by Donald Marmara, somatic psychotherapist and educator, Core Development Sydney
At the age of 14 I was diagnosed clinically anxious and depressed and prescribed an ever-increasing dosage of psychotropic drugs. I was told that I would be dependent upon them for the rest of my life.
I would probably have continued to be dependent on these drugs if I had tried to adjust to the values of society .
WORKING WITH TRAUMA
“Trauma is all about speed and reflexivity—which is why, in addressing trauma, each of us needs to work through it slowly, over time.
We need to understand our body’s process of connection and settling. We need to slow ourselves down and learn to lean into uncertainty, rather than away from it.
by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist and Emotional Educator, Artarmon, Sydney
Most of us are not terribly good at dealing with our emotions, let alone speaking about them. How do we find the right words, and be sensitive yet honest when talking about our own and other people’s emotions? Is it always appropriate to be honest about what we really feel?
Individual Sessions, Couples Sessions, Sessions For Parents and Teenagers(together and separately), and individually tailored Talks and Workshops for Groups and Organisations.
Donald Marmara grew up in Malta where he gradually became aware of the extent of his own and others’ emotional and psychological wounding, and how deeply this affected our wellbeing and the way we treat ourselves and each other.
This is the TRUE PURPOSE OF EMOTIONAL LEARNING:
To Respect, Value, Deepen and Enrich our experiences, our relationships and our lives.So why do we need Core Development ?
Just as a high proportion of the causes of problems in the atmosphere lie beneath the surface, in the soil and under the sea, many and possibly most of the causes of our emotional and mental challenges, and the resources needed to heal them, lie beneath the surface of our consciousness.
Sometimes I use touch, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I work with clients who know each other, sometimes I don’t.
When I asked one of my supervisors, David Boadella, what contract he had with his clients, he answered “which client and when?”
The creative process does not work according to any standard formula. Flexibility is the key.
So you’re feeling anxious or depressed. Or you don’t feel quite right but you find it hard to describe how you feel.
You know your life can be better but you don’t know how to get there. You may have already tried various approaches, perhaps even been to counsellors and psychotherapists but not been able to get the results you’re looking for.
ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND CORE DEVELOPMENT
This is what my work in experiential and emotional learning is about. Restoring our capacity to give and receive love.
As a society, and indeed as a human race, we have moved so far away from our true nature, from what we know in our hearts – ie that our true nature is loving, cooperative and compassionate – that we we have come to believe that human nature is destructive.
When I was 18 years old, I was a good amateur table-tennis player. I never made it to a final, but I made it to a semifinal and a number of quarterfinals.
In the first round of a national competition I was drawn against a player who had one leg shorter than the other and consequently limped and was unable to move fast.
It’s good to remind ourselves not to see and relate to people – children and adults – through the filter of a label, however correct we may think the label is.
Some time ago I had the opportunity of working with a woman in her late 20s. She was diagnosed as chronically depressed, and stuck in a junior position in her company because they said she was a slow learner with poor communication skills and no good at working in a team.
