Our Radio Interview!

Hi everyone. I had an interview on ABM FM (All Business Media FM) on October 8, 2018. It went really well! They sent me these questions for the interview. I thought I’d share my response on my blog for those of you who missed it.

Please give a description of your company and the products/services you offer:

My company is Elements of Change and the primary modality I use is called Somatic Experiencing. Somatic Experiencing is a body based healing method that focuses on unwinding trauma and old patterns that are trapped in the body, instead of using the rational and higher thought functions of the mind, like what we are using right now. It’s very common in our culture to feel discomfort in our body and want to push it away. Its human nature to want to avoid pain and discomfort. But, by bringing focus and attention to the experience, the whole experience that is often rooted in the body, we can tap into the true healing point.

So, during a session, I get you back to the experience that you encountered under stress. Then you tell me what is going on in your body; maybe it’s a tightness in your chest, or a sharpness in your stomach, then I use techniques to help your body release them and create new healthy patterns and responses.

We all know we have patterns that haunt us. Our external results come from internal processes. All we have to look at our lives. What keeps happening? New relationships that end up being just like the old ones, new diets that end up with the same results, being in the same income bracket despite continued education, skills, and working harder. These are all set patterns.

It’s not a person’s external pushing against something that changes it. I see so many people trying so hard to control their conditions to change their life. Yet, it just causes more frustration and stress. There is no way out from that approach. With Somatic Experiencing we go internal. When we change the internal there is a new route of thoughts, beliefs, and actions that then causes the external to change. That’s what Elements of Change is all about.

Tell us about your background of your business and yourself.

I would say that the best way to explain me and my background is one word, “psychology”. I have my bachelors degree in psychology and I absolutely love it and my brain is wired for psychology and I’m really good at it. I can dissect problems and understand people and situations very easily. It’s easy for me to see how circumstances have been created. It’s easy for me to see the results we live based on past trauma, family experiences, and so forth.

Then, one day, I had a big ”ah ha” moment when I realized that all of my wonderful abilities for psychoanalysis had not moved me anywhere toward happiness. Not for happy relationships, success, or wealth in any way. I remember thinking, “I have to do something different. I have to get into my body.”… so I started yoga. It all unfolded from there as I was introduced soon after to Somatic Experiencing and knew it was what I was looking for.

What inspired you to pursue your profession?

This was a combination of moments, one was when I realized I needed to get into my body, but the other big one was when, after many years of jumping from job to job, I realize that I was most happy when my friends were calling me for help with their problems. It started out with basic psychology methods and giving them new perspectives and understandings about their circumstances. I was definitely highly sought after by my friends during their difficult times. It wasn’t until years later when I learned about the Somatic Experiencing that I understood there was more that I could do to help.

I soon realized that there was nothing else I could do but that of what I loved. Nothing else was going to fulfill me. And so, my practice focuses on helping others with a primary intent of releasing old patterns that are deeply rooted in our experiences to allow true transformation. Or at least the ones who want to go that far.

Where do you see yourself in the near future?

In the near future I see myself continuing to help clients release old patterns. In this, transcending into a whole new life and way of being. I’ve been working on additional ways to help clients release or patterns so they can have a toolbox to work with while they are out in the world and not sitting in front of me.

It’s always wonderful to see a practitioner, but within a weeks time its easy to have about 20 to 50 additional triggers come up, it not more! That's when the experience is really happening. Those can be healing moments!! I want my clients to have ways to work with these moments throughout their week to enhance their healing process; to tackle transformation on multiple levels.

I’m also writing a book about the day-to-day experiences and how it looks as a person releases old patterns and starts to take on a new life. Everyone talks about how they want to change and we have all heard stories about people who have had amazing transformations, but what does it really look like from day to day as we move through the process. This is what really interests me and will hopefully help my clients understand that it’s not always a pretty picture, but it’s worth it. I believe that these stuck patterns are keeping us held hostage and freedom is worth any amount of work it takes to release them, and I can help them navigate that journey!

Keywords: Addiction, PTSD, Depression, Codependency, Relationship Therapy, PTSD Treatment, Addiction Treatment, Codependency Treatment, Somatic Experiencing, Elements of Change