Duration dates LIVE: 13th Sept - 14th Dec 2023 A RTT-online level 2 course with Merete Holm Brantbjerg and Kolbjørn Vårdal. The course has started and is closed for new participants

What will you gain from this course?

This course will focus on practical methodology and theoretical understanding of hypo-arousal – to support integration and normalisation of this deep parasympathetic survival-reaction – also called the dorsal vagal state – or collapse. “Sitting on the edge of an abyss together” is a poetical language for the methodology

Clinicians participating in this training will gain a basic understanding of and practice in including modification of hypo-response and relating to hypo-arousal together with a client in the map of trauma therapeutic methodology

Pricing options

There exist different options for purchasing this course

RELATIONAL TRAUMA THERAPY: Specialised in including and normalising hypo-states and developing practical methods for working with these states

Differentiation between hypo-response in muscles and hypo-arousal in the autonomic nervous-system will be addressed

This includes differentiation between 3 degrees of stress-responses

  • 1st

    1st degree of stress holds the orienting impulse when something calls for attention.

  • 2nd

    2nd degree stress holds all the organised survival-reactions like flight, fight, protection reflex, calling for help, freeze etc.

  • 3rd

    3rd degree stress holds the deep drop into hypo-arousal/collapse – together with disorganised survival-reactions.

Practical methodology

  • Bodily exercises will be used to build resilience enough to become curious about the deep parasympathetic state of hypo-arousal – supporting a boundary between the self and the collapsed state, so it becomes possible to relate to the collapse instead of being pulled into it or defending against it. Externalisation and visualisation will be trained to support establishing a relationship to hypo-arousal – a methodology developed within Relational Trauma Therapy for working with 3rd degree stress responses.

  • Micro-activations of muscles and connective tissue will be trained in very low dosage – to support presence in the here and now when being close to a hypo-arousal state either in one self or somebody else – and exercises that awaken interoception will be used to support kindness and gentleness in our relationship to the collapsed part of ourselves or others

  • Two traditions are represented in the thinking behind the bodily methodology: Psychomotor skill-training including micro-activations of both muscles and connective tissue – and neurologically informed training focusing on awakening sensation, activating joints and activating interoception

This online-course offers

7 X 3 hour live sessions that each time will include:

  • 5 elements

    Presentation of one out of 5 basic elements in working with hypo-arousal

  • Practical training

    Practical training in body-awareness and specific muscle-and joint-activations

  • Sharing

    Time for sharing in smaller groups

  • Exchange-time

    Exchange-time in the whole group with questions and answers – and sharing in subgroups

  • Integration-time

    Session 4 and 7 focus on integration in the learning process

  • Recordings

    Recordings of each of the 7 sessions will be made available for enrolled participants until 6th of September 2024

  • Curriculum

    Access to an updated curriculum on our online-platform that follows the online course. Here will handouts, articles, links for recommended external sources and the video

Who is this course for?

  • Participants

    Practitioners, consultants, psychotherapists or other professionals working with other people therapeutically or in teaching – who wants to add and integrate a focus on hypo-arousal in their practice

  • Previous experience with teaching that includes and awakens hypo-response is requested

    This request can be fulfilled by having participated in the online course “Including and awakening hypo-response” – having followed the special edition of “Including and awakening hypo-response” to be bought together with the SEAT course - or having participated in training in Relational Trauma Therapy with Merete Holm Brantbjerg or Kolbjørn Vårdal

  • Recommendations

    You can also prepare yourself for this course by buying a special edition of the "Hyper and hypo interwoven" (HHI) course. This is not mandatory - we recommend it. When doing the HHI course, we saw how useful it is to adress both hyper and hypo-response when building resilience in relation to high arousal states - hyper- as well as hypo-arousal. We therefore see the relevance of going through the HHI course prior to working directly with hypo-arousal

  • You can expect

    Expect that focusing on hypo-arousal will open up to processes that go deep. Trauma-related material that has not earlier been touched and regulated can show up

  • Fulfillng the criteria

    If you are uncertain if you fulfill the criteria, please contact us on : [email protected] | The organizer has the right to take action to secure that participants fulfill the criteria

  • Purchase special edition of previous courses

    If you want to purchase the special edition of “Including and awakening hypo-response” and/or "Hyper and hypo interwoven", please write to [email protected]

What to expect in this course

5 basic elements in working with hypo-arousal will be presented – 1 element will be the focus in each out of 5 of the sessions – and 2 sessions will focus on integration:

  • 1 - September 13

    Repetition of micro-activations – and differentiation between hypo-response and hypo-arousal. Differentiation between 3 degrees of stress. How does it impact you to start relating to hypo-arousal/collapse – and what supports you in doing it?

  • 2 - September 27

    Proprioception and interoception. Strengthening proprioception creates safety and better motor control with the effect of being more present in the moment. Combined with a kind and mindful interoceptive awareness it is possible to establish a relationship to hypo-arousal as parts of ourself and others.

  • 3 - October 11

    Externalisation and/or visualisation used as a method to establish a relationship to hypo-arousal - instead of identifying with it, trying to contain it – or polarising to it. How does the body matter in this process?

  • 4 - October 25

    Integration-time: time for personal and professional integration

  • 5 - November 15

    Strengthening the boundary between the self and hypo-arousal – and between different levels of low energy states. How do we support a sense of boundary between natural tiredness, hypo-response and hypo-arousal – and what is the impact of sensing these boundaries? When these boundaries become stable enough a natural swing from hypo-arousal (3rd degree stress) into hyper-arousal (2nd degree stress) can emerge.

  • 6 - November 29

    Identity – has this workshop impacted how you relate to your own and other’s hypo-arousal – and how does this impact your professional role? – Hypo-arousal is very often not integrated after trauma. What does it do to us professionally and personally to include it?

  • 7 - December 14

    Integration-time – Q&As – time for personal and professional integration

And further more...

  • Training & support groups

    Participants can choose to form training/support-groups. Organizing of these groups are in the hands of the participants – and an initiative to form a group can be communicated on the student-exchange to get started

  • You will gain

    Clinicians participating in this training will gain a basic understanding of and practice in including modification of hypo-response and relating to hypo-arousal together with a client in the map of trauma therapeutic methodology

  • Step 2 courses

    This is a step 2 course in RTT online international courses. We will offer other step 2 courses. In spring 2024 a course on "Disgust - a homeostatic feeling" - or maybe "Disgust and anger - claiming inner authority" will be offered - focusing on managing outgoing reactions and in the same time pay attantion to hypo-response

  • Step 1

    Step 1 “Including and awakening hypo-response” will be offered again in Fall 2024. A date is soon to be released.

Course leaders

and course manager

CEO and Senior trainer Merete Holm Brantbjerg

Merete Holm Brantbjerg, body-psychotherapist, member of the Danish Psychotherapist Organisation and of EABP, founder of Relational Trauma Therapy – international trainer – specialised in working with low dosed activation of muscles and connective tissue as an aspect of trauma-therapeutic methodology. Merete is situated in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Trainer Kolbjørn Vårdal

Kolbjørn Vårdal, body-psychotherapist, Masters degree in trauma work, member of EABP, co-founder of Relational Trauma therapy, international trainer, specialised in including neurologically informed training as a trauma-therapeutic methodology. Kolbjørn is situated in Oslo, Norway, - where he lives with his family

Course Manager Ayuna Pedersen

Ayuna Pedersen - bodyoriented psychotherapist, Relational Trauma Therapist, SEP - specialised in working with trauma with children in all ages. Member of the Danish Psychotherapist Organisation. The role of the course manager is to support the group technically, be part of the containment during sessions, be in charge of the course-platform (on Thinkific). Ayuna is situated in Copenhagen, Denmark, - where she lives with her family

Practical information

  • Dates

    7 live online-sessions of 3 hrs on 6 Wednesdays and 1 Thursday. Wednesdays: September 13 September 27 October 11 October 25 November 15 November 29 - Thursday December 14

  • Times:

    4-7 pm UTC (Coordinated Universal time, Greenwich mean time) 5-8 pm CET UTC + 1 6-9 pm EET (Eastern European time) UTC + 2 11 am – 2 pm EST (Eastern North America) UTC – 5 8-11 am PST (Pacific Standard Time) UTC -8 11.30pm -2.30 am ACST (Australian Central Standard Time) UTC + 9.30

  • Please note

    If you are in a different time-zone than the above mentioned – please look up what time will be yours. Please be aware that Daylight savings time shifts in CET on October 29 – and in Northamerica on November 5 – this means that the time-difference is the same in all sessions

  • Teaching hours

    Teaching hrs are on 5-8 pm CET all 7 times

  • Live-sessions and Online platfom

    We use Zoom, a cloud-based video communications app for our Live virtual sessions. The Zoom-link will be made available over email prior to each session. All workshop-material will be made available on rtt.thinkific.com

  • Max size of course-group

    The course has a maximum number of 100 participants 100

  • Fee

    Early bird registration – with sign up and payment prior to September 6th: 680 US$. Later sign up and payment: 720 US$. For sign up and payment go to rtt.thinkific.com Deadline for joining the course is September 13 2023

  • Material and online course platform

    Workshop curriculum and workshop-material will for the participating students be available on our learning platform relationaltraumatherapy.online. This include the recordings of each of the 7 sessions that will be accessible until 12th September 2024.

  • Scholarship

    Scholarship-price 600 US$ available with written request. Send an email to [email protected]. Criteria for the reduced price can be being a student, retired or other reasons for having reduced income. A maximum of 10 participants will get acces to the scholarship price. - So don’t wait, if you want to send us a request.

'Sitting on the edge of an abyss together' - working with hypo-arousal | This course will be announced again - likely in a couple of years - after other courses have been run

Plans for next courses are:

| Spring 2024 | "Disgust - a homeostatic feeling" - or maybe "Disgust and anger - claiming inner authority" - focusing on managing outgoing reactions and in the same time pay attantion to hypo-states | Fall 2024 | "Including and awakening hypo-response"
working with hypo-arousal