Have People Tried Rolfing?

[Pencil]

I think so too. I think it is when psychotherapy and bodywork are so divorced that problems crop up more easily. Psychologists are too hell bent on TALKING about the body, while those who go for body work often do not have the background to deal with what monsters they may unleash. I think 20 years from now the landscape may look different, and the 2 no longer separate poles.

You know Springer, I can't actually believe that the world of psychology still clings to this body/mind divide.

a good trauma 'Mum'

And where to find one of those .... ?

 

[Springer80]

We need some experimental cooks in the trauma kitchen!!! People willing to work together....and importantly explain how and where their expertise would cross over in the patient too the patient. Thats one thing I especially hate about medicine and specifically mental and trauma health....they never tell you whats going on, whats they're assessment is, where they think you are and it would help immensely. You end up scrabbling around in the dark which is more damaging than if they just told you!

 

[Pencil]

Case in point: During my travels through psychotherapy this last round, no-one would give me a diagnosis, not even depressoin, anxiety, or one of those 'harmless' ones. So, if you don't know what's up with me, how are you going to approach therapy with me??

 

[Springer80]

I'm starting to wonder where Gary has gone? Do you think it's us or the moderators that have scared him away? I'd be interested in your opinion Gary.

Like you said Pencil I reckon give it twenty years and this idea will have picked up a bit more momentum. Needs the funding behind it though and that means proving he link bewtween trauma and mental heath and trauma and physical illness. It's starting though there's a place in Scotland and one in Arizona that I know of. It's an area I'd like to work in. Be a trauma Mum!

 

[Pencil]

Be a trauma Mum!

Tell me more.

 

[Springer80]

Well I suppose it would be something like a support worker/co-ordinator that could bare the emotional, organizational and communication brunt of trauma therapy. But somebody you didn't have to worry was assessing you in any way. You know if you go to court you have someone who looks after you, tells you what the process is, what the big words mean, what the implications of events mean and require.

But also I think I'd like to do something with body work/relaxation but again in a non assessment socially normal way. Somehow healthy giving relationships should not be the preserve of consultants.

 

[Pencil]

Perhaps one day I'll get there, I think I'm far from ready.

Are you actively looking at getting involved?

 

[Hashi]

It helped me straight into psychosis.

That would be a quicker way to say what took me about 82 paragraphs.

Pencil, I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

[Gary-Rolfer]

Hello everyone - I lost the Forum information until this morning.

I'm interested in PTS(d) and whether Rolfing can help not only address the physical aspects, but as Hashi mentions the emotional aspects as well. I'm doing some research (DON'T WORRY ADMIN - NO SELF PROMOTION) into PTS(d) as one of my colleagues has been approached who is working on opening a handful of PTS(d) clinics.

I am gathering information about people's experiences with bodywork (cranio-sacral, Rolfing, deep tissue massage, scar-tissue work, nerve work, etal), and thought this forum would be a place to discuss and listen to people's stories. I am not trained to deal with trauma issues, and hence I am NOT here for self-promotion.

There are scientific studies that have proven deep tissue massage can improve Dopamine, Cortisol and Serotonin levels in PTSD patients. I'm curious if Rolfing can improve those numbers more than deep tissue massage, and it is my belief it's possible.

Hashi and others - thank you for all your input. I'm here to see if I can help and if so what else I need from a skills pov to begin to be able to help those with PTSD from a physical and psycho-biological standpoint.

 

[Pencil]

Gary, I get the impression you did not read the negative comments 'mindfully'.

 

[Gary-Rolfer]

Sorry Pencil - Thought I read the posts. Can you share what I missed?

 

[Hashi]

There are scientific studies that have proven deep tissue massage can improve Dopamine, Cortisol and Serotonin levels in PTSD patients. I'm curious if Rolfing can improve those numbers more than deep tissue massage, and it is my belief it's possible.

The point I was trying to make is that rolfing or any other bodywork could easily "improve" the numbers of retraumatised clients and the incidence of flashbacks, overwhelm and other psychological/somatic reactions. No amount of dopamine, cortisol or serotonin or anything else is going to help me if frozen trauma energy is released as well. Please take my word on that.

I have to be honest here. I'm not sure how useful or meaningful your research can be if you yourself don't have a full understanding of risks. To be blunt, you're not asking relevant questions or seeming to take the issues on board. To be even blunter, my heart's sinking reading you write that your haphazard form of research is possibly going to contribute to the opening of PTS(D) clinics which you have said nothing about that indicates anyone involved knows what they're doing. Maybe they do, but you haven't said anything to indicate that.

It's not for us to tell you what skills you need,

PTSD is not something to mess around with. Retraumatisation is a very serious risk, and I'm afraid you don't show that you're taking it seriously at all.