Richard & Helena Boyd therapist on Natural Therapy Pages
Member since 2005

Richard & Helena Boyd

Energetics Institute

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Trauma is now recognized as an issue faced by more ordinary people than was once first thought. We now can understand trauma from a place where we can categorise it as being one of two types.

Energetics Institute - Trauma Counselling

Servicing area

Inglewood, Western Australia

Focus areas

Bioenergetics Memory Life transitions Subconscious Posture Happiness


Episodic Trauma

The first type is traditional trauma called Episodic Trauma and relates to a sudden incident that has the perception of, or really does, threaten the safety and survival of the person experiencing it in a certain way. This certain way is where the person basically starts a classic defence posture (e.g. to run, fight or freeze still), but is then totally overwhelmed by the intensity, type, nature, unreality, or some other) that jams the defence process and the person anticipates death or annihilation.

The surviving person now has a compromised alert/threat mechanism switched on permanently in the Amygdala region of the brain, that sees the survivor now feeling unsafe in the world, unsafe and confused within their internal self, and unable to self-regulate emotions and reactions, or tolerate social situation, or certain triggering noises, smells, sights, memories or touch that has a “feels like, seems like” reminder to aspects of the original overwhelming trauma event.

Childhood Development Trauma

The second type of trauma is Childhood Developmental Trauma where an ongoing series of events, or an ongoing dynamic over time, created the basis for the developing child to feel unsafe or devalued in some way, such that they felt insecure in their family and that they had to adapt to fit in or cope or survive. This adjustment or adaptation becomes a defence in the body and the personality that we see in the character of the now adult person (e.g. aggressive, controlling, caretaking, dissociative), that affects their ability to socialize, have healthy adult relationships, or which creates impulses in them towards self-soothing or numbing out on addictions or escapism experiences such as gaming or digital addiction.

The second type of trauma often has occurred over time and the person has coped and compensated as they grew up with it, and so they often do not show type 1 trauma reactions, but they may instead still manifest anxiety, depression or anti-social or avoidant tendencies towards others. Underneath their adapted personality they still feel deep insecurity and a lack of safety but they have normalized it and adapted to a degree of functioning reality that gives the appearance of being OK and normal.

Sensorimotor Trauma Psychotherapy

Our therapy practice employs a specialized form of Trauma Therapy called Sensorimotor Trauma Psychotherapy which was developed by Dr. Pat Ogden.

Trauma Counselling in Perth with Energetics Institute involves uncovering the nature and background of either or both forms of these trauma types, and applying Trauma Counselling techniques that are body-centric. Our trauma therapists are trained to work with the body and mind in a wholistic way to resolve trauma issues and their knock-on related secondary issues such as addictions, suicidal impulses, depression and anxiety.

Our Trauma Counselling Perth involves first establishing the background history of the client to understand the nature of the trauma events, dynamics and processes that may have come to pass with the client, as well as the basic family and life situation the person had when it is apparent that developmental trauma is involved. We do not require in-depth storytelling around traumatic events, but more a brief understanding that they happened, with whom, and over how many times or what period of time.

The first trauma counselling step is to establish that the person is now safe, which is exactly the opposite of what is the brain’s outlook on life once a person has been traumatized. Safety has to be achieved in the immediate sense of a person feeling safe in their body. Our Trauma Therapy teaches bodily self-regulation of arousal of emotions, impulses, fear, rage or any other disturbance within oneself, and how to bring that within one’s Window of Tolerance, and so under one’s eventual control.

Our Trauma Therapist will then teach grounding and presencing which empowers the client to stay present to arousal symptoms, and perceived challenges, so they cease being victims and victimized by perception and actual objects and environments around them. Our Trauma Therapy Perth brings clients into the present moment where they feel capable of coping with life.
Our Trauma Counselling brings language and definition to the inner experiences, our clients are having and allows them permission, awareness and words to describe this reality and make sense of it. That enables the client to see how it has its own logic and reason for existing, so it can be witnessed without reacting to it, and then let it flow past and through the client so it completes without harm.

The advanced stages of Trauma Therapy then build the client into being equipped to join the dance of body movement, expression, body language and vulnerability to try and practice fun, play and curiosity so this missing experience becomes the norm again. The client ceases living in just surviving and instead becomes one of the thriving. Once that occurs our work is done.

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