{"id":17,"date":"2011-07-11T02:25:48","date_gmt":"2011-07-11T08:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ac6.ab6.mwp.accessdomain.com\/beyond-trauma-blog\/?p=17"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:23:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:23:20","slug":"tsunami-tremors-children-self-regulate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traumahealing.org\/tsunami-tremors-children-self-regulate\/","title":{"rendered":"Tsunami Tremors and Children’s Ability to Self-Regulate"},"content":{"rendered":"

R<\/span>ight after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami<\/a>, Chieko Fujiwara, an active Somatic Experiencing\u00ae Practitioner (SEP), invited me to help work with children and victims of the tsunami in Sendai. The idea was to prepare an introductory workshop for introducing SE\u00ae to mental health professionals while also organizing teams to implement SE into their own community.<\/p>\n

Taking it as a deeply personal call, I accepted it. I was mindful that every disaster has its own story, every community has its own fate, and every team has its own dynamic. My work in Thailand in 2005 had already suggested to me that the field of humanitarian relief often lacks a multi-disciplinary vision. And this is absolutely critical when dealing with the complex needs, hidden agendas, and urgent matters involved in such efforts. In Thailand I learned that fieldwork not only involves the various techniques of therapy, but that also requires a diplomatic perspective on the part of relief workers like myself. When you lose sight of the population\u2014in this case the kids\u2014then you have lost the greater mission at hand.<\/p>\n