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Working with Minimisation

7 February 2022

One trait that I witness consistently when working with trauma sufferers is Minimisation.

Minimisation is a maladaptive response that is often deployed subconsciously. It’s the brains way of not letting us feel the enormity of past traumatic events.

When trauma sufferers are asked about their life history, they will often reel off a list of terrible events, one after another, without showing any emotion or connection to the story they are telling.

It’s as if it didn’t really happen or there is only a vague and foggy connection to the memory. The system has cleverly adapted this way in order to “hide” the truth and prevent us from fully feeling the enormity of the situation for what it was.

Whilst this enables us to keep the trauma side-lined for a while, it’s all still there, dysregulating the nervous system and affecting the body at a cellular level. Humans often do a brilliant job of holding this all in, but of course, over time, this becomes too much; we start to get physical symptoms and the body starts to scream for our attention.

Working to a) bring awareness to the reality of what actually happened, and the effect this had on you, and b) understanding how to feel and allow the emotions that come with these realisations in a safe and titrated way is the first step in moving from a disconnected, dorsal vagal state to a more connected, regulated ventral vagal state.

This is a process that requires patience and compassion and is something I’ve lived through myself.

By becoming alive to the truth in our bodies, we can reconnect to the deeper, authentic self. This takes courage, but deep and lasting healing requires us to experience temporary discomfort.

When you recount your life stories to yourself or to others, watch out for this minimisation.

Awareness is the first step and if you need someone to hold your hand through this process, please reach out.

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Kathryn Wallis (Kathryn Vintage) profile picture
Kathryn Wallis (Kathryn Vintage)
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Therapy spanning consistently across 2023 with Jo has been life changing for me. I have learnt to connect to my emotions, body and thought processes in ways i never thought I could. Before I began therapy with Jo I was having regular panic attacks, my nervous system was fried from trauma and I was medicating heavily. Now, I am grounded, my mind and body feels at peace - I guess this is what you would call ‘the Still Point’. All of my sessions with Jo were online, this for me initially felt like a gamble as so much of the work requires an emotional and physical connection but through the safe space created I felt that this was not an issue. We practised cranial sacral techniques, compassionate enquiry, meditations to regulate the nervous system amongst many other techniques and lessons and not once did the online presence feel like it was a barrier. I actually found it to be a comfort to go into such deep work in my own home, my sacred space. This work has quite literally upgraded my life. From a physical health perspective but also emotionally. I feel great comfort in knowing that I have Jo as a therapist and will continue to connect, learn, and support myself with Still Point. Thank you Jo for everything you have done for me 🙏🏼
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Adie de Putron
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It's hard to express into words what Jo has done for me in the time I have worked with her. I'm beyond grateful for the help and support I have received through both the Compassionate Inquiry and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and would highly recommend Jo to anyone who is ready to look inward and heal. The combination of her extensive knowledge, intuition, friendly, non-judgemental approach has created such a safe and supportive space. Walking into her treatment room is almost instantly relaxing; the world is left at the door. With each session I've felt lighter, brighter and brought back home to myself again and feel more equipped to take what I have learnt into my daily life. Thank you Jo. 🙏
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Helen Quin
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Jo creates an incredibly nurturing and safe space where you are supportively held to turn inwards and face the challenges keeping you stuck in the trauma, and fear. Not only is she highly skilled at what she does, Jo is incredibly real and has a beautiful perspective on life. I'm so grateful.
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Kelly H
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I had the pleasure of seeing Jo whilst she was training, and I have continued to see Jo on a regular basis, over the time of seeing Jo we have been through many aspects of physical ailments, tooth extraction complications, migraines, lower back pain, TMJ and including an unexpected broken tibia and fibula ,and all those lovely emotions that go hand-in-hand with physical ailments. Jo is truly a beautiful person, inside and out, her soft, gentle voice adds to the whole ease of the sessions, her knowledge and experience of life, and in-depth complex training compounds to make very powerful sessions. You can be completely open with your thoughts and feelings with Jo, knowing that you are completely safe, and that Jo is a highly professional individual. Each session can be so different, it’s absolutely amazing the power of touch , to have a practitioner like Jo, alongside a powerful natural therapy is nothing short of a miracle, the gentle touch to feel the rhythmic movements of the central nervous system, to allow releases and bring balance. I wholeheartedly cannot thank Jo enough for being her beautiful self, and providing this profound alternative therapy to the community.
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Samantha Roze
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You rarely meet a Therapist that can always put 100% into every session and with Jo, you get a consistent combination of care, skill and feminine intuition. Her knowledge is endless in the realms of both chronic pain and the psychology of pain. As Jo has lived experience of this herself, she goes beyond just having empathy for her client, she truly knows how this impacts your life. Jo has a passion for her work and it not only shows in her sessions but in the material she shares; If you get a chance read some of Jo's work on her website and social media posts as this lady knows what she is talking about. Now that I have sessions with Jo I wouldn't go back to anyone else as I know I would be disappointed. Definitely 5 stars from me!
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Emma-Jayne Sarahs
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It is clear that Jo invests heavily in her own professional development and that combined with her own lived experiences she could truly understand and be empathetic towards my personal situation. Jo is authentic and I never felt judged or uncomfortable as she held space for me in her welcoming and homely clinic space. I really felt understood and listened to by Jo as she guided me through the therapy process. During our sessions Jo worked with me using a combination of Compassionate Inquiry, developed by the renowned Gabor Maté and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. Jo has a wonderfully calming approach and really is a credible, authentic and very knowledgeable therapist. I will forever be grateful to Jo for the impact her therapy has had on my life. Jo has helped me through some very difficult times and feel so very blessed to have found her.
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Jason Hamon
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I went to see Jo when I was struggling with my feelings following a bereavement. She creates a safe space that makes it easy to talk and always works at a pace that is suitable for you as a client. Jo’s approach is full of care and empathy which feels very gentle, even when working through the toughest of issues. Importantly for me, she is humorous at the appropriate times and we shared laughter together as well as tears. I cannot recommend her highly enough as our work together literally changed my life.