Theme 01
Embodied Trauma & Recovery
How trauma is experienced beyond words
Explore the ways trauma can be held and communicated through the body, emotions, silence and non-verbal expression. This theme can make embodied trauma recovery understandable to both clinicians and the public.
- embodiment
- somatic awareness
- integrative silence
- non-verbal communication
- trauma recovery
In plain language
Insights
Plain-language publication summary2025
How trauma is experienced beyond words
Explores how integrative silence can create space for embodied awareness, relational safety and trauma processing, offering an alternative to the expectation that survivors must rely on words to communicate and heal.
From the publication
‘Stay with the body’: facilitating integrative silence in community-based sexual trauma care. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 16(1), 2025.Plain-language publication summary2025
Understanding wellbeing beyond the individual
Provides a detailed methodology and explores how community-centred, feminist and restorative approaches can support trauma recovery by strengthening connection, agency and embodied healing among survivors of childhood sexual trauma in marginalised communities.
From the publication
Healing Bodies, Healing Communities: A Community-Based Qualitative Study of Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Trauma in South Africa. Healthcare, 13(20), 2601, 2025.
The scholarly record
Publications
Presentations
Conference presentations
| Year | Presentation | Event | Place | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ‘Stay with the Body’: Facilitating Integrative Silence in Community-Based Sexual Trauma CareLatest interventions for survivors of childhood sexual abuse | 8th International Conference for Survivors of Rape (ICSOR) | Ghent, Belgium | Oral presentation |
| 2026 | ‘Stay with the Body’: Facilitating Integrative Silence in Community-Based Sexual Trauma CareDecolonial care and collective healing | 30th Annual South African Psychology Congress (PsySSA) | Johannesburg, South Africa | Oral presentation |
| 2024 | Facilitating Integrative Silence in Sexual Trauma Care | International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA) World Meeting | Munich, Germany | Poster presentation |
| 2023 | Establishing Embodied Care Pathways for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual TraumaKnowledge Production, Research Ethics and Authorship in African Contexts | 16th Ghent Africa Platform Symposium (GAPSYM16) | Cape Town, South Africa | Research protocol presentation |
The six themes
I welcome dialogue with researchers, practitioners, organisations, students, community partners and others interested in mental health and responsive care.
An invitation to dialogue