Back from the Road... and excited for more!

We have just arrived back from a whirlwind week of trainings across the Midwest. We especially had some fantastic teaching moments in St. Louis, Missouri - what a beautiful city, and what incredible people we met while training there! We shared our protocol with therapists and social workers in the Creve Coeur area, and are excited to help them implement the power of IBSR in their local practices.

We're back at our home base at the time being, preparing for our next training in Denver, Colorado and stress clinics in West Virginia (Charleston and Morgantown, specifically) and Temecula, CA and Portland, OR. 

In the meantime, we're expanding our local office to offer counseling, IBSR and the EMDR-IBSR Hybrid to those in our own backyard, throughout the Ohio Valley in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It's been fantastic to get back into the community and directly help others. We have so many fantastic stories - check out some of our most incredible stories!

If you are currently practicing and learning IBSR or the EMDR-IBSR Hybrid, remember that we are available to help you via supervision or email consultation. Please visit our webpage to see when supervision hours are available.

The Number One Cause of Depression

We chanced across this lovely short article the other day. It confirms something that we have all seen, time and time again, in our practices: trauma increases the likelihood of depression and other mental disorders. 

The research article itself points to a genetic flaw which predisposes those with high levels of trauma to an even stronger tendency toward depression and other mental illnesses.

The big question, however, is this: how can talk therapy and pharmaceuticals offset a genetic flaw? Wouldn't cognitive- and pharma-based treatments simply be treating the symptoms of trauma (mental illness, depression, bipolar disorder, etc.) instead of treating its source?

That is what we strive to do at the Institute, each and every day. We are still hearing great things happening with the Counseling Center at Cabell Huntington Hospital and are looking forward to taking our protocol to the Midwest by the end of the month. 

We are also getting ready to launch stress clinics in the state of West Virginia and are looking to expand our training opportunities out west. Stay tuned for more details!

We're on the Move! - Mobile Stress & Trauma Clinic

Life is busy as usual at the Institute. We've just gotten back from a training and stress clinic at the Counseling Center at Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, W. Va. We saw some incredible things happen, both for the counselors and for their clients that we worked with. We're gearing up for our trainings in the Midwest at the end of this month. But even more than that, we are preparing for something entirely different: a Mobile Stress & Trauma Clinic.

We've been called upon to help traumatized communities and first responders in Portland, Oregon and Temecula, California. Specifically, we need to reach highly traumatized police forces and sexually abused teenagers. We have a lot to offer these highly-affected populations, both with our protocol (Integration Based Stress Removal, IBSR) and our years of experience in bringing transformative and compassionate healing to those who have no where else to turn.

However, we need your help. We currently do not have the money to reach these populations on our own, and want to provide our services at a reduced cost to these individuals who need it so direly. As such, we are launching fundraising campaigns to help us reach our goal.

If you know the healing power of IBSR, we would love to have your help and support. 

The Bodymind Institute IBSR Announces – Stress REMOVAL, Not Reduction

Spring has finally arrived. And along with the change in the weather, so have we.

The Bodymind Institute-IBSR announces that its flagship protocol is changing its name from Integration Based Stress Reduction to Integration Based Stress Removal.

“Stress Reduction” doesn’t even begin to cover what this linear somatic psychology protocol can do. Based on client outcome research and conversations with mental health professionals trained in this protocol, we have found that IBSR removes stress permanently from the body – within moments in session and continuing in the weeks following.

“Reduction” is also a hallmark of mindfulness psychology techniques, which addresses new brain functions. We address old brain functions by dealing with primitive stress responses only, and want to stress this distinction between mindfulness techniques and our own practice.

As such, we are modifying the protocol name to emphasize its complete removal of stress and anxiety – Integration Based Stress Removal.

If you want to read up further on our protocol, research, trainings or sessions, please visit us at our website.

Trauma in Childhood & Health in Adulthood

Stress & Trauma's Residual Effects in the Body

We are pumped about NPR's new health series, "What Shapes Health?" This series explores social and environmental factors that affect health throughout life. 

Of particular interest: Starecheski's latest installment, Can Family Secrets Make You Sick?  Here we are taken on a journey with Dr. Vincent Felitti, who has discovered a troubling relationship between childhood trauma and abuse and mental & physical health complications in adulthood.

While we all know that association does not result in causation, what we do know at the Bodymind Institute-IBSR is this: stress and trauma in the body truly does affect one's mental and physical health. As aptly put by Megan Gunnar, a developmental psychologist at the University of Minnesota, traumatic experiences cause a ripple effect in the mind and body, rewiring the stress response system to overreact and decreasing the client's ability to regulate behavior.

We have seen similar results with our own clients, as have our trained therapists. Trauma and stress compromises health in the mind and body. Childhood trauma, time and time again, manifests itself in illness, whether physical or mental, in adulthood. And Integration Based Stress Removal (IBSR) has, time and time again, successfully removed this stress and trauma from the body, allowing clients to live their lives free from the residual effects of all forms of trauma - childhood included.

Please read more about what we have to offer at our website. Compassionate and transformative healing is only a click away.

Integration Based Stress Removal... What is it?

Spring is on its way, as is our new training schedule!
But first, let's have a poll: who here knows what Integration Based Stress Removal is?

IBSR is our signature linear somatic protocol, removing stress and trauma from the source: within the body. This therapy requires only one session and goes to work immediately, reducing stress, trauma, anxiety and a panoply of symptoms for the client. Our case studies reveal 100% results for clients who complete their daily follow-up exercises (lasting 2-5 minutes a day).
We are launching our 2015 training schedule across the United States. Save a seat today – and we hope to see you there!
April 23-24, 2015Ann Arbor, Mich.Stress & Anxiety – Children to Elderly, IBSR 2 Day TrainingThe Courtyard – Ann Arbor3205 BoardwalkAnn Arbor, Mich. 48108Hotel Ph: (734) 995-5900
April 27-28, 2015Indianapolis, Ind.Stress & Anxiety – Children to Elderly, IBSR 2 Day TrainingThe Courtyard by Marriott8670 Allisonville Rd.Indianapolis, Ind. 46250Hotel Ph: (317) 576-9559
April 30-May 1, 2015St. Louis, Mo.Stress & Anxiety – Children to Elderly, IBSR 2 Day TrainingThe Courtyard by Marriott828 N. New Ballas Rd.Creve Coeur, Mo. 63146Hotel Ph: (314) 993-0515