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.
