Lived Experience Expertise from “life trauma”

Lived through early and severe childhood trauma, followed by teenage trauma and trauma as a young woman. This includes:

• Child sexual abuse
• Child sexual exploitation (in-group trafficking)
• Emotional and medical neglect
• Lack of decent and continuous attachment figures
• Child psychiatry with no interest in who I was or what I needed, or what I was living with, who failed to notice how I slid into drug use and prostitution as a mean to survive
• Foster care with good intentioned foster mother with lack of personal capacity
• Sexual exploitation as a teenager and young woman, from sport trainers, boyfriends, classmates and continued trafficking.
• Domestic violence as 16-21 year old.
• More psychiatric “care with excessive drugging, ECT, being locked up, etc.
  
  

Lived Experience Expertise from psychiatric and therapy trauma, but also successful personal work experiences

• Survivor of psychiatric “care, control, and coercion”, in several different bouts of in-hospital and out-care “treatment”, amongst others a 9-month inpatient lock-up in a high security ward, where convicted violent criminals who were too “sick” to be in prison were placed, I was 22 and placed there because I self-harmed due to my traumatic upbringing and trying to survive, also in “psychiatric care”
• Been in therapy with at least 10 different therapists, believing in and working within several different modalities. One in my twenties for 11 years and one in my forties/fifties for 5 years. Both dramatic and traumatic in their own ways, both psychodynamically/psychoanalytically oriented. The last one fully paid by me out of pocket, costing me a small house, with loans I am still paying off (making me very poor)
• Been through a neuropsychiatric evaluation of absolutely no use (but diagnosed of course)
• Been through a pain assessment of absolutely no use (but diagnosed of course)
• Processed, thought and reflected for thousands and thousands of hours.
  
  

Educating, teaching and training experience

• Developed and given educations on trauma and dissociation for many years
• Developed self-help strategies for trauma and dissociation around grounding, and “stabilization”
• Developed programs and workshops with focus on trauma and dissociation
• Published two books based on my own lived experience with severe trauma and dissociation
• Published chapters in other people’s books
• Been interviewed for other people’s books, presentations, thesis work etc.
• Published many blog texts, essays and articles on Academia, Medium, Substack and my own blogs
• Tried to educate my colleagues and bosses in psychiatry on trauma and dissociation and how psychiatry could work differently
• Presented at conferences on trauma and dissociation from different angles
• Co-produced trainings, workshops, and conferences online and face to face with focus on trauma
• Discussed lengthily with “professionals” and lived experience experts on trauma and dissociation.
  
  

Theoretical and academic experience

• Scrutinized a lot of theories around trauma and dissociation but espcially the theory of structural dissociation, the polyvagal theory, and the attachment theory, all which I am critical about. Some of my own favorite theories are the intersubjectivity theory, theories on experiential learning, 4E cognition theory, affordance theory, the re-use theory, theories on expressive arts, eco-therapeutic theories and human-animal interaction theories
• Taken several university courses in cognitive science, including neuroscience (as part of a master’s degree)
• Taken other university courses in social work with the focus on violence against women, gender-based violence and DV, but also in psychology and in other supporting areas
• Learned about the Power Threat Meaning Framework
• Taken several trainings in mindfulness and trauma sensitive mindfulness
• Taken trainings in so-called PTSD and dissociation
• Studied what art/expressive art can do to help
• 2, 5 years of psychotherapy training from the UK
• 0,5 years of psychotherapy training from Sweden and Denmark
• Been in supervision with 4 different supervisors working within different modalities (so far), consulted with several others.
• Read hundreds of scientific articles
• Read equally many books
• Listened to equally many webinars and online conferences
• Taken a training in “intentional peer support”
• Have thoroughly explored the so call neurodivergent paradigm and find it to be no different to any other psychiatric paradigm.
• Currently taking a training in EMDR with extra supervision
  
  

Practical experience and skillsets

• Worked for many years with ecotherapy/equine assisted/nature assisted interventions for stress and trauma
• Been a trainer for many years in ecotherapy/equine assisted/nature assisted interventions for stress and trauma
• Worked as a peer support worker and met many with severe trauma and dissociation that I have supported
• Lead a non-profit organization for 13 years specializing in education and research on human trauma, how nature and equine assisted modalities can help, but also on the welfare of the equines
• Built international networks and led organizations focusing on creating better support for people with severe trauma
• Led workshops and trainings in around 10 countries, with the focus on trauma and dissociation and working with “the more than human world” (so called nature and animal assisted therapies)
• Been an activist and advocate for more humane “mental health care” for many years
• Had (and have) clients in psychotherapy under supervision (as I am not officially certified as a psychotherapist)
• Been offering my own version of trauma and dissociation support, growth and guidance that is a mix of therapy, lived experience expertise (peer work), the PTMF, mindfulness, expressive arts, nature/eco-therapy and so-called psychoeducation. Sometimes I call it “Peer Psychotherapy” but most often just "ecotherapy", I don’t know yet what I will call it in the end
• Have mentored and supervised others in the field of equine assisted interventions, working with trauma and dissociation
• Stood up to a lot of bullies who want to tell me that my knowledge, lived experience expertise, peer work, and therapeutic practical skills are not as valid as their own university degrees and/or other trainings they have been able to afford (but I have not), or have had support to take.

For those of you who do not understand why I put this on my website, this is not information meant for you.
For a more complete pciture of my courses, academic pursuits and work you can check my "regular" CV out.