Since the late 1980s, therapists and counsellors have been exploring ways to support trauma recovery in the myriad ways it appears in individuals, families, communities and nationally. The numbers of people seeking trauma support has increased dramatically. This is important in Ireland because trauma memory, including transgenerational of the colonial experience, is at the heart social and political development and peace building in Ireland.
Judith Herman refers to the dialectic at the heart of trauma i.e., "the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud." The resolution of this is found in the process of trauma recovery/integration. At a national level this dialectic is plainly seen and is a central feature of the work of reconciliation and peace building.
ISE was established (2012) in the North and the first training group in was formed 2013. The participants came from all over Ireland. It was one of the many developments of the Peace Process that lead to the IRA's cessation of military operations, the signing of The Good Friday Agreement, the continuation of peace building. Trauma support was included in the upsurge in community development which addressed the social needs of the communities in the North of Ireland following the end of the conflict.
Somatic experiencing training was purposefully established in the North to encourage connections North and South and to explore the current and transgenerational contexts through the Somatic Experiencing TM approach to trauma resolution. Political partition shows that the country is divided but not separated. North and South both impact on and influence each other both historically and currently - often in ways that go unnoticed. Transgenerational research shows that experiences persist in the lived experiences of the present. link
SE training makes it possible to understand better how the echoes and shards of traumatic experiences continue to shape our lives in the present and makes a contribution to peace building, as the future of Ireland is being considered and negotiated.
