Group Reiki Session : Trauma
- Ann De Corte
- Apr 19, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: May 3, 2023
This session started with an introduction about trauma by the Program Director of the CSCDE: Erika Narducci, social worker.
What is trauma?
Trauma is derived from the Greek word “wound.”
Mental health providers define it as “exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence in one or more of four ways: (a) directly experiencing the event; (b) witnessing, in person, the event occurring to others; (c) learning that such an event happened to a close family member or friend; and (d) experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of such events.”
What might trauma look like in my life?
Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical.
Trauma can cause:
Shock, denial, or disbelief.
Confusion, difficulty concentrating.
Anger, irritability, mood swings.
Anxiety and fear.
Guilt, shame, self-blame.
Withdrawing from others.
Feeling sad or hopeless.
Feeling disconnected or numb.
What are evidence-based therapies and practices that can help?
The best protective factors against the effects of trauma may already be in place in your life: family, friends, faith, exercise, self-care.
Recommended types of therapy in individual therapy sessions for those suffering from trauma are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing).
Evidence suggests group therapy may be best for those who have experienced trauma because we sit with others who understand. Healing comes through: realizing we are not alone, hearing suggestions, encouraging others, expressing empathy, and talking about what we have experienced.
Regular meditation, yoga, exercise, Reiki, journaling, connecting with nature and practicing grounding techniques all can help reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, sadness and fear.
Want to know more? Watch this video with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Out of this video, I learned that knowing that your reactions are understandable is very important to begin to recover from trauma.
After this introduction, we did the 4-7-8 breathing exercise. This breathing pattern helps manage and reduce anxiety and can help people get to sleep.
In the middle of the room, my big sphere of Black Obsidian, a root chakra stone which is all about our sense of security, stability and safety radiated power, protection and grounding. It is also keeps negative energies at bay and gives everyone the courage to face their inner truths. (Obsidian is a volcanic glass that is created when magma is pushed to the earth's surface and is cooled very rapidly).
Our living room in the CSCDE offers a very comfortable space (three couches + antigravity chairs) to lay down and feel relaxed and safe. My clients were asked to join me on a journey to a fountain for healing. Before the guided meditation started, they smelled the aroma of the essential oil sampler they had chosen. I was so pleased to hear that everyone in the room had found their fountain and added a lot of details and emotions in their feedback. Three out of four ladies went back to their childhood feeling very safe and happy. I was most honored to hear these amazing stories and felt very accomplished in my goal. I asked the ladies to keep this sampler and smell it again whenever they felt anxious. This way, they will go back to the Reiki room feeling safe and happy again.
Awaken the healer within
The body has within itself a desire, a movement towards BALANCE, always! We have what we need inherently to heal.
Traumatic events tend to activate the right hemisphere of the brain and deactivate the left. The right brain is the intuitive, emotional, visual, spatial, tactile and artistic side. It stores memories of sound, touch and smell.
When you smell, you have to be in the moment. That is one of the reasons I was drawn to take a Foundations course in Aromatherapy.
The essential oils themselves are not treating the trauma but smelling them can trigger a memory based experience. If it is a good memory, smelling the aroma will bring back that memory and make one feel good again. If, on the contrary, it is a negative memory based experience, you can recognize it, rebuild the relationship and take the opportunity to create a new relationship. We all have the ability to rewire our brain.
EXPERIENCE + EMOTION + AROMA = MEMORY
During the Aroma Summit, my aromatherapy instructor Jade Shutes presented a session on the benefits of essential oils for trauma & resilience.
So based on this presentation, I made synergies with the following essential oils: Rose, Neroli, Ginger, Sweet Orange, Lavender, Vetiver, Mandarin, Jasmine, Lemon.
Here is a list of 12 samples (3 ml bottles) of synergies for my clients to try:
Clary Sage, Tea Tree & Peppermint in Jojoba oil. (good one for anger)
Jasmine in Sweet Almond oil
idem
Neroli in Sweet Almond oil
idem
idem
Neroli & Rose in Sweet Almond oil
idem
Lemon, Sweet Orange & Mandarin in fractionated Coconut oil
idem
Lemon, Vetiver & Ginger in fractionated Coconut oil
idem
Typically, when I make roll-ons, I use the 10 ml glass bottles. They are so easy to put in one's bag/purse and also great for traveling.
Recently, I bought some 5 ml pink bottles that I absolutely love! Here are some of the synergies I created:
Lemon, Ginger & Vetiver in fractionated Coconut oil
Rose in Jojoba oil
Sweet Orange, Mandarin & Rose in Jojoba oil
For acute trauma, I have made a roll-on with the synergy: Helichrysum, Mandarin and Rose absolute. It is very powerful. If there are any takers, let me know.
Jade also shared a couple of very insightful quotes of experts in their field:
"Trauma is a state of high arousal in which normal coping mechanisms are overwhelmed in response to the perception of threat." Dr. Lou Cozolino
"Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness." Dr. Peter A. Levine
"Trauma is not what happens to you, it's what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you." Dr. Gabor Maté
"We come into the world wired to connect. Trauma is a chronic disruption of connectedness." Dr. Stephen Porges
Interested in reading some books on trauma healing?
"The body keeps the score" by Bessel van der Kolk
"Holistic Cancer Care" by Chanchal Cabrera
"Aromatherapy for Healthcare and Practice" by Madeleine Kerkhof
Photo credit: Jade Shutes
Comments