Healing Sexual Trauma: Freedom & Body Awareness

— It takes courage and perseverance to heal from sexual assault. By choosing to work toward healing, you're choosing to reclaim a wounded part of yourself that's suffered deep violation and betrayal. Healing won't always come easy or feel good, but if you stick with it, the rewards will be great. You might gain a sense of being safely embodied; of feeling like yourself again; of recovering your focus and concentration; of reclaiming your sexuality; of feeling the freedom to be creative, playful, and spontaneous; or of feeling connected to others, to nature, and to life.

You've been gifted the wonderful ability to create, to envision something that doesn't yet exist, and to work toward manifesting it. To be a co-creator in your life, you must begin with forming a clear view of what you'd like to grow for yourself.

Valeria Teles interviews Erika Shershun — the author of "Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook: Somatic Skills to Help You Feel Safe in Your Body, Create Boundaries, and Live with Resilience."

Erika Shershun, LMFT is a somatic psychotherapist specializing in working with sexual trauma survivors. Passionate about getting the needed tools that eluded her for so long into the hands of all survivors, she wrote the Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook. Drawing on the powerful mind-body techniques of somatic therapy, it's a step-by-step guide to overcoming the physical and psychological effects of sexual trauma, increasing positive body awareness and restoring a sense of hope and vitality.

Erika sees individual clients and facilitates an ongoing weekly therapy group for female identified survivors at her private practice in San Francisco (currently meeting remotely). Her work is body based and trauma informed, incorporating neurobiology, EMDR, energy work and other modalities to help ease and resolve symptoms.

Having studied fine art, design, and film, another passion and specialization is working with artists, performers, and creatives. Erika welcomes and values diversity, including all races, sexualities, genders, body sizes, and abilities.

To learn more about Erika Shershun and her work, please visit: https://www.healingsexualtrauma.com/ & https://www.erikashershuntherapy.com/

— This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.