Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Working with Your Parts: Complex PTSD, Dissociation, and Hypervigilance with Elizabeth Ferreira

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Dec 16, 2024

Elizabeth Ferreira, an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in California, shares her expertise in somatic therapy and complex PTSD. She discusses the integration of Internal Family Systems with somatic approaches, emphasizing how our internal parts relate to emotional states. The conversation touches on navigating emotional numbness, hypervigilance, and the importance of self-acceptance. Elizabeth also reflects on her personal journey managing C-PTSD and ADHD while supporting others in their healing processes.

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INSIGHT

Dissociation as Signal

Dissociation during social interaction signals reaching capacity/overwhelm.
Track your capacity by noticing subtle signs of disconnection (fuzziness, tiredness).

ADVICE

Tracking Dissociation

Track internal states through somatic experiences (difficulty thinking, visual fuzziness).
Seek feedback from an attuned person to identify dissociation.

ANECDOTE

Suppressed Anger

Elizabeth wasn't allowed to say no growing up, leading to suppressed anger and dissociation.
Healthy protest and boundary setting are important for development and require a safe environment.

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Somatic therapist Elizabeth Ferreira joins the show to discuss complex trauma, dissociation, and working with challenging emotions. Forrest and Elizabeth start by exploring the relationship between Internal Family Systems and somatic therapy, including how we can apply a somatic lens to working with our parts. They then apply that framework to complex PTSD, cognitive bypassing, emotional numbing, hypervigilance, and other difficult experiences. Other topics include issues around comparing trauma, windows of tolerance, appreciating individual needs, and Elizabeth’s own journey of becoming a therapist while managing C-PTSD and ADHD.

About our Guest: Elizabeth is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist working in California. She specializes in somatic approaches to trauma work.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:15: What is the crossover between IFS and somatic therapy?

12:25: What helps a psychologically literate person who struggles to have a felt experience?

19:05: How can I track my capacity and needs in social situations before dissociating?

35:05: Why do I feel numb, and how can I move past it and feel my feelings again?

41:05: How can I address hypervigilance and stay present with my feelings without catastrophizing?

48:40: How do I respond to friends (or clients) who minimize their own pain or trauma?

58:55: What has supported Elizabeth in pursuing her vocation amidst challenges with trauma and neurodivergence?

1:10:40: Recap

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