have a spreadsheet filled with resources, from the names of their publishers and agents, to marketing ideas and free Facebook groups for writers, podcasters, coaches, and healers. What a treasured gift.

Several of them advised me, “Teri, you need to take your incredible trauma recovery knowledge and create online courses.” The survivor in me thought, “Me? Why would anyone want to learn from ME?” The thriver in me, however, did a happy dance and exclaimed, “Yeah, I do!” So, I started researching my options. Kajabi, Udemy, Thinkific, Podia, Teachable, and so many more had my head swirling. However, as I always do, I persevered and finally narrowed it down to Teachable. It helped that I had just joined PodMatch and its creator, Alex Sanfilippo, had reached out to me seeking my advice on improving his platform. As we chatted, I mentioned creating an online course and possibly using Teachable, when he responded, “That’s who I use.” That answered that prayer!

And I dove in. Spending weeks creating content, editing, mulling over ideas, cheering myself on, submitting lectures to my Teachable Onboarding Specialist for her feedback, and launching a pre-sale on the two courses I completed: a Trauma-Warrior 1-Day Introductory Course and a Be Your Own Hero 10-Day Course. I cried tears of joy as they went live, knowing the pain of my past was weaved with the hope of my triumph to create these complimentary healing lessons!

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The Course Curriculum for the Trauma-Warrior course, which is intended to give students a sampling of content available in the more in-depth Be Your Own Hero course, includes:

Trauma-Warrior Welcome

Module 1: ACEs Science Introduction

Module 2: Healing Strategies Intro

Module 3: The Positive Effects of Hope

Module 4: Positive Affirmations

Module 5: Mini Meditation

Module 6: Continue Your Hope for Healing Journey

The Course Curriculum for the Be Your Own Hero 10-Day Course, which includes videos, challenges, prompts, a bonus gift, and more, consists of:

Welcome!

Day 1: Review of 1-Day Course and Upcoming Content

Day 2: ACEs Science and Writing

Day 3: Healing Strategies

Day 4: Hope Science

Day 5: Power of Positivity

Day 6: A Deeper Dive into Forgiveness

Day 7: Mindfulness & Meditation

Day 8: Creating Your Own Healing Plan

Day 9: Summarizing What You’ve Learned and Additional Material

Day 10: Continuing Your Healing Journey

I also elected to meet with my fellow survivors in a coaching role. Not to delve out therapeutic advice, as I gladly leave that to the licensed professionals, but, rather, to offer a hand to hold in a been-there-done-that survivor role. Only I’ve transitioned into thriver mode and have a plethora of street cred to share. I joke that I have a PhD in trauma survival! My goal with this service is to walk alongside those with trauma history or adverse childhood experiences, particularly those with higher ACEs scores, me on one side, a therapist on the other, both of us holding a hand, encouraging our triver-to-be, “You’ve got this! I believe in you!” as their inner trauma-warrior learns to be their own hero.

Peace and blessings,
Teri Wellbrock

Trauma-Warrior #hopeforhealing

P.S. Register for courses and/or coaching at academy.teriwellbrock.com and subscribe to my Hope for Healing Newsletter at https://teriwellbrock.com/ Also, be sure to join me for hope-filled conversations on The Healing Place Podcast on your favorite podcast audio outlet or on the Teri Wellbrock YouTube channel.

The Healing Place Podcast: Jen Johnson – Everyday Mindful

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunesBlubrrySpotify, or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also watch our insightful interview on YouTube.

I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down with Jen Johnson to discuss the gifts contained in mindfulness practice, her counseling services as well as her coaching work with clients all over the world, her photography and writing outlets, along with sharing pieces of her own healing journey with us. Thank you, Jen, for joining me on the podcast and shining your beautiful light of hope into the world.

Bio:

“Jen Johnson, MS, MS, MFA, LPC, CRC, BCC, E-RYT is a mindfulness coach, Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and Licensed Professional Counselor. She is also a photographer and writer. Jen teaches mindfulness for mind body healing. Her areas of specialty include women’s health and wellness (thyroid disorders, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, weight loss), stress reduction, healing from trauma and difficult times, creativity, and grief and loss. Jen offers a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction MBSR online 8-week course that teaches mindfulness meditation and gentle yoga for stress reduction.”

Find out more about Jen’s mission at www.everydaymindful.com.

Facebook: @EverydayMindful   Instagram:@MeditateCreate  Twitter: @EverydayMindful


copyright Jen Johnson

copyright Jen Johnson

Peace to you all!
Teri

Hope for Healing Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/741bdf08d718/hope-for-healing-newsletter-may-2019

Book Launch Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unicornshadows/

The Healing Place Podcast Interview: Jason Lee – Living with the Dragon

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunes, Blubrry or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also watch our insightful interview on YouTube.

What a deeply engaging yet fun-filled conversation I enjoyed with Jason Lee, discussing his personal triumphs and passion to help others, particularly men, along their healing journey from anger to tranquility. Thank you, Jason, for sharing your inspirational mission and shining the light of hope.

Bio:

“Jason Lee is an author based out of Coquitlam BC. He’s also a mental health advocate and speaker at events across Canada. His book Living with the Dragon, Healing 15000 Days of Abuse and Shame has received praise from counselors and comes highly recommended as a resource particularly for men in recovery from depression, anxiety and anger stemmed from childhood abuse trauma and trauma. He’s also the host of the Mangry Podcast which aims to redefine how men manage their anger. The Mangry Podcast is on iTunes and Spotify.

Jason believes that everyone has a story to share and it’s a matter of finding that delicate space of trust and compassion to do that in. He found his voice through speaking, writing, podcasting and blogging, connecting people through inspirational words and ideas.

Jason enjoys basketball, exercising, camping, board games and spending time with his son.

Visit: ImJustJason.com to learn more.”

Find out more about Jason’s inspirational work at https://imjustjason.com/.

P.S. After we recorded our interview, Jason created his own podcast, Mangry: Redefining Men’s Anger. Be sure to check it out on Spotify and iTunes!

Peace to you all!
Teri

Hope for Healing Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/9813e51db66b/hope-for-healing-newsletter-december-2018

Book Launch Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unicornshadows/

The Healing Place Podcast Interview: Suzie Gruber – NARM & Somatic Experiencing

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunes, Blubrry or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also watch our insightful interview on YouTube.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful conversation with Suzie Gruber regarding the utilization of NARM (Neuroaffective Relational Model) and Somatic Experiencing, both non-intrusive approaches to healing traumatic events and ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), her personal history with these approaches on both personal and professional levels, along with some joyous laughter throughout.

Bio: Suzie Gruber, M.A., SEP., holds advanced degrees in chemistry & psychology. She spent 15 years in biotechnology before returning to her first love: inspiring people to transform their lives.  A Somatic Experiencing and a Neuroaffective Relational Model (NARM) Practitioner in private practice in Ashland, OR Suzie also leads seminars that teach people about complex trauma and the imprints it leaves behind. Additionally, Suzie is the Research Director for the NARM Training Institute and assists NARM practitioner trainings.

From Suzie’s website:

“My deepest passion lies in helping you improve your life today. You have an innate drive towards connection, aliveness, and success, a primal urge that gives you the strength and courage to change, regardless of what you face along the way. I’m here to help you do that.

I came to this place in a kind of circuitous way. After earning undergraduate and graduate degree in Chemistry (Harvey Mudd College and then Princeton University), I spent 15 years in the biotechnology industry working in Operations for start-up companies. Although I was quite successful in my career and I enjoyed the never ending, high energy challenges of start-ups, my first career never quite fit the deeper me. I had to honor my own primal urge to do what I love, help you come alive.

When I learned about peak oil, environmental issues, and the instabilities in our economic system, I knew I had to listen to my own deeper voice. I decided to completely rebuild my professional life from the ground up, first getting a Master’s Degree in Psychology and then becoming a Somatic Experiencing® (SE) practitioner and most recently training in the Neuroaffective Relational ModelTM. I offer a combination of these two modalities because they changed my life. I moved away from feeling crisis-driven on a daily basis, to instead experiencing each day with greater aliveness and success and enjoying more satisfying relationships.”

Find out more about Suzie’s healing work at https://suziegruber.com/

Be sure to download her FREE Stress First Aid Kit ebook, too! https://suziegruber.com/getyourfreebook/

Peace to you all!
Teri

Hope for Healing Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/9813e51db66b/hope-for-healing-newsletter-december-2018

Book Launch Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unicornshadows/

The Healing Place Podcast Interview: Bob Lancer – 7 Mindsets & Coaching Work

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I’m your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunes, Blubrry or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also view our interview on YouTube!

I was thrilled to engage in an insightful conversation with Bob Lancer regarding his seminar and coaching work related to http://schoolsupportmotivation.com/ and https://7mindsets.com/. Please join us as we discuss his role in:

* changing minds
* working with teachers to help liberate children’s true selves
* his work with adults recovering from abusive relationships
* 7 mindsets demonstrated by the happiest and most successful people on earth

As shared by Bob:

“Bob Lancer has been a parent educator and coach, as well as a professional development trainer for teachers, for over 3 decades. His work includes helping individuals recognize and recover from trauma patterns received in early childhood that keep them locked into self-defeating reaction patterns and intense emotional suffering. He works in association with 7Mindsets (see www.7mindsets.com), a leading edge company that delivers the only Mindsets based Social Emotional Learning programs in schools. For more information about Bob’s work, and to schedule a complimentary coaching session with him, visit www.boblancer.com.”

You can reach out to Bob at his schoolsupportmotivation.com website – be sure to mention this podcast for a free PDF of his upcoming book: “The 7 Mindsets of Extraordinary Parenting.”

Peace to you all!
Teri

Hope for Healing Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/6d83db4cf426/hope-for-healing-newsletter-november-2018

Book Launch Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unicornshadows/

The Healing Place Podcast Interview: Anna Runkle – Crappy Childhood Fairy

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I’m your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunes, Blubrry or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/

I was excited to have Anna Runkle, the Crappy Childhood Fairy, join me for a deep and powerful conversation about her Crappy Childhood Fairy mission, courses, philosophies, and more!

Anna Runkle is a video producer, speaker and writer, and is the author of the blog Crappy Childhood Fairy, where she cartoons and writes about her own childhood, growing up in a hippie family that struggled with alcohol, drugs, violence and poverty. In the blog, Anna writes essays — with her characteristic tough love humor — about the challenges faced by many people with high ACE scores. In the blog and in her online course, Healing Childhood PTSD, she teaches simple techniques that she’s used to overcome the nervous system dysregulation that so often accompanies Childhood PTSD. She’s currently working on a new online course, Dating and Relationships for People with Childhood PTSD, to be released during the holidays. When she’s not blogging, she produces marketing and training videos for healthcare and business clients at her company Click to Play Media. She lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Berkeley, California.

You can find out more information by visiting https://crappychildhoodfairy.com/.

As shared from the Crappy Childhood website: “I didn’t know then that what I had was Childhood PTSD. It’s a little different than the kind that soldiers get (which is triggered by events in adulthood). Mine became obvious one day in 1994 when I was attacked on the street, and was knocked unconscious. My injuries healed but I could not focus my mind enough to read or use the phone for several months. I had panic attacks and depression, and began falling into an emotional abyss. In the nick of time, I was shown a particular daily practice of writing and meditating that immediately made me feel better. Over the last 24 years I’ve shown this technique to hundreds of people who seemed to suffer similarly to me, though none of us had a name for it before.”

Thanks for listening in to this inspirational conversation!

You can also watch our interview on YouTube. So exciting!

Peace,

Teri

The Healing Place Podcast Interview: Stephanie McPhail – Being Loved Shouldn’t Hurt

Shared from The Healing Place Podcast Blubrry page:
 
Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I’m your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunes, Blubrry or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. I am happy to announce that our interview can also be viewed on YouTube!
 
I was excited to have Stephanie McPhail join me for a hope-filled conversation about her “Being Loved Shouldn’t Hurt” mission, personal story of triumph, and more!
 

“Our mission is to provide you with personalized support and resources to assist you in transforming your life into one with greater joy and purpose, less pain and stress, better relationships, more vibrant physical and emotional health, greater balance and effectiveness, and increased resilience to life’s challenges.”
Stephanie is a full-time health teacher, transformational coach, published author, and speaker.
 
Find out more about the incredible healing work Stephanie is doing at:Codependency and Healing Support Group
 
** Free private online Facebook community. https://m.facebook.com/groups/1864199980571495
 
** Online group healing coaching course. In the middle of one now. Please PM me if you are interested in joining the next group starting 11/1!
 
** Free weekly educational FB lives on Being Loved Shouldnt Hurt  Business Page. Please like/follow the page so you can get notified when we go live or share a video.
 
** My number one new release in Codependency Being Loved Shouldnt Hurt
Being Loved Shouldn’t Hurt: Recognize and Overcome Toxic Relationships So You Can Live Your Best Life Now https://www.amazon.com/dp/1987770048/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.eaMBbQDYKA9H
 
** Subscribe to our YouTube  channel Being Loved Shouldnt Hurt by Stephanie McPhail
 
** My amazing husband David Charon is also a part of the team, he offers remote Reiki and a high speed mindset change (to help shift beliefs that keep you from healing) called PsychK
 
We are more than happy to talk with you about anything we offer and share more info, just private message us or send me an email at mindandbodyawakenings@gmail.com or stephanie@beinglovedshouldnthurt.com
 
To learn more about my husband and I please visit our website
 
Peace to you all!
Teri