Free

The Physiology of Trauma: Understanding Cortisol, the HPA Axis & Gut-Brain Pathways with Tona Wilson

Is your body sabotaging your healing, or is it trying to tell you something?

As a trauma therapist, you understand how trauma lives in the nervous system. But what about the endocrine system? The gut? The muscles that stay locked in fight-or-flight long after the threat has passed?

Your clients aren't just thinking their way through trauma, they're living it in their bodies. And cortisol isn't the enemy; it's the messenger trying to tell you what needs attention.

What if you could help clients regulate their stress response at the physiological level, not just through talk therapy, but through targeted movement, nutrition, and gut-brain interventions?

Join us for a science-backed, practical Clinical Conversation with mind-body-gut-brain specialist Tona Wilson, PhD. You'll leave with interventions you can integrate into your trauma therapist training approach immediately, and strategies your clients can actually sustain.

In this conversation, we explore:

  • How the HPA axis drives the fight-or-flight response, and the specific movements that deactivate stress-holding muscles
  • The gut-brain connection: Why your client's digestive health directly impacts their cortisol levels and emotional regulation
  • Corrective exercises and stretches that change brain chemistry and facilitate the rest-and-digest response
  • Nutritional interventions and supplementation that support nervous system regulation alongside your EMDR training protocols
  • How to bridge somatic practices with traditional trauma treatment for sustainable, whole-body healing
  • The mind-body-gut-brain toolkit your clients need to manage chronic stress long after sessions end