A Salutogenic Coaching Approach
- A Different Approach to Healing trauma -
What is Trauma-Informed Coaching?
Trauma-informed coaching is a Shift from “What’s Wrong With You?” to “What Happened to You, and How Have You Skillfully Survived?”
Trauma-informed coaching is not therapy. It is a forward-focused partnership built on one core understanding: many of the challenges we face—anxiety, relationship struggles, feeling stuck—are not signs of a personal failure. They are often the brilliant, adaptive strategies of a nervous system that learned to survive in difficult conditions.
Think of it this way: your mind and body developed a highly sensitive alarm system to protect you. The problem is, that alarm can sometimes go off when there's no real fire, leaving you feeling constantly on edge, disconnected, or overwhelmed.
As your trauma-informed coach, my role is to:
· Understand Your Unique Alarm System: We’ll explore the neurobiology of your stress responses without judgment, seeing them as evidence of your strength.
· Build Safety from the Inside Out: Before we set big goals, we focus on creating a foundation of emotional and physiological safety. You cannot heal in the same environment that hurt you, and we start by creating a safe internal environment.
· Identify and Leverage Your Strengths: We use an asset-focused approach, uncovering the incredible resilience, intuition, and capacity you already possess. Your survival skills are the very tools we will refine for your thriving.
· Empower You with Choice: Trauma can make you feel powerless. Our work is centered on restoring your sense of agency—the feeling that you are the author of your own life.
In short, trauma-informed coaching provides the map and the tools to help your nervous system recognize that the danger has passed, allowing you to step out of survival mode and back into your life.
The Role of Somatic Awareness Practices
“Somatic” simply means “of the body.” Somatic awareness is the practice of learning to listen to the language of your body—the sensations, impulses, and signals that happen beneath the level of thought.
When we experience stress or trauma, the memory isn't just stored in our minds; it's held in our bodies. This can show up as chronic muscle tension, a nervous stomach, a rapid heartbeat, or a feeling of being "checked out" or disconnected.
Somatic practices are the tools we use to gently and safely release this stored stress and recalibrate your nervous system. They are body-based techniques that help you move from a state of "fight, flight, or freeze" back into a state of "rest and digest," where healing and growth naturally occur.
How We Use Somatic Practices in Our Coaching Sessions:
This is not intense or confrontational work. It is gentle, curious, and always led by your comfort level. In our sessions, we may use simple practices like:
· Grounding & Orienting:
Bringing your awareness to the feeling of your feet on the floor or looking around the room. This simple act tells your brain, "I am here, I am safe in this present moment," pulling you out of traumatic memories.
· Breathwork: Using the breath as a remote control for your nervous system. Specific breathing patterns can directly signal safety to your brain, slowing a racing heart and calming a busy mind.
· Interoception: This is the skill of noticing internal body sensations (like warmth, tension, or fluttering) without judgment. By learning this language, you can catch signs of dysregulation early and use a tool before you become overwhelmed.
· Gentle Movement: Shaking, stretching, or other forms of movement can help your body discharge the pent-up energy that gets stuck during a stress response, creating a profound sense of release and calm.
By integrating the mind and body, we unlock a more complete and lasting path to healing. You learn to become the calm, confident authority in your own skin.
Ready to Write a New Chapter?
You have already done the hardest part: you SURVIVED..... Now, it’s time to thrive! If this compassionate, body-aware approach resonates with you, let's connect.
I offer a complimentary, no-obligation Clarity Call to explore if trauma-informed coaching is the right path for you.