Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, will discuss the second edition of her book, Building Resiliency to Trauma, with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute.

During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened.

The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology.

Using two evidence-informed models of intervention that are trauma-informed and resiliency-informed—the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)—chapters distill complex neuroscience into understandable concepts and lay out a path for fostering short- and long-term healing.

CRM develops natural leaders who share wellness skills throughout communities as primary prevention, and TRM focuses on training mental health professionals to reprocess traumatic experiences.

Studies have demonstrated that the models' use leads to significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and both models also increase well-being. The models restore balance after traumatic experiences and can be used as tools to cultivate well-being across cultures and abilities throughout the lifespan.

In this episode, Dr. Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey shares her work as the Creative Voice + Community Connections Director for ALTA Arts Collective, a volunteer-led organization of artists, educators, and community leaders dedicated to providing opportunities for healing, expression, and togetherness in the wake of the #EatonFire. 🔊 Listen on… Libsyn: https://bit.ly/VA_ResiliencyWithin Spotify: https://bit.ly/RW-Spotify Apple: https://apple.co/41eOR3G Clarissa is an Altadena resident since 2002, abstract artist, transformational life coach, and organizational psychologist, whose work centers on self-discovery, creativity, and wellness. Through her company, Clarissa Ramsey Studio, Clarissa serves clients in groups, 1-on-1, and through her capstone online events. Her summits and programs, including Creative Care Summit, Painting Your Path™ to Self-Expression, and The Art of Becoming have helped over 4,500 creatives and professionals step into their full potential. ALTA's mission is to build an inclusive and welcoming artistic community that values camaraderie, collaboration, and creativity. We believe in the power of art to connect people and enrich lives. Clarissa helps lead projects such as the Community Canvas Project and Strong Through Art programs—initiatives that bring artists and the community together to rebuild, reconnect, and imagine new possibilities through the transformative power of creativity.

Since January 8th, the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) has been actively supporting survivors of the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire.

Our team has offered Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® workshops across Los Angeles County for individuals and families impacted by these devastating events, called Disaster Relief Mobilization, Community Resiliency Model (DRM-CRM)

Through CRM Workshops, Circles of Connection, the Legacy Project, and other healing and supportive gatherings, TRI has provided spaces for community members to learn wellness skills, share their experiences, and reconnect with hope and resilience.

These programs aim to strengthen nervous system regulation, foster collective healing, and help restore a sense of safety and belonging for Angelenos affected by the fire.

Michael Sapp will discuss the fire recovery response made by the Trauma Resource Institute with our host, Elaine Miller-Karas.

Dr. Michael Sapp and our host, Elaine Miller Karas will discuss the work of the Trauma Resource Institute as they work with an international team bringing the Community Resiliency Model to our world community.

They will discuss the mission and purpose of the Trauma Resource Institute and how, through simple biological skills, they have increased individual and community well-being.

How do we nurture compassion, empathy, and kindness in a world so marked by human pain? How do we hold fast to our shared humanity when fear, indifference, or the misuse of power erode it? How do we protect the innocence and empathy of children growing up surrounded by violence and injustice?

How do we cultivate compassion within ourselves, our children?

The answers to these questions are complex, and they will discuss what they have been privileged to witness worldwide as individuals and communities grapple with these questions.

Dr. Ilene Naomi Rusk shares her trauma-informed and science-based approach to brain health and optimal longevity in this encore episode.

During these unprecedented stressful times, her approach is essential in today's world.

She's developed a user-friendly way of using a functional medicine approach to help prevent Alzheimer's and improve cognitive health.

Dr. Rusk focuses mainly on helping her patients build stress resilience, and she focuses on numerous lifestyle pillars of brain health.

These lifestyle pillars, like sleep, diet, and movement, and how we engage with them, can directly affect how we think and feel.

Learning to tend to our nervous system, healing traumas, and building emotional and behavioral regulation can help expand our capacity to deal with the challenges and hardships we inevitably face.

She combines many trauma healing modalities, such as ancestral archaeology, brainspotting, and somatic techniques, into her biological and spiritual model.

Feeling greater emotional resilience can help us connect with experiences of greater freedom and joy and improve the health of our relationships regardless of our circumstances.

Being a mother has greatly informed her service work as an international humanitarian worker and community health educator.

Across the globe, there exists a pressing demand for effective treatment of complex trauma.

While a growing number of trauma-informed mental health professionals dedicate themselves to supporting individuals, relationships, communities, and systems, the daily confrontation with trauma can take a toll, leading to exhaustion and burnout.

Who stands ready to provide support to these therapists and aiding professionals along their professional journey?

Brad Kammer, a Somatic Psychotherapist, Educator, and NARM® Senior Trainer, serves as the director of the Complex Trauma Training Center (CTTC), a professional organization dedicated to offering therapist training, consultation, mentorship, and community for psychotherapists and mental health professionals working with Adverse Childhood Experiences and Complex Trauma.

Brad will discuss the crucial need mental health professionals have for both continuous professional development and personal support. CTTC is dedicated to empowering therapists and aiding professionals to enhance their effectiveness in working with complex trauma while safeguarding against burnout.

The vision is to cultivate a professional community centered on supporting mental health professionals across three dimensions of human experience: personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal. CTTC will offer comprehensive, ongoing professional development and mentorship opportunities for clinicians, including NARM® Therapist and NARM® Master Therapist training programs.

Grounded in a mentorship framework, CTTC is committed to guiding mental health professionals through their professional voyage of addressing complex trauma, ensuring their sustained growth and well-being. The spirit of CTTC is encapsulated by its three guiding principles: depth, connection and heart. Discover how Brad and the Complex Trauma Training Center team epitomize this spirit and foster a thriving professional community committed to delivering effective, transformative, trauma-informed care.

In this encore presentation, Michael Karlin, one of the creators of Compassionate Integrity Training(CIT), illuminated our listeners about this innovative program that was adopted by UNESCO MGIEP.

The UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO's category 1 Research Institute that focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world.

Resiliency Within welcomes back John Kania and Laura Calderon de la Barca.

Join this conversation with the Collective Change Lab team who are at the leading edge of shifting how organizations, movements, and collective system change efforts are evolving towards more healing-centered ways of working.

John Kania is the Founder and Executive Director of Collective Change Lab. Laura Calderon de la Barca is a psychotherapist specializing in individual, intergenerational, and collective trauma, as well as a collective healing researcher.

The conversation will include thoughts on how, in the years since the massive disruption and unrest triggered by the pandemic, there is greater openness and receptivity to thinking about trauma more expansively than ever before.

Engaging with trauma is increasingly vital as polarization worsens and challenges escalate into a poly-crisis - thankfully, a deeper conversation is taking root on how to mainstream trauma healing.

In this encore episode, Elaine Miller-Karas, host of Resiliency Within, welcomes back Kevin McLeod, Director of Business & Community Development at the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), for a powerful conversation about teens, healing, and hope.

In this episode, Kevin addresses the Trauma Resource Institute's inspiring work bringing the Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) to teens in Georgia's Juvenile Justice System—and how this innovative program can be brought to schools, teen centers, and community clubs everywhere. YAP has recently been applied to the Disaster Relief Mobilization-Community Resiliency Model Program.

YAP empowers teens with simple, science-based wellness skills from the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)—tools that help calm the nervous system and restore well-being after stress or trauma. Through hands-on, experiential training, youth become CRM Teen Ambassadors (CRM-TAs) and learn six easy-to-use skills they can apply for self-care and peer support.

What's more, these young leaders go on to share the skills with their friends and classmates through short, engaging "share-backs" that bring the skills to life in everyday settings—from classrooms to living rooms.

YAP is more than a program—it's a movement to build resilience, foster connection, and inspire hope—one teen at a time.

In a time of deep division, uncertainty, and crisis, Finding Light in the Darkness will explore how we can maintain our well-being, integrity, and hope.

Hosted by Elaine Miller-Karas, an internationally recognized trauma expert and resiliency advocate, she will illuminate practical strategies for navigating today's complex social and political landscape.

Elaine hopes this episode will provide a beacon of light—insights on staying grounded, fostering compassion, and building resilience in the face of adversity.

Elaine is dedicated to empowering listeners to cultivate inner strength and create ripples of change for themselves, their families and their communities.

Join Resiliency Within as Elaine uncovers pathways to healing, unity, and action—because light can be found even in the darkest times.

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About Elaine

Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, is a social worker, trauma therapist, author, lecturer, consultant, VoiceAmerica podcast host, Psychology Today blogger, and social entrepreneur.

She has been called an "ambassador of hope" in the fields of trauma therapy and community resiliency.

As a co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute, Elaine serves as the Director of Innovation. She has led the development of the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models, which have left an indelible global footprint, impacting over 75 countries.

Her book, "Building Resiliency to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Model, Second Edition (2023)," has been recognized by the United Nations and Taylor and Francis. She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today.

She has presented internationally at Oxford University's Skoll World Forum, the United Nations, Resiliency 2024, Medscape, Psychotherapy Networker, the Global Fund, the Carter Center, and the Centers for Disease Control.

Elaine believes in a world where every person is treated with dignity and our differences are acknowledged and respected.