Medical Trauma Workshops and Education

Many people live with the lasting effects of medical trauma long after procedures, diagnoses, or hospital stays are over. These “quiet wounds” often show up as anxiety, hypervigilance, dissociation, avoidance, or feeling disconnected from one’s body—and yet they are rarely talked about or understood.

In this Community Conversation, medical trauma and chronic illness therapist Emma Tynan joins us for a gentle, compassionate discussion about how medical trauma impacts the nervous system and emotional wellbeing.

Together, we’ll explore:

• How medical trauma can affect the body and mind over time

• Why symptoms may appear months or years later

• Common emotional and nervous system responses to medical experiences

• Ways to rebuild safety, self-trust, and connection

• What healing can look like at your own pace

This is a supportive, trauma-informed space where you are invited to learn, reflect, and ask questions without judgment.

You do not need to “be over it” or have everything figured out. You are welcome exactly as you are.

This conversation is educational in nature and is not a substitute for therapy.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a well-known trauma therapy—but many people still have questions about what it is, how it works, and whether it might be supportive for healing after medical trauma.

In this recorded Community Conversation, licensed therapist Shelley Freeman, LCMHC, LPC, shares how she uses EMDR to support clients in trauma recovery. Together, we explore the foundations of EMDR, how it supports the nervous system, and what the EMDR process can look like in real-world practice.

This on-demand replay allows you to engage with the conversation at your own pace—pausing, reflecting, and returning as your body needs.

This gentle, educational space invites you to:

• Learn how EMDR works and why it’s used for trauma healing

• Understand what EMDR sessions typically involve

• Explore how EMDR may support nervous system regulation

• Reflect on whether EMDR might be a helpful option for your own healing journey

You do not need prior experience with EMDR to benefit from this conversation.

This recording is educational in nature and is not a substitute for therapy.

Medical trauma can deeply impact the nervous system, and for many people, dissociation becomes an adaptive response to overwhelming or threatening experiences in medical settings.

In this Community Conversation, licensed therapist Shakira O’Garro, LMHC-D, LPC, LPCC, NCC, will explore the relationship between medical trauma and dissociation. This conversation offers a compassionate, educational space to better understand dissociation—not as something “wrong,” but as a protective response shaped by the nervous system.

After a difficult medical experience, many people find themselves asking: Why did this happen? What do I do with this pain? Is there a way to make sense of what I've been through? Finding meaning isn't about minimizing what happened or forcing a silver lining, it's about honoring your experience and gently exploring what it might hold for your life going forward.

In this Community Conversation, licensed therapist Ellie Vincent, LCSW, joins us for a warm, thoughtful discussion on finding meaning after medical experiences. Together, we explore how meaning-making can become a part of healing — not as something you have to do, but as something that may arise naturally when you feel safe and supported.

This on-demand replay allows you to engage with the conversation at your own pace, pausing, reflecting, and returning as your body needs.

This gentle, educational space invites you to:

• Understand what meaning-making looks like after medical trauma

• Explore why the search for meaning is a natural part of the healing process

• Learn how to hold your experience with compassion rather than judgment

• Discover ways to reconnect with a sense of purpose and possibility

• Reflect on what healing and growth can look like for you

You do not need to have found meaning yet to benefit from this conversation. You are welcome exactly as you are.

This recording is educational in nature and is not a substitute for therapy.