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Thesis and Books

Currently in Writing

Guerilla Therapy (working title)

I am currently in the process of scribbling ideas, meditations and daydreams onto pieces of paper that if I can later find, I am collecting and compiling.  The theme emerging in these scraps is reflected in my working title, Guerilla Therapy.

Guerilla Therapy presents ideas for a new way of relating to the psychotherapeutic process.  Following from the original theme of deconstructing the traumatogenic forces within civilization presented in my graduate thesis, Trauma & Civilization, this new thread is about a changing of the guard within the world of psychotherapy.  The cultural skeptic in me wonders how a system (like psychology) – so entangled in our civilized mentality and structure – can support a process of real healing, growth and aliveness.

Working with:

  • recent findings in neuroscience (specifically interpersonal neurobiology),
  • basic ideas from ancient teachings,
  • and my own curiosity,

I continue to seek a healing model that reflects both the integrative and emergent properties of being human.

Keep checking in with my blog – I hope to be using it as a vehicle for presenting some of the simple questions making me curious that will help direct me in my process of writing.

2004 (Master’s Thesis)

Trauma & Civilization: The Relationship Between Personal Trauma, Social Oppression, and the Transformative Nature of Trauma Healing (A Biopsychosocial Approach)

If you’re interested in my thesis, please feel free to download it here.  If you’re so moved, I’d ask you make a small contribution (just click on the link below) – whether that’s $1, $5 or more – which will be used toward supporting future international trauma work.  We have many plans in the works but funding is always an issue.  Thank you!





This is my graduate thesis from Union Institute & University.  This was a 3-year labor of love, with roots tracing even farther back.  I would be honored to know you read this, and would enjoy any comments you might have.  [If you'd like to purchase a hard copy, please contact me ]

Abstract:

This study demonstrates how unresolved trauma affects individuals’ capacity to create healthy, functional lives. It describes the foundational relationship between personal trauma and social oppression that creates a cycle of dependence on lower functioning physiological, psychological, and social mechanisms. This “Cycle of Devolution” has its origin in humanity’s disconnection from its greatest resources – including, basic life rhythms, mutually-enhancing relationships, sustainable communities, and ancestral wisdom. At the very roots of modern civilization, unresolved personal trauma has impacted the social systems that shape modern life – including, child-rearing, family, education, religion, and culture. However, this trauma-induced cycle shifts as individuals successfully renegotiate traumatic experiences, altering the way they relate to themselves, their families, and the world. This paper relies on the new science of Somatic (body-oriented) Psychology to unravel the mystery of trauma and oppression. Specifically, Peter Levine’s model of Somatic Experiencing is explored in its use of healing trauma as a vehicle for personal and social transformation. Working with the thwarted physiological responses to trauma, this approach awakens individuals’ creative impulses and self-regulatory functioning. In this way, healing from trauma provides an opportunity to reorganize personal and social life.

Brad’s Publishing (Pinpot Tiger series by Koda Minz-Kammer)

I had the great fortune to assist my then-7 year old son Koda in the transcription, writing, and publishing of his creative book series for youth, entitled the Pinpot Tiger series.

goin up