Resources for Trauma Healing

Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of my favorite books, educators, healing modalities, resources, and general trauma healing support that has been helpful to me on my own journey back to wholeness. There is no one size fits all to healing from trauma. May the list below offer a starting point for you or someone you love to begin the work of alchemizing trauma into hope and healing.

BOOKS

Chapman, Alexander, Kim Gratz, and Matthew Tull. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety: Breaking Free from Worry, Panic, PTSD & Other Anxiety Symptoms. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger, 2011.

Emerson, David, and Elizabeth Hopper. Overcoming Trauma through Yoga: Reclaiming your Body. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 2011.

Gordon, James. The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2019

Herman, Judith. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. New York: Basic Books, 1992.

Levine, Peter. Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of your Body. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2008.

Levine, Peter. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 2010.

Levine, Peter. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 1997.

Mate, Gabor. When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection. New York: Random House, 2011.

Mayer, Emeran. The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. New York: Harper Wave, 2016.

Menakem, Resmaa. My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Las Vegas, NV: Central Recovery Press, 2017.

Porges, Stephen. Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2023.

van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York: Viking, 2014.

Wolynn, Mark. It Didn’t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We are and How to End the Cycle. New York: Viking, 2016.

NATIONAL HOTLINES

National Child Abuse Hotline
(800) 422-4453
http://www.childhelp.org/hotline

National Domestic Violence Hotline
(800) 799-7233 (SAFE) or 1 (800) 787-3224
www.thehotline.org

National Parent Helpline
(855) 427-2736
http://www.nationalparenthelpline.org

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
(800) 273-8255
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

 National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline
(866) 331-9474
www.loveisrespect.org

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Hotline
(800) 656-4673 (HOPE)
www.rainn.org

 Trevor Lifeline
(866) 488-7386
24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ youth
www.thetrevorproject.org

 Veterans Crisis Line
(800) 273-8255, press 1 or text to 838255
www.veteranscrisisline.net

YOGA & MINDFULNESS PROGRAMS FOR TRAUMA

Give Back Yoga Foundation
A national non-profit organization offering yoga programs for underserved populations, including veterans, incarcerated men and women, cancer survivors, people with eating disorders, and those in recovery for drug and alcohol addictions.

900 Baseline Road 13B
Boulder, CO 80302
www.givebackyoga.org

Integrative Restoration Institute (iRest)
A non-profit organization offering iRest Yoga Nidra programs in schools, yoga studios, community centers, hospitals, hospice, VA hospitals, military bases, and homeless shelters across the United States.
900 Fifth Avenue, Suite 204
San Rafael, CA 94901

(415) 456-3909
www.irest.us

Mindful Yoga Therapy
An organization that supports veterans and others with PTSD through mindful yoga practices.
122 Market Square
Newington, CT 06111
(860) 757-3200
www.mindfulyogatherapy.org

Purple Dot Yoga Project
A non-profit organization supporting and empowering individuals impacted by domestic violence and trauma using yoga as a healing tool.
www.purpledotyogaproject.org

Warriors at Ease
A non-profit organization supporting the health and resiliency of military communities across the globe through evidence-based yoga and meditation.

8400 Cedar St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(512) 516-5031
www.warriorsatease.org

TRAUMA EDUCATORS, RESEARCH, TREATMENT MODALITIES, COURSES, AND GENERAL SUPPORT 

Cultural Somatics University Free Online Racialized Trauma Course with Resmaa Menakem https://culturalsomaticsuniversity.thinkific.com/courses/cultural-somatics-free-5-session-ecourse

Karine Bell Trauma therapist, somatic educator and abolitionist working to help parents heal from cycles of trauma. Bell also facilitates online shared learning experiences for all types of people through embodied trauma conference™ and rooted™. https://www.karinebell.com/

EMDR Institute
National database to find EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) clinicians.
www.emdr.com

National Center for PTSD
Government resource for research and education on trauma and PTSD.
www.ptsd.va.gov 

National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health
Provides training, support, and consultation to advocates, mental health and substance abuse providers, legal professionals, and policymakers.
www.nationalcenterdvtraumamh.org

National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Provides resources, education, and services for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events.
www.nctsn.org

National Institute of Mental Health
Largest scientific organization in the world dedicated to research focused on the understanding, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health.
www.nimh.nih.gov/

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Offers somatic psychotherapy education, practice, and research worldwide.
www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org 

Somatic Experiencing
A body-oriented approach to healing trauma and other stress disorders, founded by Dr. Peter Levine.
www.traumahealing.com/somatic-experiencing

Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE)
A body-based modality to release muscular patterns of stress, tension, and trauma founded by David Berceli.
www.traumaprevention.com  

The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute
A non-profit organization founded by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk offering resources for special populations, various trauma treatment approaches, research, lectures, and courses.
www.traumacenter.org