If you’re like most people dealing with stress, trauma, and relationship issues, you’re looking for ways to calm your body, relax your nervous system, and feel in safe in your own skin.

Years ago, when I first designed and created the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Groups, my colleague, Janina Fisher, referred all her clients to the group. She said her clients get better faster after taking the group.

I want the same for you.

I want you to have the experience of calming your body, soothing your heart and training your mind to go where you want it to go instead of where your history propels you.

Healing from painful histories is hard. That’s true. It takes longer than any of us would ever want it to.

I know the experience well. Truth is, when my memories first came up I asked my therapist at the time, Rachel Brier, how long it would take to “lick this – get over it? After all, I’m an Aries.” I said with utmost confidence. “I’m used to making things happen quickly.”

I remember the look on Rachel’s face. It went a little blank, in that perfect therapist fashion. Rachel gently put the question back on me, “How long do you think it will take?"

Gosh, that moment feels so fresh in my mind! I replied with ease, “Oh, I figure I can do this in 6 months.” (I can hear you laughing!)

Well, as you can imagine, it look a few more months, many more months that added up to many years.

It was during those years that I kept you in mind.

Sounds funny doesn’t it? It’s true though. It wasn’t enough for me to do this for myself.

I was absolutely committed to finding a way through for myself so that I could lend a hand to others who were struggling.

The Becoming Safely Embodied Skills are the result of my figuring out how to do exactly that: become safely embodied again. Over the last 15 years it’s been an honor to know that the skills are helpful to others as well.

You know, Deirdre your words, 'we are deliberately and consciously changing our lives' are fundamentally important to trauma survivors. The root trauma left us with no control whatsoever. At the mercy of the trauma. Utterly helpless.

How miraculous it is to read your words and know, from one (you) who has worked with the practice so intensely, that we can change our lives.

We do not have to live ever subservient to the trauma as it replays its destructive cycle. To know and believed we can choose to change is to me a miracle.

I know in the BSE you refer to 'choice points'. I have often reminded myself that there are choice points every day I survive. Sometimes I pop post it notes around to remind me, sometimes I light a candle of thanks and open to Spirit with gratitude.

Bunchy (UK)

Before my memories came up I was living a really active life, in my body all the time, cycling about 250 miles a week in the mountains and hills of the Berkshires, doing yoga and meditation every day, swimming 4-5 times a week intensively, and running every day. I loved it. Loved being in my body.

That all changed when my memories came up. It was like I hit a brick wall, no longer wanting to do anything. In fact I was running away from being anywhere near my body. Where before I enjoyed the ease that came being active or deep in meditation I now encountered a cesspool when I slowed down and tried to go inside. I felt like a burn victim – my skin raw, no longer holding back the roiling, overwhelming, inflamed experience that I lived in inside. It was horrible.

Over the years I had great therapy from some wonderful therapists. They helped me put the pieces together again.

I found though, that as wonderful as my therapists were, there were many, many, sometimes torturous hours between each therapy session. I battled with myself daily, trying to figure out what the heck was going on and how I could find my way through.

I won’t bore you with all the details, but the sum of all the years of healing became the Becoming Safely Embodied skills.

I first launched the group in the Boston area in the late 1990’s.

Over the years I’ve had at least one group a year. Then as the demand grew I often had multiple groups happening at the same time often with the help of Janina Fisher who co-led groups with me.

It was a joy to see people to getting the help they were looking for – and getting better as a result of the skills and the work they were doing with their individual therapist.

Since then I’ve gotten phone calls and emails from people wanting to know if a group was near them. Many people are lucky to find therapists throughout the US, Canada, Ireland, and the UK who have been trained to lead the Becoming Safely Embodied groups. I get emails from many of you and I’m moved by the stories of your healing.

Here’s a video of the Chicago, Illinois therapist Michelle Rieff as she talks about using the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills with one of her clients. Although the skill Michelle and her client used in the therapy session produced incredible results quickly they don’t always have that immediate a result. One key component that helped this client was that the client used the skill multiple times on her own between sessions.

Yet, there are others who don’t have Becoming Safely Embodied groups nearby, or for whom the times don’t work or it’s too threatening to go to a group where your professional cover might be breached.

This transformational journey may be for you.

I wanted a way to support you to have the full healing that is possible. The benefits of doing the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Course are many:

• You’ll learn the essential skills that comprise the Becoming Safely Embodied skill set that as you practice them can help free you from the suffering of a traumatic history


• You’ll have time to practice them, implement them, explore how they work and then ask questions of me and other participants, share your insights and awareness as you grow and deepen into your own internal wisdom


• All the calls are recorded which allows you to listen live or to listen when you want, where you want. You’ll have the material to keep and practice on your own


• You can share yourself freely while also staying as anonymous as you like (If you like I will be the only one knowing your true name)


• You’ll have free 24/7 access to the private, confidential BSE Skills Online Blog where you can interact with others who are on the same healing journey

A quick note, I have your audios in my iTunes, so I just let them continue playing, one after the other, listening in as I am going through my day. It was really good to do the piece at the end of the jittery anxiety audio of exhaling with a rush of breath. Needed!

(Therapist, Arizona, USA)

Many people find the community spirit that grows through the course to be one of the key ingredients to their healing.

In addition I actively connect with anyone who wants to in the course to support them in adapting the skills to their lives, in their own way. Here’s what one person wrote after participating in one of the courses:

I really do feel that you do understand. You have an amazing way with words and a special way of responding. Reading the blog it feels like you are alongside each participant.

(Therapist, New England, USA)

What you will get out of this?

I’ve culled the essential Becoming Safely Embodied skills to give you the basics. I just finished teaching the Embodied Practices Course to heart-warming results from people.

Six-Week Becoming Safely Embodied
Transformational Journey

The full six week Becoming Safely Embodied Transformational Journey is about giving you step by step guidance to allow you to live in your life, differently. As you practice, you will make steps forward in your healing.

Learning the skills was a great thing! I was totally reluctant, afraid and skeptical about this group. But I found that my fear was hit right on the mark because the skills directed me to work with fear and other stressful emotions in remarkable and revolutionary ways.

(Peter, Europe)

Knowing the basics of how your history affects your body, mind, heart, and soul will give you some perspective and begin the process of creating organization out of the inner chaos.

Most of us, when we’re overwhelmed by life get really jumbled inside. It all feels like a big mess. We can’t slow down our mind, our thoughts race, our bodies, well, it’s usually our nerves feel like they are going to explode out of our skin. Or the only recourse is to shut down, crawl into our beds and not come out again.

The specific skill of this section explores the basic building blocks of each and every moment and gives ways to untangle the moment so we can feel grounded and steady.

With an understanding of some of the basic brain functions we’ll explore how to create more internal space by how we can put a wedge into overwhelming experience.

A helpful tool to understanding your internal psychology is to develop abiding and integrating relationships with the various parts of you that are holding different perspectives, interests, memories, all holding a positive intent to protect, serve, and guard against painful internal and external intrusions. The more we are able to do that the more we can sit in our true nature: calm, compassionate, kind, considerate, caring, thoughtful. The positive qualities are endless and worthy of cultivating.

This is one of the skills people tell me they use over and over again: learning how to deconstruct the triggering that happens. One of the most painful realities is when you get triggered, when you’re catapulted into fear, terror, panic, or have to numb against something. As you use the Parallel Lives to map out your internal psychological territory you’ll find yourself less prone to being ambushed.

This group was very important for me. I am grateful to you for honoring our path. The skills have given me new power in dealing with triggers. I feel more like “me” than ever before.

(client in Chicago Becoming Safely Embodied group with Andrea Gundersen)

One of the best news of all time is when you know you can alter the course of your lives, by that I mean you learn that you’re not stuck. This module in the Becoming Safely Embodied Course helps you learn to harness your energy and go where you want to go instead of being propelled somewhere by your history.

Have you ever heard yourself talking about something in your life and it feels like you’ve said it so many times? It’s like a story that has got more juice the more you’ve told it.

Well, this section of the course is about releasing those old stories and finding new stories that are motivating and propel you into the life you want.

The skill that had the largest impact on me was identifying thoughts/feelings/sensations. Before this group I had no idea what was going on in my body. Now having the language to talk about good/bad T-F-S is amazing!

(client, BSE online course, Australia)

Here’s how you’ll get the course:

6 hour-long live calls chock full of the material gathered over the last 15 years of working with the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills. You’ll get the most up to date information on how I use the skills. The calls will be loaded with questions and comments from you that I’ll gather each week.

Private, confidential, secure blog

The BSE skills blog is a place to explore with others, to get feedback from me, post your comments, questions, thoughts, and experiences.

The lively conversation there helps create an ongoing conversation for practice between sessions, helping you to integrate between each session. This will give you as the support you need to take what you learn and put it into practice in your life.

And, of course, there's support

Each week I’ll be inviting you to check in with me about how your practice is progressing and to ask any questions that have come up for you. I want you to apply the skills to your life. You’ll get that by being engaged with the material while in the middle of your life.

You’ll have my full attention.

You’ll also have access to me through email between sessions where you can ask additional questions. I’ll answer either on the calls or on the blog.

I’ll be responding directly to your questions and comments. I want you to experience the benefits of these skills. I’ll be right there with you to help!

Thanks for your very thoughtful responses to my lengthy rambling. I appreciate the insight and great care with which you respond. I appreciate being “gotten” in this way as so much of the burden of the depression and dark parts is feeling so isolated with it. The blog helps me feel more connected as others share their difficult experiences so we know we are not so alone with it. Much to ponder and be grateful for.

(client, United States)

Contained Self-Paced

You’ll have the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Course delivered to you for six Fridays in a row, one session at a time. You’ll get the material and be able to work on it when it works for you.

My goal is to help you learn the skills to have the life you want and to be with you as you apply the skills to your life. I want to you feel free to ask questions and to find ways to make the skills your own.

Any questions?

Feel free to email me if you want more information or if you have questions you want answered.

(Oh, yeah. There are two small points I have to tell you.

1. As powerful as these skills are-- they only work when you practice them!
2. This transformational journey will give you everything that I know about the basic skills for healing your life but they aren’t psychotherapy and they aren’t a substitute for good therapy. Doing this course doesn’t not qualify as psychotherapy.)

 

Here’s what is included in the
Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Course
Starting Saturday, April 14, 2012

Six Modules each with an hour long audio of in depth material on the subject 6 calls on Saturdays Starting April 14, 2012 Click here for your time zone http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock
Audio Recordings of each call
Professionally Designed PDF Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Manual (173 pages)
Private, confidential blog
Questions collected from the check-ins to which I give detailed written answers (taking out any personal or identifying details, of course)
Please Join Us for the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Course When I teach the BSE skills in person the fee is well over $1500. The online courses allow me to make this as affordable as possible for all of you to thrive, which is why the price is as low as it is.	$305

Ready to live more comfortably and easily in your own body?

Join us for the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Course.

Click the button for the Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Course - $305

Deirdre