Wired for Connection: Somatic Pathways to Relational Repair
This class can be attended live or via the on-demand recordings. All class times are posted in Eastern Time / New York time zone.
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These Master Classes are offered exclusively for Embody Lab Members.
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Human beings are wired for connection, yet meaningful communication can quickly become difficult when the nervous system perceives threat. In those moments, the body automatically organizes around survival. Attention narrows, physiology shifts, and the capacity for curiosity, listening, and collaboration can diminish.
When this happens, conversations that matter most—those involving conflict, vulnerability, or repair—often derail. Instead of the exchange we hoped for, the interaction may escalate into argument, collapse into silence, or dissolve into avoidance. These reactions are not simply communication problems; they are physiological responses unfolding in real time.
In clinical settings, these shifts can appear suddenly. A session that felt stable may rupture when a client becomes overwhelmed, defensive, or withdrawn. Practitioners working with couples or families may witness familiar cycles of escalation—blame, shutdown, shame, or overwhelm—emerging even after thoughtful psychoeducation and sincere efforts to communicate differently.
Trauma can intensify these patterns. When stress activates implicit memory and conditioned defensive responses, the nervous system may react faster than conscious intention. Under pressure, people often lose access to the very capacities that support empathy, perspective, and cooperation.
In this live workshop with Peter A. Levine, PhD, developer of Somatic Experiencing®, participants will explore how communication difficulties often originate in the body’s survival physiology. Drawing from decades of clinical observation and the principles of Somatic Experiencing®, Dr. Levine will illustrate how developing awareness of bodily responses and supporting nervous system stability can help restore the conditions needed for authentic dialogue, collaboration, and relational repair.
Please note: always use practices with clients within your supervised training level and scope of your practice.
ABOUT YOUR TEACHER
Peter A. Levine, PhD
Peter A Levine, Ph.D. is the developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma. He holds doctorates in both Biophysics and Psychology. He is the Founder and President of the Ergos Institute for Somatic Education and the Founder and Advisor for Somatic Experiencing® International.
Dr. Levine is the author of several best-selling books on trauma, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma (published in over 29 languages). He has received multiple Lifetime Achievement awards, including from Psychotherapy Networker and from the US Association for Body-Oriented Psychotherapy. His work has been taught to over 50,000 practitioners in over 42 countries. He is currently a Senior Fellow and consultant at The Meadows Addiction and Trauma Treatment Center in Wickenburg, Arizona, and continues to teach trauma healing workshops internationally. To learn more visit somaticexperiencing.com.