Transforming Trauma: Episode 002

“Learning how to support someone gain greater depth of experience and tolerance for their more primary emotions that feel scary to them, that experience within myself has changed absolutely everything…I have the capacity, now, to be resilient in those moments that, if those things do happen, I can meet them. And that’s what we’re really supporting.” ~Mike Giresi

Sarah chats with Mike Giresi, Director of Clinical Development at Family First Adolescent Services in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and NARM Practitioner, about the profound impact the NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM™)  has made in his work with adolescents and teens.

The drive to help others heal often stems from one’s own healing. Mike’s journey to sobriety ignited a desire for personal growth and professional development that led him to the study of psychology, and ultimately his passion for helping others understand the relationship between addiction and complex trauma.

“A bunch of people took me under their wings and were really, really good to me when I didn’t think that I deserved it,” he recalls. “That’s where I found this passion for helping people and that led me to my first job in the treatment field. That’s where I was introduced to trauma treatment.”

Mike’s curiosity led him to discover Dr. Laurence Heller’s book Healing Developmental Trauma, which introduced him to NARM. “To be honest, I didn’t understand a whole lot of it,” he says.  Even though he couldn’t fully make sense of it, he felt that something very important was being offered, and he wanted to learn more. Mike followed his intuition and flew to Ohio to attend a clinical training in NARM. In one of life’s little ironies, the NARM Practitioner Training took place in his hometown, putting him face to face with his own developmental trauma history while learning about developmental trauma.

“In hindsight, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing a developmental trauma training in your hometown,” he laughs. Now, however, he says he wouldn’t change a thing about that experience, having experienced firsthand the positive effects of NARM’s cutting-edge model. ”I think the answer for me, both personally and professionally, is kind of the same thing: it’s just having a deeper understanding of the role of agency, that people don’t need to relive their childhood trauma in order to resolve it.” Mike found what he was looking for and now says he is grateful he “trusted his gut.”

These days, when he’s not travelling the country speaking on the relationship between addiction and trauma treatment, or teaching on NARM, Mike is busy helping teens and adolescents navigate the tricky transition from dependency to agency. But guiding a teen through that emotional process of self-inquiry has its hazards. Regardless of how well-intentioned adults might be, teens are hyper-vigilant against anyone coming at them with an agenda.

That offer of help can trigger memories of the early childhood disruptions and objectification that played a role in the teen’s current challenges. For this reason, the entire staff at Family First Adolescent Services has become NARM-trained. Mike believes that the resulting agenda-neutral environment is a safer place in which young clients with complex trauma can heal old patterns that have been in their way of a healthier, happier adolescence. “With complex trauma (C-PTSD), safety is about working with a person’s sense of agency, the kind of various relational and emotional difficulties that everyone faces in everyday life. Those aren’t about mortal threats to the physical self, like shock trauma (PTSD). It’s much more about a threat to the psychological self or our sense of self.”

In utilizing NARM to resolve complex trauma, Mike has been blown-away by the new possibilities opening up for the boys as they begin relating to themselves and others in new ways, including feeling more hopeful and confident in moving forward into adulthood. The changes, he says, are dramatic.  Every day he feels blessed to be part of supporting transformation in the teens and their families.

 

SOURCES DISCUSSED:

Dr Laurence Heller

Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship

Margaret Mahler

The Psychological Birth of The Human Infant Symbiosis and Individuation