About Lori A. Parker, SEP, GCFP, Ph.D.
Dr. Lori Parker has been
involved in teaching and spiritual
counseling since 1985 and in healing since 1993. She is a Certified
Feldenkrais Practitioner,® a Somatic
Experiencing Practitioner,® an
Aikido Instructor with her own private school, and an ordained Zen
Buddhist Priest. She has authored a book titled, In
Search
of Harmony, as well as two articles for the
Somatic
Experiencing Community: Polyvagal
Theory: What Is It And Why Should We Care? and Shock
Trauma, Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction and Autoimmune Syndromes:
What's The Connection? Additionally she has
co-authored two
articles with Somatic Experiencing Faculty Member, Dr. Raja Selvam.
These include: A Note On Working With Anger in the Context Of An SE
Session; Working Around Developmental Defenses in SE Sessions.
After a series of physical trauma, including being struck by
a car (as
a pedestrian), Dr. Parker experienced such excruciating pain she had to
be packed in ice for much of the day in order to be able to conduct
martial arts instruction in the evening. Severe headaches, as well as
muscle spasms in her back, neck and shoulders continued to reduce her
physical abilities. She was unable to lie comfortably in any position.
During the four-year training program in the Feldenkrais
Method,® the daily pain
dissipated and her
ability to
function without physical pain was restored. Somatic Experiencing®furthered
her progress by healing the deeper effects of trauma.
Her expression and application of the Somatic Experiencing
method is
informed not only by her own extensive rehabilitation process but also
by her background in Aikido and Zen - disciplines which have at their
core, the concepts of centering, grounding, and self-awareness.
Dr. Parker integrates the Somatic Experiencing®
method into her
Feldenkrais® sessions, as the need arises (when
the client has
requested that she do so). She also offers individual sessions using
exclusively the Somatic Experiencing® Model.