The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) has taken the concepts and skills of Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing, Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing, Jean Ayres’ Sensory Integration, etc. and created their Trauma Resiliency (TRM) and Community Resiliency Models (CRM) for helping individuals and communities.  traumaresourceinstitute.com/ . They offer trainings, workbooks, a free iChill app, pens, bracelets and other easy to use reminders for utilizing basic somatic self-regulation skills for oneself, for others, and for each other within our communities.

“Every person has a Resilient Zone. When we are in our Resilient Zone, we can think clearly, handle feelings better and manage the sensations inside the body. . . We have the best capacity for flexibility and adaptability in mind, body and spirit. . . TRM can help you learn to stabilize your nervous system so that you can be in your Resilient Zone more often for longer periods of time.”  Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW & Laurie Leitch, PhD

This image of the Resilient Zone draws on the Somatic Experiencing map of a healthy nervous system, when our experience flows within the “stream of life”. SE and TRM describe the same nervous system with slightly different terminology.                    I particularly like the term ‘Resilient Zone’. All of us have triggers that can bump us out of our zone. And all of us can learn to bring ourselves back from being amped up/stuck on ‘on’ or ramped too far down: stuck on ‘off’:

“When traumatic and/or stressful events occur, the natural rhythm within the nervous system may be thrown out of balance. The Resilient Zone may get bumped out of its natural rhythm and the capacity to handle even daily life events may be difficult. Normal life stressors that once were shrugged off may cause a reaction of irritability or more serious symptoms. One of the goals of TRM/CRM is to help you bounce back into your Resilient Zone so that you can feel like your “best self” more often.”

The workbooks and iChill app available through TRI can be used by people far from a practitioner trained in TRM or SE or can be used to consolidate and deepen TRM/SE skills: traumaresourceinstitute.com/shop/

Download instructions for the iChill app are available at the bottom of every page on the Trauma Resource Institute’s website.