Healing From Childhood Trauma: Insights from Dr. Bruce Perry, Oprah and Professor Christie Mason

"What happened to you matters. It defines how you see the world and how you behave in the world. But it's not the end of the story, not by a long shot. You can be resilient, you can heal, you can find joy." — Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce D. Perry, "What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing." 2021

Photo by Johann Walter Bantz on Unsplash

As a psychiatric nurse and a mom, childhood trauma both worries and fascinates me. 

Our experiences, especially when we’re young, help to inform how we navigate life from within our own bodies and our future relationships with friends, colleagues, and lovers.

Indeed, the very cells in our bodies were built to remember trauma, just like our immune system remembers pathogens from years ago, to protect us more effectively from this infection the second time it comes by.

While we can’t remove events from our past, we can indeed learn how to live, laugh, and play again, even when we’re older. 

The question is…how? 

In my greater pursuit of this knowledge, I had a deeply enlightening interview with university professor Dr. Christie Mason PhD, LCSW, RPT-S, NMT Level II, where we discussed her own work as well as that of Dr. Bruce Perry's work, including his carefully developed NMT, otherwise known as ‘Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics’. 

Professor Mason, with an impressive portfolio of publications, brings a wealth of knowledge to the table concerning childhood trauma's enduring impact into adulthood, shaping us both emotionally and psychologically. 

Dr. Bruce Perry, a leading child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, illuminates the profound effects of childhood experiences, introducing his Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) as a structured pathway to healing.

In short, his model ensures that each child is assessed to determine which parts of their brain and neural development were affected, at what point in their development, and at what age. The child is then prescribed a set of routines, exercises, and experiences that can help the child slowly grow the neural networks associated with those parts of the brain. The result is a wide and varied therapeutic approach to trauma treatment. 

One of the key takeaways for me was the repeated message that for healing to happen, the child needs consistent, predictable, enjoyable, reparative experiences…even if that means keeping activities short. 

Dr. Perry's NMT acknowledges the brain's capacity to reorganize in response to new experiences, providing a personalized roadmap for healing. "The architecture of the brain changes as a function of experience. And we're designing our own architecture, structuring our own brain through the actions we take." NMT tailors therapy to individual needs, recognizing the non-uniform impact of trauma.

Some children will need to learn how to clap along to the rhythm of music, others slowly learn how to tolerate and enjoy skin-to-skin healthy touch, or to express their experiences through play, storytelling, painting, or drawing to help them process what happened to them. Sometimes these expressions of fragments of what happened to them will take place over and over again until they’ve pieced their story together in a way that makes a little bit more sense for them.

Childhood trauma, whether physical, emotional, or neglect, etches indelible marks on the psyche. As Dr. Perry underscores, "The truth about childhood is stored up in our body, and although we can repress it, we can never alter it." These imprints influence self-perception, relationships, and worldview.

Nurturing Healing from Within and Developing New Neural Networks 

Rewire Trauma Therapy emerged as supporters of these trauma experts’ important works including Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, Dr. Bruce Perry, Peter Levine, and Gabor Maté, Stephen Porges, and many more thought leaders in the trauma healing space. This online body-based therapy platform utilizes a comprehensive and holistic approach to somatic and body-based therapies. 

How Rewire Trauma Therapy's Platform Transforms Trauma Healing

Unlike most traditional therapies like Better Help, Rewire Trauma Therapy offers both individuals and professionals dealing with traumatized clients, like therapists and lawyers, a chance to experience body-based therapies in an affordable and accessible way.

The key differences between seeing a therapist and signing up for Rewire Trauma Therapy’s programs are:

1. Guided Exercises: 

Rewire Trauma Therapy incorporates guided exercises tailored for individuals who've experienced childhood trauma. These exercises, inspired by various body-based modalities, are integral to the healing journey.

2. Diverse Types of Trauma Therapies: 

Dr. Perry emphasizes the importance of diverse therapeutic approaches. Inspired by these works, Rewire Trauma Therapy offers over 13 trauma therapy programs encompassing 11 body-based modalities neatly packaged into 10-minute guided online therapies that one can follow along with in the comfort of their own home, or therapist’s office. 

From qigong and martial arts to expressive arts and trauma yoga therapy, this platform provides a varied toolkit for holistic healing.

3. Expertly Curated and Designed: 

Dr. Perry's quote, "The kids we see who've had a trauma history — they don't have a personality disorder; they have a history disorder," underscores the significance of understanding one's history. 

Rewire Trauma Therapy's programs are designed by over 60 trauma counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, doctors, and trauma treatment experts, showcasing a deep understanding of the interplay between childhood trauma and mental well-being.

A Future Beyond Trauma

Rewire Trauma Therapy invites those who have suffered from childhood trauma to embark on a transformative journey. In Dr. Perry's words, "Every kid is ONE caring adult away from being a success story," emphasizing their commitment to providing a supportive online community where healing can flourish.

Childhood trauma need not forever define a child’s future or an adult survivor’s. 

Rewire Trauma Therapy's online body-based therapy platform, offers accessibility, affordability, and a glimmer of hope in the heaviness that is childhood trauma. 

The team of trauma healing experts emphasize that healing is a dynamic, individualized process. With the right support, a future beyond trauma is not only possible but achievable. In the words of Dr. Bruce Perry, "It is the rare and strong person that can carry their trauma without having it spill into the next generation." 

With self-awareness and true commitment to ourselves and to the ones we love, I deeply believe that we can create reparative experiences to regenerate the way we live in the world, we can grow-up again, and we can truly and safely love again.

We are now offering exclusive access to two insightful interviews. Join Professor Christie Mason as she explores the Neurosequential Model for understanding trauma and offers guidance on therapeutic interventions for children with trauma. You'll also receive a complimentary trauma-healing exercise to regulate the nervous system. Take this opportunity to deepen your insights and foster healing by clicking the link below: