The Heart of Healing: A course in emotional recovery

Apr 3 / Apr 10 / Apr 17 / Apr 24

This four-session course will help participants understand how our bodies respond to threats, traumas and losses and how this impacts our relationships and self-esteem. Participants will receive help learning how to address anxiety, numbness and relational distress. Questions and conversation will be encouraged throughout the sessions.

Week 1 we will consider our common human emotions, and try to understand how they work, why they come and maybe more importantly, why they DON’T COME when it feels like they should. We will look at how our nervous systems are designed to keep us safe and connected to others, and how emotional intimacy and vulnerability are the core skills of human relationality.

Week 2 we will look at grief and loss. What makes life hard are our many losses—some small and some unthinkable and life-changing. We will talk about how grief works, and why it is an excellent teacher about our emotions. We will look at the differences in how men and women grieve, and a few tricks to help you befriend your grief as opposed to escape it.

Week 3 we will discuss trauma and how it can impact our lives and our relationships. We will look at what happens to our emotional world when a trauma hits, and what it does to our brains and our hearts. It can be a big help to have a good handle on trauma, especially if we are feeling stuck and bogged down in loss.

Week 4 will be a sharing session where we can practice the emotional intimacy and connection to others that helps us recover from loss and trauma. This two-hour reflective sharing circle will provide participants with an opportunity to share and listen to each other with deep presence and attention.

*Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions

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Roy Ellis
Roy Ellis is a therapist, author and speaker in Nova Scotia. Roy brings 35 years of practice working with grief, trauma, sudden loss, He provides frontline support for private, government and community organizations which have experienced an unexpected death, tragedy or workplace disaster. He is a Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner (CSCP) with The Canadian Association for Spiritual Care, and received a Masters of Divinity from Queen’s University and a Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology from Acadia University. Roy has worked extensively with many organizations including Threads of Life, facilitating sessions at family forums, volunteer training, and contributing articles. Learn more at royfellis.com Opens in new tab

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