Nearly every aspect of our lives involves some sort of communication and relationship. While some things are as easy to discuss as today’s weather, it’s much more common that our efforts to communicate run into the turbulent waters of an activated nervous system. As soon as your nervous system senses anything it perceives as danger, no matter how small, your inner resources shift to survival strategies, and away from the higher functions that allow you to communicate well.

The presence of trauma (both resolved and unresolved) only accentuates this phenomenon, as implicit memories evoked by stress or challenging communication make it even easier to react when the stakes are high.

Put more simply - if you have anything to communicate about that’s stressful or challenging, your nervous system can easily take over and prevent you from having the conversation you wanted to have. Instead you get into a fight, or one person shuts down, or avoids the conversation altogether. And getting dysregulated can make doing what you “should do” in those situations almost impossible.

In a therapeutic setting this tendency can also feel like a lightning-fast, unexpected rupture with a client. Or if you hold space for a couples, you might see a conflict quickly spiral into patterns of defensiveness, attacking, overwhelm, and shame despite many sessions of psycho-education.

Join Dr. Peter Levine and Neil Sattin to learn and experience a new framework for communication that will help you (and your clients) connect in times of uncertainty or stress.

Whether you are a practitioner, or simply someone with important things to communicate about, this workshop will help you understand exactly why communication goes wrong - when it goes wrong - and give you practices to get things back on track.

Along with practical instruction in the “Regulate to Communicate” framework developed by Neil Sattin, you'll experience guided regulation practices and live demonstration with Dr. Peter Levine.

By the end of the 3 hours, you will have a solid foundation for stepping into any communication challenge - personal, professional, political - with tools to keep yourself grounded, resourceful, and connected.

This is a unique opportunity to learn directly from Dr. Levine, one of the pioneers of body-based trauma healing work.

Additional Workshop Information

• Neil Sattin presents the Regulate to Communicate framework
• Dr. Levine and Neil discuss the subtle signs that our nervous system is engaged - and either helping or getting in the way - specific to communication scenarios
• Dr. Levine and Neil offer demonstrations with selected workshop participants
• Breakout rooms to discuss key takeaways
• Q&A

All participants will receive access to the recording of the workshop!

Peter A Levine, Ph.D., is the developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma. He holds doctorates in both Biophysics and Psychology. He is the Founder and President of the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education and the Founder and Advisor for Somatic Experiencing International. Dr. Levine recently finished his Autobiography, An Autobiography of Trauma, A Healing Journey, and is the author of several best-selling books on trauma, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma (published in over 29 languages). He has received Lifetime Achievement awards from Psychotherapy Networker and from the US Association for Body-Oriented Psychotherapy. He continues to teach trauma healing workshops internationally. Learn more at somaticexperiencing.com.

Neil Sattin is a coach, educator, and host of the Relationship Alive podcast. With more than 7 million downloads, Relationship Alive has featured interviews with leading experts in the field of relationships, intimacy, attachment, and trauma recovery for the past decade. Along with the podcast, Neil’s research and work have had a positive impact on thousands of individuals and couples worldwide over the past 15 years. His mission is to synthesize the best-of-the-best relational wisdom, making it useful and practical for as many people as possible.

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is designed for therapeutic practitioners AND everyday people who aren't therapeutic practitioners. You'll learn valuable communication and regulation skills that are beneficial no matter the context.

How long will this take?

The workshop will last 3 hours.

I'm not in a relationship. Is this still relevant?

Absolutely. These skills apply to all human connections – with friends, family, colleagues, clients, and most importantly, with yourself. The ability to regulate your nervous system is foundational to communication success in all areas of your life.

If you have other questions, please email me directly at neilius [at] neilsattin [dot] com – happy to help out!