INSIGHTS | CORENTUS FIRST FRIDAY with a THOUGHT LEADER SERIES

Emily Gould Trauma-Informed Team Coaching

Emily explores the definition and impacts of trauma, emphasizing that it is a physiological response to events rather than the events themselves. She discusses how our interconnected nervous systems create a collective experience, influencing how trauma is processed and its symptoms manifested, underscoring the importance of connection and trauma integration in healing and creating safer, more conscious workplaces. Emily shared her insights with us and our Community of Professionals Advancing Team Effectiveness during our First Friday with a Thought Leader event.

For you from Emily & Corentus

About Emily Gould

Emily Gould is an executive coach specializing in leadership development, negotiation, and dispute resolution. A former criminal prosecutor, agency general counsel, and experienced mediator, she helps senior leaders take charge and transcend the new challenges that come with increasing responsibility and growing complexity.

It is not uncommon for her relationship with clients to begin with an intervention that centers on an internal organizational conflict, which surfaces leadership growth milestones toward which she then coaches senior leaders. She also has experience coaching toward other strategic goals, including diversity and inclusion.

Emily Gould Trauma-Informed Team Coaching

KEY INSIGHTS |Trauma-Informed Team Coaching

Defining Trauma: 

  • Trauma is not the event itself, but the impact it has on the nervous system. 

  • "Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness." – Peter Levine 

  • Trauma is a physiological event, not a psychological one. It's a survival mechanism. 

Collective Trauma and Its Connection to Individual Trauma: 

  • Our individual nervous systems are interconnected, creating a collective nervous system. 

  • Epigenetics demonstrates that the traumatic experiences of our predecessors impact our own nervous systems. 

  • We carry individual, ancestral, and collective trauma within us. 

Symptoms of Trauma: 

  • Two main symptoms: speeding up (urgency, anxiety) and stuckness (muteness, apathy). 

  • These are manifestations of the fight-or-flight and freeze responses. 

Polyvagal Theory and the Importance of Connection: 

  • Stephen Porges' Polyvagal theory emphasizes the constant search for safety cues. 

  • The opposite of threat is not the absence of threat, but the presence of connection. 

  • Cultivating connection is crucial for fostering a sense of safety in the workplace. 

Repetition Cycle of Trauma: 

  • Trauma, if not processed and integrated, can lead to a repetition cycle of harm. 

  • "Hurt people hurt people." – This phrase encapsulates the repetition cycle. 

  • Recognizing and addressing collective trauma can help break this cycle. 

Trauma Integration and its Benefits: 

  • Trauma integration releases frozen energy and transforms it into wisdom and learning. 

  • This leads to a better understanding of personal and collective power. 

  • Integration can foster a more ethical and conscious workplace culture. 

 Practical Applications for Trauma-Informed Practice: 

  • Cultivating internal awareness and spaciousness as practitioners. 

  • Prioritizing genuine connection and a welcoming environment. 

  • Welcoming the emergence of collective trauma and creating space for processing. 

  • Embracing a process-oriented perspective and slowing down. 

  • Recognizing and addressing shame and the inner critic.

“Trauma is not
the event itself,
but the impact it has
on the nervous system.”

– Emily Gould

 

First Friday with a Thought Leader is a monthly live event for the Corentus Community of Professionals Advancing Team Effectiveness. If interested in being a member of this professional community and/or receiving our monthly enewsletter, let us know: