Chicago Minds proudly presents The Trauma Series with Linda Thai, occurring on the first Tuesday of each month over June, July, August and September. 

Sliding scale and student discounts are generously sponsored by Jane, an online platform for health and wellness practitioners that makes it simple to book, chart, schedule, bill and get paid.

06/07/2022  4:00pm-5:30pm CST   Phase oriented trauma treatment    

07/05/2022  4:00pm-5:30pm CST   Fawning, appeasement and the somatics of trauma within the dynamics of oppressive systems   

08/02/2022 4:00pm-5:30pm CST   Working with Developmental Trauma: Demystifying Structural Dissociation of the Personality

09/06/2022 4:00pm-5:30pm CST   Body hacks to calm and restore the nervous system

For information on how to access recordings to previous sessions, please reach out to us at chicagominds@gmail.com

Workshop Description

Do you struggle with anxiety, stress and over-thinking? 

As polyvagal expert Deb Dana says, “state creates story”, meaning that the state of our nervous system generates our emotions, thoughts and core beliefs.

The nervous system can become the prison for our minds, and a way to reduce anxiety, stress and over-thinking is to go in through your body to calm the nervous system.

In this workshop, Linda Thai will share with you effective brain-based and body-based techniques to restore well-being, based upon the neurobiology of stress and the nervous system, that she learned during seven years of working in an outpatient mental health and counseling center, providing yoga and mindfulness services to individuals who struggle with stress and over-thinking in early addiction recovery. This is further augmented by her studies into the impact of traumatic stress on brain development that are foundational to her practice as a trauma therapist.

This workshop is jam-packed full of experiential activities for professionals to use for themselves and to introduce to your clients to restore well-being, to enhance integrative capacity for focus and concentration, and to improve daily function and relationships. 

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the impacts of the stress response system of the body on brain function, behavior, physiology and relationships.

2. Understand the theory behind somatic techniques to release the diaphragm, and to practice these techniques.

3. Understand the theory behind breathing exercises, and to practice breathing exercises.

4. Understand the theory behind releasing tension in the eyes as a gateway to restoring well-being, and to practice these techniques.

5. Understand the theory behind the multiple possible purposes of fidgeting/stimming and how to intentionally engage in these practices to enhance well-being.

6. Understand the theory behind vestibular system activation and bilateral stimulation as gateways to enhancing integrative capacity for effortless focus and concentration.

This workshop is suitable for anyone who works with individuals who may experience an anxious, overwhelmed, dysregulated, stressed out, sensitive, or neurodivergent nervous system.

This workshop is also suitable for individuals who wish to become empowered in regards to their own healing journey.

About the Speaker

Linda Thai, LMSW, ERYT-200, CLYL

Linda is a mental health clinician, storyteller, and educator who has had her own lived experiences of individual, collective, historical and cultural traumatization…and healing. She uses her background in trauma therapy, somatic therapies and yoga to guide others through steps that help you to recognize and safely release tension through resourcing the body. She believes in empowering others through education and skills, thereby igniting potential and fueling your innate desire to learn, to grow, to heal.

Linda is an adjunct faculty member in the Social Work Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and specializes in trauma-informed care and compassion fatigue resilience skills; Mental health clinician at ND Systems, specializing in somatic therapies and trauma therapy. She assists internationally renowned psychiatrist and trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, with his private small group psychotherapy workshops aimed at healing attachment trauma. In her work at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, she is responsible for training clinicians in all departments, including psychology, nursing and medicine. She has a Master of Social Work with an emphasis on the neurobiology of attachment and trauma.

*Workshop participants who opt to receive CE certification, please select the CEU option. This workshop fulfills requirement for 1.5 CE credits. CE sponsorship is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), credits are applicable to LCSW and transferrable to LCPC in Illinois. If you have a different licensure or are licensed outside of Illinois, please check with your licensure body before purchasing. 

Please note that we require your live attendance in order to issue CE certificates. If you are unable to attend live, please let us know at least 24 hours before the event.