Healing Collective Trauma: The Key to Sustainable Peacemaking

This dialogue with visionary psychotherapist Gina Ross—a pioneer in understanding and healing collective trauma—is both informative and deeply moving. A Syrian Jew with empathy for both Israeli and Arabic cultures, and founder of the International Trauma Healing Institutes, Gina has devoted her life’s work to resolving the societal and individual dysregulation that underlies trauma and ultimately feeds all forms of violence and hatred.  Gina discusses the role of trauma in conflict zones such as the Middle East, and how to heal that trauma and bring about personal and collective peace using integrative methodologies. Her Ross Model and its practical application Emotion Aid, have been successfully deployed in Israel and Palestine, and other conflict zones to help heal traumatized citizens and military personnel. In collaboration with an Israeli clinical research team, Gina recently published a widely-read, peer-reviewed control-group study of Somatic Experiencing. Gina Ross was on my 'podcast guest bucket list'. Her wisdom is a result of a lifetime of personal and professional experience with Middle East conflict and the trauma that underlies its seeming intractability. The episode starts with Gina’s personal history and how it informed her genuine understanding of collective trauma. She then offers in-depth information about successful treatment of PTSD using SE, somatic psychotherapy, Emotion Aid, and integrative medicine. We finish with a frank discussion about the lack of robust SE research and how that can unfortunate situation can be remedied. Links and downloads for Gina Ross, MFCC, SEP International Trauma Healing Institutes Peer-reviewed Somatic Experiencing Study in ISSTS Journal Emotion Aid Brief Guide Trauma Vortex in Action in the Middle East (article) Gina's books on Amazon  Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestofggpodcast.substack.com