Coming Back to You

Combining Somatic Experiencing® with Inner Relationship Focusing to Help Heal Developmental Trauma

6-Week, Live Online Course via Zoom

Are painful experiences from your childhood continuing to hinder you from living more fully?

Perhaps, you find it hard to know what you feel or what you want. Or, maybe you do have a sense of that, but it's hard to actually voice it ... let alone act on that inner knowing. And, even if you do, you may have a crowd of inner critics standing in your way or weighing you down.

For many of us, we may have grown up in environments in which we had to hush our inner knowing and what I call our knowing no as a way of keeping the peace, staying connected and out of trouble.

Understandably, needing to do that over and over again may have caused us to stray farther and farther away from ourselves ... not because we wanted to but because we had to.

Lauren Taub Cohen

I get it. I know what that's like and how confusing it feels when doing what's right feels wrong; whereas, doing what's wrong feels strangely ... right, more comfortable and less risky.

It's disorienting isn't it? No wonder it's hard to make decisions, choose directions and/or navigate tough discussions!

The good news is we are capable of change! Over the course of the six weeks you’ll learn how to …

Cultivate an inner resilience so you can meet stressful moments and challenging times with greater clarity and steadiness

Turn towards and be with big feelings (such as grief and anger) in a gentle and safe way so you don't get overwhelmed

Savor the feel of pleasant experiences as a way of resourcing and nourishing yourself

Discover what makes triggers so darn triggering and what you can do when triggered

Develop an empathic relationship between you and a younger you who may still be suffering in some way

Transform your relationship with inner critics so you experience them as being on your side and having gifts to offer

Tap into the body feel of "Yes! This fits" as a way of reconnecting with your body's wisdom and inner knowing

Exercise agency by following your body's process and honoring what feels right for you

The creation of this course is rooted in my training as both a Somatic Experiencing® (SE) Practitioner and Certified Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF) Professional & Trainer as well as my experiences of working with and within both these body-based processes.

Somatic Experiencing® is a body-oriented approach to healing trauma developed by Peter A Levine, PhD. And, Inner Relationship Focusing is an experiential, body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing developed by Ann Weiser Cornell, PhD and Barbara McGavin

Each class will offer a mix of teachings, guided exercises and discussions.

What is Developmental Trauma?

You know how sunflowers orient themselves toward the sun so they can grow? Well, children who grow up in unstable environments orient towards danger and threats so that they can grow, stay safe and survive. That orienting process literally and metaphorically shapes our bodies and how we live our lives.

Eugene Gendlin, the founder of Focusing, would often say, "Life wants to live." I agree and would extend that by saying, Life wants to live AND it will do what it has to do to to live. Just like plants and animals, our bodies will also adapt and be shaped by the environment in which we find ourselves.

The patterns and habits we perceive as "bad," "wrong" or “in the way” are often healthy responses to an unhealthy environment and/or a traumatic experience(s). They're here for some good reason!

In other words, anxiety isn't bad or wrong ... it's functional! Maybe the conditions in your environment required you to be on alert and quick to anticipate the moves and needs of others. Or, perhaps you had to check out and live more in your head because what you were experiencing ... what you were feeling in your body was simply too much. For others, maybe your environment required you to please and appease as a way of keeping the peace and avoiding conflicts. And for some, lashing out may have been your way of trying to protect yourself and reinforcing boundaries that were repeatedly violated. Often, we developed a mix of necessary adaptive strategies.

Developmental trauma can also be caused by medical procedures, birth difficulties and frightening events.

"How do I know if this course would be good for me?"

This course might be a good fit for you if ...

You feel like your quality of life continues to be impacted by a mix of what you experienced AND what you didn't experience in your childhood

You've worked with healing professionals, read about nervous system regulation, attachment theory and more but still feel stuck… as if all that was helpful and connected some dots but it didn't translate into a lasting shift or easing up of some kind

If this quote resonates with you: "The way one wants to change isn’t just from one category to another, or from being like some people to being like other people. One wants to change precisely into oneself, into more of oneself than one has been able to be so far." - Eugene Gendlin, founder of Focusing

This course might not be a good fit for people who ...

Are currently suffering from severe trauma symptoms and experiencing a lot of dysregulation

Are struggling to function in daily life

Need more individualized support from a psychologist and/or psychiatrist

Course Details

Dates: January 18, 25

February 1, 8, 22, 29

(*** Please note, NO class on 2/15)

Time: 12:30pm to 2:30pm ET

Where: Zoom

Fee: $385

Class Size: 6 - 10 people

(Live attendance encouraged but not required)

Payment Options: Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Last Day to Register: January 11th

To register for this course, click here or email me directly, lauren@metamindsnyc.com

*A sliding scale is available. Please reach out and we can discuss options.

What's included in this course?

A 50-minute, one-to-one Focusing session with me prior to the start of the course or some time during the six week course

12 hours of class time

A thorough workbook containing key points of each class along with each week's guided exercises

Access to audio recordings of each class

Downloadable audio exercises so you can practice what you may have found helpful and supportive

Access to Ruzuku, our online course platform, where you can ask questions and engage in discussions

What if those dates and times don't work for me?

No problem! You don't have to attend this course in person to participate. I realize we all live in different time zones and have different schedules. You can listen to the class recordings at a time that works best for you and still participate in discussions via our class platform, Ruzuku.

Cancellations & Refunds

Up to 14 days before the first day of class: Just let me know and I'll refund your course fee.
- If you've already had your one-to-one session with me your refund would include the course fee minus the cost of that session ($125)
Cancellations received 13 days or fewer before class begins: No refund

Money Back Guarantee

If you feel you didn't receive what you had hoped to receive, please let me know within 30 days after the course ends. My only ask is that you let me know specifically what didn't work for you so I can continue to improve my course offerings. Upon receiving your feedback, I'll gladly refund your course fee.

Still wondering if taking this course would be right for you?

Then, let's schedule a 20-minute call where I can answer any questions you might have. Feel free to email me here or reach out directly, lauren@metamindsnyc.com

* Please note, this course is not psychotherapy or a substitute for psychotherapy. MetaMinds® is not diagnosing, prescribing for or treating any physical or mental ailments or conditions.