Nashua, NH, May 22, 2023 – How do you help someone heal from a traumatic experience albeit physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual abuse? Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World, a diverse team of well-being and equity architects, presents solutions to advance transgenerational well-being by exploring Native American practices to break the cycle of trauma.
Did you know . . .
- “Seventy percent of adults (or 223.4 million people) in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.” (National Council For Behavioral Health)
- “Nearly 2,000 people a day (800,000 per year) die by suicide – 90 percent related to mental disorders.” (Source: Clubhouse International)
- “Post traumatic stress disorder affects 7.7 million adults or 3.6 percent of the population.” (Source: NIMH: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.)
“When trauma is experienced from generation to generation, both in groups that have been historically oppressed and in families that have experienced trauma over generations, we encode this trauma in genes, culture and environment. If we don’t invest in healing ourselves, trauma both hampers our capacity for resilience and creates the conditions where we pass on that trauma to future generations,” says Somava Saha, president and chief executive officer, Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World.
Somatic Archaeology© – An Innovative Program to Advance Transgenerational Well-Being
To help individuals break the cycle of trauma, WE in the World’s partner organization Freedom Lodge, which is led by Executive Director Dr. Ruby Gibson, has developed an innovative program called Somatic Archaeology© to resolve underlying issues pertaining to trauma.
Somatic Archaeology© centers on”unearthing in the human body those remains and artifacts of our familial, ancestral, and spiritual lineage in order to uncover our myths and remember our stories for personal and planetary evolution.” (Source: Freedom Lodge and The Black Hills Historical Trauma and Research & Recovery Center).
There are five steps in Somatic Archaeology© – 1) I Notice, 2) I Sense, 3) I Feel, 4) I Interpret and 5) I Reconcile. Somatic Archaeology© has been used primarily and successfully in Native American communities. By helping individuals heal, reclaim their cultural identity, break the cycle of trauma and addiction, and create post-traumatic resilience and growth, Somatic Archaeology© has helped create Native Wellness across the U.S. and Canada.
Freedom Lodge has developed a novel program called the Historical Trauma Master Class HTMC™, which is based on Somatic Archaeology©principles. Freedom Lodge works to resolve underlying issues relating to generational trauma in Native Americans in the U.S. and First Nations People in Canada.
To date, Freedom Lodge has trained approximately 250 Tribal Members as therapists in the last seven years. The program has helped to reduce anxiety, addiction, historical grief and amensia, as well as lessen the legacy of violence, sexual assault and suicide.
“That is why the work of groups such as Freedom Lodge, who are bringing forward the best of Native American practices to create mechanisms for, identifying, predicting, and healing generational trauma is so important,” says Somava Saha, president and chief executive officer, Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World.
WE in the World and its partner organization are leading the way to break the cycle of trauma and to advance transgenerational well-being and equity for all. Together, we can bring about real change.
Visit WE in the World to learn more about the organization.
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About WE in the World:
Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World is a diverse team of well-being and equity architects who advance intergenerational well-being and equity on a foundation of racial and economic justice. WE also serves as the trellis/support infrastructure for the Well Being In the Nation Network.
WE in the World invests in relationships and systems change to create a world where everyone can participate, prosper and reach their full potential. We believe equity, belonging, and civic muscle are a path to mutual abundance for everyone.
Freedom Lodge and The Black Hills Historical Trauma Research & Recovery Center provide online Historical Trauma Recovery counseling for adults, families and youth. The Freedom Lodge Clinic provides Somatic Archaeology© and Generational Brainspotting™ sessions on a weekly basis at our offices in Rapid City, SD.
The confidential and personalized counseling by Historical Trauma Recovery Professionals is a dynamic opportunity that provides immediate relief for those in recovery from boarding school legacies, for Veterans and War Survivors, for depression, anxiety, anger, grief, emotional distress, addiction, chronic pain and spiritual disorientation.
Our practice of reconciliation of traumatic events allows clients to find hope, healing and courage to address difficult issues in their lives. All counseling services are confidential and provided free of charge to Tribal Members.