Clinical Conversation

Guest: Tona Wilson, MA Ed, PhD
On-Demand: This conversation was previously recorded on February 4th, 2025.

Cortisol isn't the villain - it's the messenger. Join us for a conversation with health and fitness coach Tona Wilson, PhD, as we explore how managing the body's stress response can reshape trauma recovery. Discover the science behind the mind-body-gut-brain connection and learn practical interventions you can integrate into your trauma therapist training toolkit immediately. Whether you're an EMDR therapist, counselor, or mental health professional, this session offers evidence-based strategies that bridge somatic practices with traditional trauma treatment.

In this conversation, we explore:

• How the HPA axis drives the fight-or-flight response, and how to deactivate it through targeted movement
• The gut-brain connection: Why the gut has more serotonin and cortisol receptors than the brain itself
• Specific stretches and corrective exercises that change brain chemistry and facilitate rest-and-digest responses
• Nutritional interventions and supplementation strategies that support cortisol regulation
• How to integrate mind-body-gut-brain approaches into your EMDR training and trauma treatment protocols
• Why managing the body is essential to managing the mind, and how this enhances trauma therapist training outcomes
• Practical lifestyle management tools that clients can sustain long-term alongside clinical trauma work

Tona Wilson, MA Ed, PhD, has worked in the health and fitness coaching field for over thirty years. As she learned more about how to change the body, it became evident that we cannot change our bodies without first changing our minds. A healthy mind needs a healthy body in which to live, and it all begins with our own behaviors and reactions.

The fields of Biopsychology and Psychoneruoimmunology piqued her interest in the fight-or-flight response and how to manage the endocrine system through corrective and restorative exercise, nutritional intervention, and gut health. Now, Tona uses a mind-body-gut-brain approach to help her clients manage chronic stress and past trauma.