Sacred Restoration Virtual Winter Retreat

Alexandra Whitney, PhD, SEP  (she/her)

In 2018, Alexandra worked closely with Dr. Peter A. Levine’s Ergos Institute of Somatic Education and Somatic Experiencing® International (SEI) to develop an effective Somatic Experiencing® - based retreat protocol for the treatment of combat and military service related PTSD. 

She has served as the Retreat Director and Facilitator for Dr. Peter Levine's Returning Home and Waking the Tiger retreats. She is the Principal Investigator for the Returning Home Project, a quantitative research study that is associated with the 2019 Returning Home retreat that took place in Northport, Maine. 

Alexandra is an SEI approved Assistant for the Somatic Experiencing Training and Dr. Levine's Master Classes. In addition to her Somatic Experiencing training, she has received professional training certificates in Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapy, Herbalism, Homeopathy, and Yoga. 

Alexandra holds a PhD in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (2017).

 Dave Berger, MFT, PT, MA, SEP (he/him)

Dave is senior international faculty with  Somatic Experiencing International.  He teaches all levels of the SE training. He is also part of Dr. Peter Levine’s initial legacy faculty authorized by Dr. Levine to teach SE master classes.  Dave’s own BASE™: Relational Bodywork and Somatic Education Training™ for trauma healing practitioners is an integration of his decades of work in behavioral and physical health. 

An internationally recognized somatic psychotherapist, Dave brings his knowledge of anatomy, physiology and function of the body, and of psychological and relational dynamics to help clients improve their physical well being and psychological health. With 40 years of clinical practice, Dave provides a unique blend of clinical care for people healing from traumatic injuries and accidents, anxiety, back and neck pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, headaches, panic attacks and chronic pain. He uses a diverse array of traditional and complementary healing practices, integrating his understanding of the relationship between an individual’s emotional challenges, their family system dynamics and cultural issues. 

Euphrasia (Efu) Nyaki, SEP  (she/her)

Euphrasia (Éfu) Nyaki was born and raised in Tanzania where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree, trained as a science teacher, and later on was trained as a healer using holistic methods. Efu is a Faculty Member of Somatic Experiencing®, and a Professor of Family Constellation System Therapy by Hellinger Institute. In the last 31 years Efu has been living in Brazil facilitating trainings and therapy for trauma healing using Somatic Experiencing®. Also, Efu has been travelling in different countries (India, Egypt, South Korea, China, Bolivia, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, Sweden) facilitating trainings and workshops on different kinds of trauma healing. Due to Pandemic situation, Efu has been giving international trainings, workshops, webinars, talks, classes, conferences, podcast and individual therapy sessions online   Efu is also a co- founder of AFYA: Holistic Healing Center located in the northeast of Brazil that uses different types of natural and holistic healing methodologies. Recently, Efu published a book on Healing Trauma through Family Constellations Systems Therapy and Somatic Experiencing®. Her book can be found on Amazon here. 

Lynn Teo, LAc, MSc, DACM (she/they)

Lynn has worked in complementary medicine for over 20 years. As a licensed acupuncturist and shiatsu therapist, Lynn specializes in trauma healing, stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and  chronic conditions. Focusing on cultivating resilience and burnout /  trauma recovery, Lynn is completing her training to be a Somatic  Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). She holds an MAOM from the New England  School of Acupuncture and a doctorate in acupuncture and Chinese  medicine from the Pacific College of Health and Science.  As well, she  is the resident acupuncturist at Foundation House in Portland, ME.

She trained as a yoga teacher in the Scaravelli tradition of Esther Myers (750 hour) and has been teaching yoga, Vipassana meditation and somatic awareness for  over 25 years and focuses on teaching embodied practices for radical  rest, resilience, and trauma / burnout recovery particularly for  helpers, healers, artists, and activists. She brings her background in  theatre and clown to her classes, encouraging curiosity and playfulness  as a means to cultivate embodied wisdom, resilience and joy. 

As a researcher,  Lynn has published several systematic reviews on complementary medicine.  She holds and MSc in pain studies from Tufts University School of  Medicine where she focused on the effect of empathy and mindfulness  within the patient-practitioner relationship.

Marcy Pollitt - LCSW-R, SEP, EMDR, HVPI, Psychodrama Practitioner (she/her)

Marcy is an experienced practitioner of Somatic Experiencing (SE), EMDR and  Psychodrama. She uses body based action methods to bring clients into the  heart of their stories.

Psychodrama is a rich modality that naturally integrates with Somatic Experiencing. By inviting clients to show their stories through  reversing roles with characters in their lives, both interpersonal and intra-psychic, clients quickly come into the somatic senses of the  character in their personal narrative. Once we become embodied into the memory, we are more easily able to tune into our senses. and begin to heal the wounds in our hearts and in our relationships by unraveling the knots that prevent us from being settled in our bodies and present. We have the power to rewrite our story by bringing in the healed self.

When Psychodrama and SE are woven together it enables a rich and engaging healing process that facilitates the re-organization of our lived experience with a renewed sense of empowerment, self love, and a deeper connection with ourselves and our loved ones. 

Laura Thompson Brady, PhD (she/her)

Laura Thompson Brady is dedicated to the belief that personal healing and empowerment are essential for cultivating the resilience, capacity, and fortitude needed to create a better world. With a PhD in Human Development and Family Studies, Laura integrates her expertise as a singer, sound healer, and master retreat facilitator to offer a holistic, evidence-based, and soulful approach to healing and thriving at individual, familial, and societal levels.

Her extensive experience in leading women's circles and retreats, combined with her ongoing leadership training, highlights her belief that personal empowerment is crucial for addressing the complex challenges faced by communities and improving collective well-being. Utilizing sound healing, the natural world cycles, JourneyDance™, and chakra alignment, Laura provides a unique pathway for individuals to discover peace, calm, and joy within themselves.

Laura holds a PhD from the University of Delaware (2015). She resides in Maine with her husband and three daughters, on the traditional territory of the Wabanaki. For more information, visit journeyhometoyou.com.

Carol Zahner (she/her) & Annie Blair (she/her)

"Seeing the wisdom in every situation and moving towards healthier futures"

Social Presencing Theater is a methodology for understanding current reality and exploring emerging future possibilities. Participants can cultivate personal embodied presence through guided practices that include mindfulness, movement and reflection. Two person “duets” and small group “prototypes” can extend our sense of the social body. And we can engage in “Stuck” practices, using our bodies to work with places where we feel that our own creative energy and resilience are being blocked. 

Social Presencing Theater can provide a strong ground for sensing into ourselves and into our contexts – trusting our embodied experience of both our present situation and emerging possibilities. This will lead to fresh insights, an ability to prototype creative ways of moving forward, and the courage to extend kindness and compassion to the systems and communities we care so deeply about. We can all engage in “true moves” that express this care.

Nina Mudita, M.A. (she/her)

Bio coming soon!

A list of practitioners TBA

Emma Schurink, BA, SEP, CLC,  (she/her)

Emma is a healing and empowerment facilitator, supporting people in restoring their vital rhythms and embodying their authentic Self. She is a Certified Life Coach (CLC) and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP). Emma also has years of experience organizing and coordinating for non-profits and community initiatives. She loves to make things happen, especially healing and empowering opportunities. She earned her BA in Sociology from Kenyon College and minored in Visual Arts. Additionally, Emma creates charcoal drawings of trees and the natural world. You can view her artwork here.

Carol Morrison, BFA, (she/her)

Carol has many years of experience in finance and managing small businesses.  Recently she sold her interest in a small shipyard in Maine to pursue her fascination in the healing and creative arts.  She blends a unique perspective of organizational, financial and creative processes to provide support to the team on the retreat.   Born in Maine, she is deeply connected to the natural world.  You can often find her in the woods walking with her dog, or on the water, swimming, boating or skating.  She holds a BFA from Tufts University and has recently started a new series of paintings grappling with the significance of presence, timelessness and awareness.  She has a daughter and lives with her dog and two cats in midcoast Maine.