Wednesdays at 8:30 PM–9:30 PM EST
Moderator/Facilitator: Barbara Stromquist
About the Meeting:
The meeting is introduced as a group where we LEARN TOGETHER about trauma, the effects of trauma and actionable steps to deal with issues common to trauma survivors, especially emotional flashbacks – as directed by Pete Walker, or some other well-known, respected expert in the field of trauma or recovery. It’s the same format as the ACA meeting on In The Rooms, where they read the Big Red Book and share about what they’ve read. One of my gifts is the ability to present medical or recovery information from literature in a simple, easy-to-understand language. Trauma has a lot of somatic (body) and brain-related consequences, so I can explain in lay terms what the author is describing.
About the Facilitator: Barbara Stromquist
I trained as a medical technologist, so my background in laboratory sciences includes anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, hematology, immunology, etc. – lots and lots of science-based training. Since my diagnosis of Complex-PTSD, I’ve had over 150 hours of Trauma-Informed training. This training included five days of Compassionate Inquiry training, Grounding Trauma and Addictions-Related Trauma-Informed training with Gabor Mate.
Dr. Mate wrote In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and is a leading physician, author and speaker in the world of trauma. Additionally, in 2018, I spent nine days in Yelapa, Mexico with Dr. Mate’s team, and again in 2019 I spent four days on Vancouver Island with Dr. Mate’s team, exploring methods of treating trauma with plant medicine. There’s a lot of exciting research being done all over the world with psychedelics that shows a lot of promise with war vets and other trauma survivors.
I left my career in medicine in 2013 due to a series of catastrophic events leading to
my own diagnosis in 2014. Currently, I work with women fleeing violence and abuse – so common to the population is drug/alcohol addiction and mental health concerns – so my job encompasses a wide variety of agencies and issues.
