Therapy and the Body

We’ve been taught through harsh measures to keep our anger stuffed inside, but it’s not gone, it’s right beneath our skin. When anger is unexpressed it can explode out of us in unexpected and sometimes unsafe ways. Hear how I explore and express anger in a way that’s safe and life-affirming. (Please note that there’s a point where I say “our anger is valid” but it kinda sounds like I say “invalid” because of the way I rolled my words together.)

Host Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]

Website: LuJohnsonTherapy.com

Instagram: @LuJohnsonTherapy

Rory shares about traumatic experiences growing up as a gay kid in the Jersey Shore. As a young adult, he found community in City Center Philadelphia where he dove into visual and performance arts and learned that embodied creativity provided an amazing healing opportunity for him. His personal experiences with the healing power of creative expression directly informs his clinical work today.

Phoenix Jackson shares vulnerably about her journey toward healing physical pain by acknowledging the anger she unconsciously held on to from past trauma. She also shares how her practice of material arts and her experience with body pain lead her down the journey to becoming a somatic therapist. Phoenix also shares a practical somatic intervention that decreases anxiety and increases the level of safety felt in the body.

Guest Information:

Website: https://phoenixjacksontherapy.com/

Host Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]

Website: LuJohnsonTherapy.com

Instagram: @LuJohnsonTherapy

We’ve been taught through harsh measures to keep our anger stuffed inside, but it’s not gone, it’s right beneath our skin. When anger is unexpressed it can explode out of us in unexpected and sometimes unsafe ways. Hear how I explore and express anger in a way that’s safe and life-affirming. (Please note that there’s a point where I say “our anger is valid” but it kinda sounds like I say “invalid” because of the way I rolled my words together.

According to Steven Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, our autonomic nervous system has 3 functional systems which correspond to our evolutionary development as humans. When we are met with stimuli, first we respond with the most recent neural pathways, and if that’s not working, we go to the next and so on. Listen to some real life examples of what this means.

This episode introduces the polyvagal theory as important scientific backing for body oriented healing modalities. I’ll share the difference between neuroception and perception which will prompt us to consider how we define safety. I’ll share a personal example to demonstrate how our bodies can be triggered into feeling unsafe, even when external circumstances seem like business as usual.

According to Steven Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, our autonomic nervous system has 3 functional systems which correspond to our evolutionary development as humans. When we are met with stimuli, first we respond with the most recent neural pathways, and if that’s not working, we go to the next and so on. Listen to some real life examples of what this means.    

This episode explains how our earliest relationships with our parents and caregivers impacts our ability to self-sooth and be soothed by another. When we are raised with caregivers who are mostly present, loving, and consistent, we learn the bodily experience of a regulated nervous system. Overtime we learn how to get there on our own. If this was not the case, we may find that we are often outside of our window of tolerance.