The Tao of Trauma — Live in Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden | April 2–4, 2027
With Alaine Duncan, author of The Tao of Trauma
Hosted by The Tao of Trauma Team in collaboration with Louise Tjernqvist
An East-meets-West approach to understanding trauma
What if the way we respond to trauma isn’t random — but follows recognizable patterns?
When Peter Levine described the sequence of the Self-Protective Response observed in predator–prey relationships, he identified a movement that Alaine Duncan later recognized within the ancient Five Element model of Chinese Medicine.
In this experiential and clinically grounded workshop, Alaine brings these worlds together — weaving the Five Elements, neurophysiology of the Self-Protective Response, Polyvagal Theory, Adverse Childhood Experiences and bottom-up approaches to healing.
During this workshop, you will:
• Discover survival patterns through the Five Elements.
Explore how the Five Elements can help us understand different patterns of protection and identify where the natural movement through a self-protective response may have become interrupted.
• Understand why “just relax” often doesn’t work.
If we try to move someone toward calm without understanding the survival pattern underneath, the nervous system may simply return to its familiar protective state. Rather than pushing the system toward regulation, we learn to recognize what it is protecting and what it may need to complete.
• Learn to see beyond the symptom.
Chronic tension and pain, digestive disturbances, insomnia, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, collapse and other complex symptoms may reflect deeper patterns of unresolved protective responses. The Five Elements offer another map for understanding where these patterns may be expressed in the body, emotions and physiology.
• Bring the model into clinical practice.
Through teaching, embodied exploration and live clinical observation, learn to recognize patterns of brace, collapse and dysregulation — and develop a more nuanced understanding of how to support regulation, resilience and capacity.
About the Workshop
The Tao of Trauma offers an integrative framework for understanding traumatic stress through the combined lens of Chinese Medicine and Western neurobiology.
Rather than viewing trauma only through symptoms or diagnoses, the model helps practitioners become curious about the protective response underneath: Where did the system become interrupted? What survival pattern are we seeing? And what might help restore movement rather than simply suppress the response?
Across the workshop, we will explore these principles through teaching, reflection, experiential practice and clinical application.
Workshop Dates
Two-Day Teaching & Practice Workshop
April 2–3, 2027
09:00–17:00
Stockholm, Sweden
Two full days with Alaine exploring the foundations of the Tao of Trauma model through teaching, experiential exercises, reflection and clinical application.
Clinical Observation & Demo Day
April 4, 2027
09:00–13:00
On the final morning, Alaine and her team will work with live client cases, giving participants an opportunity to observe the model being applied in a clinical setting.
Who This Is For
This workshop is designed for practitioners interested in trauma-informed and body-based approaches to healing, including:
Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine practitioners
Somatic Experiencing practitioners
Massage and body therapists
Mental health professionals
Holistic and functional practitioners
Bodyworkers
Practitioners working within trauma-informed care
Members of the Tao of Trauma and Somatic Experiencing communities
No previous Tao of Trauma training is required.
Limited to 20 participants to support an intimate and experiential learning environment.
Investment
Two-Day Workshop | April 2–3
Early Bird: 2,900 SEK
Available until December 31, 2026
Regular price: 3,400 SEK
From January 1, 2027
Clinical Observation & Demo Day | April 4
Practitioner observation: 500 SEK
Individual Sessions with Alaine
A limited number of individual sessions with Alaine will also be available during her time in Stockholm.
500 SEK per session
Only 4 sessions available
About Alaine Duncan
Alaine Duncan has developed a unique approach to acupuncture and trauma healing that integrates modern understanding of the neurobiology of traumatic stress with ancient principles from Acupuncture and Asian Medicine.
She graduated from acupuncture school in 1990 and completed Somatic Experiencing training in 2007. In 2012, she founded Integrative Healing, LLC, with the intention of bringing Chinese Medicine, neurobiology and trauma healing together in both the classroom and treatment room.
Her research background includes integrative medicine for compassion fatigue in military caregivers, acupuncture for combat-related traumatic stress, chronic headaches in veterans with traumatic brain injuries, pain in veterans and Gulf War Veterans Illness.
She is the author of The Tao of Trauma: A Practitioner’s Guide for Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Treatment, which forms the foundation of her teaching for acupuncturists, mental health professionals, bodyworkers and trauma-informed practitioners.
Learn more about Alaine and her work through Integrative Healing.
The Tao of Trauma — Stockholm
April 2–4, 2027
An intimate opportunity to learn directly from Alaine Duncan and experience a framework that brings together the wisdom of Chinese Medicine with our modern understanding of trauma, survival and the nervous system.
20 participants only
More info: www.integrativehealingworks.net
Join the Waiting List
If you would like updates, early registration information, or to reserve your spot,
please join the waiting list.For questions, contact:
info@louisetjernqvist.com