Transforming Emotional Triggers: A Somatic Approach

 $447 USD $99

"Transforming Emotional Triggers: A Somatic Approach," offers a deep dive into understanding and working with emotional triggers through a body-centered lens. It thoroughly explains how triggers are hardwired in the nervous system and manifest as physiological and psychological events, leading to overwhelming experiences. The curriculum integrates mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) with various somatic tools, such as vagal regulation techniques, breathwork, and sensory grounding, to help individuals cultivate embodied self-awareness and expand their window of tolerance for distress. Ultimately, this package empowers both individuals and practitioners to reframe triggers as entry points for profound healing, fostering new pathways of safety, presence, and choice-based responses to transform life-limiting patterns.

About the Program

Emotional triggers can derail therapy sessions, sabotage client progress, and leave both practitioners and clients feeling helpless in the face of overwhelming reactivity. But what if triggers aren't obstacles to avoid—but portals to healing?

This groundbreaking course, created by Dr. Scott Lyons and the Embody Lab, transforms how practitioners understand and work with emotional triggers through a comprehensive somatic lens.

A Paradigm Shift:
Triggers are not just psychological events—they are rapid, automatic physiological sequences hardwired into the nervous system as neural networks from past overwhelming experiences. These bodily responses often arrive before conscious awareness, flooding both body and mind in ways that feel life-limiting and uncontrollable. Understanding this deep embodiment is the key to transformation.

What You'll Learn:
Through expert teaching, demonstrations, and experiential practices, you'll discover how to:

Understanding the Physiology:

• Recognize triggers as hardwired neural networks with distinct physiological markers
• Track rapid shifts in musculature, fascia, organs, and autonomic functions
• Identify how positive feedback loops create overwhelming emotional flooding
• Understand somatic responses as primary signals that precede conscious awareness
• Distinguish between safe and threatening stimuli when the body overcorrects

Somatic Interventions and Tools:

• Apply vagal regulation techniques including diaphragmatic breath and box breathing
• Use self-supportive cranial contact and targeted diaphragm work
• Guide body scan meditations and sensory tracking practices
• Implement broad orienting and grounding techniques like the butterfly hug
• Practice extended breathwork to expand the window of tolerance
• Support clients in completing unmobilized protective responses

Mindfulness and Cognitive Integration:

• Understand Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for trigger management
• Work with rumination, catastrophizing, and the window of resilience
• Cultivate present-moment awareness to create choice-based responses
• Connect thoughts, emotions, and physiological responses

Parts Work and Inner Child Healing:

• Map the trigger zone to identify unique bodily sensations, emotions, and thoughts
• Meet the protector and observe external behavioral responses
• Complete the cycle by allowing the body to express protective actions
• Tenderly embrace the inner child through embodied protector work
• Transform relationships with triggers through four-stage somatic inquiry

Reframing and Empowerment:

• Shift language from "triggered" to "awakened" or "activated" for client empowerment
• View triggers as entry points to implicit memories and unresolved wounds
• Recognize triggers as containing wisdom and keys to healing
• Apply the Window of Transformation framework
• Navigate between containment and exploratory approaches
• Access triggers as portals to pleasure, connection, and aliveness

Building Resilience:

• Develop an emotionally intelligent lifestyle across physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual domains
• Create proactive resourcing practices for trigger prevention
• Improve heart rate variability through consistent regulation practices
• Balance energy expenditure and renewal activities
• Expand capacity through titrated embodied exploration

Polyvagal Understanding:

• Track movement through dorsal (freeze), sympathetic (fight/flight), and ventral (social engagement) states
• Cultivate fluid movement toward ventral vagal for thriving relationships
• Use polyvagal theory as a framework for transforming emotional responses

Essential training for therapists, coaches, and healing professionals ready to help clients transform overwhelming reactivity into opportunities for profound healing and expanded aliveness.

About your faculty

SERGIO OCAMPO

Sergio Ocampo is co-developer and instructor of Dynamic Somatic Touch (DST), an innovative and highly effective trauma resolution approach effective in unwinding emotional overwhelm, trauma, and physical syndromes such as chronic illness and pain. Based on the core values of somatic therapies, psychotherapy and body based sciences, DST complements and accelerates healing for all phases of trauma work.

Sergio combines somatic and cognitive interventions, including Somatic Experiencing, DST, Family Systems, Generational Trauma Resolution, Dream Work, Depth and Spiritual Psychology, Spiritual Awareness, and EMDR, to deliver innovative therapeutic approaches.

Sergio serves as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Licensed Psychotherapist, Antioch University Adjunct faculty, and Embody Lab content contributor, while also holding leadership positions in Somatic Experiencing International and Dr. Peter Levine’s Ergos Institute of Somatic Healing. Fluent in four languages, Sergio advocates for seeing anxiety and depression as temporary. Sergio’s motto is: Emotional suffering and trauma are not a life sentence, but a temporary discomfort.

Websites: www.sergioocampo.com, www.dynamicsomatictouch.com

VANESSA BENNETT

After over a decade of grinding in the New York City corporate world, Vanessa realized her work, her relationships, and honestly, her life felt…off. She didn’t see it at first, but her path was finding her — and the journey she started to help herself ended up being her path to helping others.

Cue the montage of her moving across the country, having a few breakdowns, heartbreaks, setbacks, taking hundreds of hours of trainings and workshops in yoga, yoga therapy, nutrition, somatic therapy, and reading lots and lots of books. Oh yeah, all while becoming a licensed therapist.

It turns out that this passion paired well with her unique background in telling stories through marketing and corporate strategy, a longtime practice of meditation and yoga, and the fact that she’s a New Yorker who cuts to the point.

Today, Vanessa lives in Los Angeles and puts all of this to work as an author, licensed holistic psychotherapist, group facilitator, and clinical entrepreneur. She co-hosts the Cheaper Than Therapy Podcast, leads soul-based retreats and workshops, and creates and facilitates content for events, conferences, and leadership trainings.

Find her through her website, Instagram, or TikTok.

DR. CHRISTOPHER WALLING

Dr. Chris Walling, PsyD, MBA, FABP is a licensed clinical psychologist, board-certified psychoanalyst, and an active leader in the bio-behavioral sciences. Dr. Walling is an Associate Professor in the Department of Research Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the Research Chair & Past-President of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Psychoanalysis and a member of the New Center for Psychoanalysis where he serves as Faculty in the Adult Psychoanalytic Training program and serves on their Education Committee & Diversities Committee, Dr. Walling also serves on the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Committee on Gender & Sexuality.
Dr. Walling serves as a Clinical Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender and Reproduction, located at Indiana University, Bloomington. In addition, he has been honored as a Gina Ogden Curatorial Scholar for 2024 by Kinsey, where he also serves on their International Advisory Council. His clinical interests survey the fields of somatic psychotherapy, relational psychoanalysis, human sexuality, and trauma psychology. His peer-reviewed works are published in the American Psychological Association‘s Journal of Psychotherapy and the International Body Psychotherapy Journal. Dr. Walling maintains a private practice in Brentwood (Los Angeles), California.

DEANNA JIMENEZ

Deanna Jimenez is an Assistant Professor at California Institute of Integral Studies in the Somatic Psychology Department and a somatic/transpersonal psychotherapist in private practice supporting individuals and couples.

Her clinical work is centered in the dialogue of mental health as it intersects with race, culture and spirituality. She received a Bachelor's in International Relations from UC Berkeley studying the efficacy of conflict resolution and cultural awareness in the international workplace. Following a career in corporate and non-profit fields, Deanna received her Masters from John F. Kennedy University in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology. Through an eclectic body of training, she uses a freedom-focused approach to support clients who have dedicated their lives to transformative justice movements. In supporting people of marginalized identities to build a solid spiritual, embodied foundation we raise collective consciousness while dismantling systems of oppression. To learn more about Deanna and her work, please visit: www.deannajimenez.com

CYNDI DARNELL

Cyndi Darnell is a world renowned sex & relationship expert. She brings over 25 years of clinical and practical expertise to the world of intimacy, relationships and somatic healing. She's the author of Sex When You Don't Feel Like It: The Truth About Mismatched Libido & Rediscovering Desire. She works online with people of all genders and orientations around the world in many relationship configurations via zoom. You can find her on Insta & BlueSky @cyndi_darnell, and Substack @cyndidarnell and via her website www.cyndidarnell.com

KAI CHENG THOM

Kai Cheng Thom, MSW, MSc, Qualified Mediator, Certified Professional Jungian Life Coach, and Certified Somatic Sex Educator, is a coach, process facilitator, and mediator whose work focuses on the intersections of trauma healing, Transformative Justice, and social change. A noted theorist and practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, Kai Cheng has made significant contributions towards the integration and application of conflict transformation, crisis intervention, and body-based trauma healing methods in an activist context through her writing and teaching. Kai Cheng maintains a private practice as a one-on-one somatic coach, consultant, and group facilitator, drawing from extensive professional trainings in a wide variety of healing and wellness disciplines. She has also trained hundreds of embodiment and wellness professionals as Adjunct Faculty with the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education and a Senior Teacher at The Embody Lab.

Books: www.kaichengthom.com/books/

Instagram: @kaichengthom

Twitter: @razorfemme

DR. DIANE POOLE HELLER

Diane Poole Heller PhD is an internationally recognized speaker, author and expert in the field of attachment theory and trauma resolution. Her signature approach—DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience)—provides therapists and individuals with relevant skills and practical exercises that facilitate healing from attachment and trauma wounds.

Diane’s training programs, books, lectures and work as a therapist have helped a countless number of people in their healing journey towards experiencing greater intimacy, wholeness and more fulfilling relationships.

As Senior Faculty for SETI, Diane studied with Dr. Peter Levine and taught Somatic Experiencing® trauma work internationally for over 25 years.

She is also the author of three books: The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships, a practical guide to restoring and reconnecting with our innate secure attachment as adults; Crash Course, on accident trauma; and the audio book, Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep and Lasting Relationships.

Her film, Surviving Columbine, aired on CNN and supported community healing after the Columbine High School shootings.

Website: www.dianepooleheller.com

DEB DANA

Deb Dana, LCSW is an author, clinician, and consultant specializing in using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She developed the Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series and lectures internationally on ways Polyvagal Theory informs work with trauma survivors. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, clinical advisor to Khiron Clinics, and an advisor to Unyte.

Deb’s clinical work published with W.W. Norton includes The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation, Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client Centered Practices, and the Polyvagal Flip Chart. She partners with Sounds True to bring her polyvagal perspective to a general audience through the audio program Befriending Your Nervous System: Looking Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory and her forthcoming print book Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory.

To learn more, visit www.rhythmofregulation.com or www.polyvagalinstitute.org

DR. STEPHEN PORGES

Stephen W. Porges, PhD is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published more than 400 peer‐reviewed scientific papers that have been cited in more than 50,000 peer-review publications. He is the creator of the Polyvagal Theory and a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™, currently used by approximately 3,000 therapists to reduce hearing sensitivities, improve language processing, and increase spontaneous social engagement. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe (Norton, 2017), and Polyvagal Safety (Norton, 2021), as well as co-author with Seth Porges of Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us (Norton, 2023), and co-editor with Deb Dana of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). Dr. Porges is a founder of the Polyvagal Institute and co-creator with Anthony Gorry of Polyvagal Music, a new musical genre that uses music to entrain the endogenous neurophysiological rhythms that support homeostatic functions.

Website: www.stephenporges.com

DR. DAVID BARCELLI

David Berceli, Ph.D. is an international expert in the areas of trauma intervention and conflict resolution. He is the creator of Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE). This revolutionary technique is designed to help release the deep tension created in the body during a traumatic experience or through chronic stress. He is also the energetic and creative founder and CEO of Trauma Recovery Services.

Dave has spent two decades living and working in nine countries providing trauma relief workshops and designing recovery programs for international organizations around the world. He has lived and worked extensively in Israel/Palestine, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, and Lebanon. He is fluent in English and Arabic.

David is unique in that he holds a solid academic and experiential grounding in psychotherapy and therapeutic body-work. He integrates that with a keen understanding of the intertwining dynamics of religion and ethnic customs. This combination has allowed him to develop unique and specific processes that enable people from all parts of the world manage and move beyond personal trauma as well as bring healing and reconciliation between diverse groups.

Website: www.david-berceli.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/david.berceli

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-david-berceli

YouTube: www.youtube.com/davidberceli

DR. SCOTT LYONS

Dr. Scott Lyons is a licensed holistic psychologist, educator and author of the book Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others, with Hachette publishing. Scott is also the host of The Gently Used Human Podcast, a delightfully depthful and often hilarious exploration of what it is to be human, to have lived life, and come out gently used.

As a renowned body-based trauma expert, Doctor of Osteopathy (Spain) and Mind-Body Medicine specialist, Scott helps people to break free from cycles of pain, limited beliefs, and trauma. Scott is an innovator in transformative wellness and trauma therapy, teaching over half a million people internationally over the past twenty years how to relieve stress and restore vitality. Scott has worked with many of the country’s top leaders and CEOs as an executive coach and wellness consultant.

Scott is the creator of The Embody Lab—the largest online learning platform for body-based trauma therapies—and developer of Somatic Stress Release™, a holistic process of restoring biological resilience, taught in over 20 countries.

Scott is a Certified Body-Mind Centering™ Teacher and Practitioner, Cranio-Sacral Therapist, Visceral Manipulation Therapist, Neuro-Developmental Therapist, Infant Developmental Movement Educator, Registered Movement Therapist and Educator, Trauma Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Thai Massage Practitioner, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Mindfulness-based Executive Coach, Experiential Anatomy/ Developmental Movement and Yoga Practitioner, and a 500-hour registered yoga teacher. Additionally Scott holds a BFA in Theater/Psychology, MFA in Dance/Choreography, MS in Clinical Psychology, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology and Mind-Body Medicine.

Scott has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Forbes Women, Fast Company, The Telegraph, The Guardian, INC., CNBC Make It, Fortune, Bustle, Reader’s Digest and Goop. He has also appeared on The Mel Robbins Podcast, The Jordan Harbinger Show, The We Can Do Hard Things Podcast, The Mental Illness Happy Hour, The Human Upgrade, The Genius Life, and The Chopra Well.

Websites: www.TheEmbodyLab.com, www.drscottlyons.com

Instagram: @DrscottLyons

Book: https://www.drscottlyons.com/addicted-to-drama-book

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