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ABOUT KATHIE

Dr Kathie Overeem is not currently taking on new clients. 

To receive email notification when Kathie opens her books please subscribe to this site.

Alternatively, to find another certified trauma sensitive yoga facilitator please use this link: Find A TCTSY Facilitator 

From research scientist to trauma-sensitive yoga facilitator, educator, and speaker.

I want to make sure the people I work with experience the most effective mind-body practices. 

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Current Work

My expertise is emotional trauma, with a MSc and PhD focusing on fear memory and 4 years experience working with trauma survivors.

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I have worked with private clients that have experienced stress, anxiety, schizophrenia, depression, complex PTSD, and PTSD. I have also worked within community organisations and Queensland Health facilitating programs that support adults and youth experiencing complex mental illness, complex trauma, and alcohol and other drug rehabilitation.

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I create content on topics including body-based theories of emotion, the mind-body connection, body awareness and resilience, and the impact of emotional trauma on the mind and body. As result, I've been invited to speak on topics associated with resilience, how trauma-sensitive yoga works to reduce symptoms of trauma, and the mind-body connection.  

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Background

Academic work

I have a PhD in Psychology (2009) and over 13 years of academic research experience. During that time I published research and lectured on topics including emotional memory, schizophrenia, personality psychology, biological psychology, behavioural and systems neuroscience, cognition, and molecular biology.

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I've held research positions in New Zealand (University of Canterbury, and Otago), The USA (Yale University), and in Australia (The Queensland Brain Institute); as well as causal lecturing positions in New Zealand (The University of Canterbury, and Otago) and the USA (Qunnipiac University).

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The Transition to Yoga

After working in academia for over 13 years and practicing yoga since 2008, I wanted to make a career shift that would be more aligned with my core passions- psychology, yoga, and teaching. Being interested in the transformational effects of yoga and having a research background in emotional memory, I was following research on the trauma-sensitive yoga... I knew this was the space I wanted to be working in.

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Yoga

I started teaching general yoga in 2016, and have completed over 700 hr of yoga teacher training. In 2018 I received my Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator certification. I am currently supervised by the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at the Justice Research Institute (MA, USA), and complete yearly continuous professional development points to maintain my certification. Because of my overall interest in yoga, you might also find me teaching general studio yoga classes around Brisbane. 

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Recommended Books and Resources 

A selection of books and resources focused around mind-body integration in psychology and body-based therapy for mental health.

By using these links to make a purchase there is no additional cost to you, but I make a small commission that is greatly appreciated.

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Books

Antonio Damasio (2012), Self Comes to Mind- Constructing the Conscious Brain

In this work the neuroscientist Damasio makes a case for the importance of body-based feelings in guiding unconscious behaviour, for the generation of consciousness, and the experience of the self. He goes into detail about how the body and brain interact during these processes and the role of homeostasis (i.e., finding a state of balance) at a physical, social, and cultural level. 

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Maria Caplan (2018), Yoga and Psyche, Integrating the paths of yoga and psychology for healing, transformation, and joy. Boulder, CO, Sounds True

In the first section of this book the focus is on yoga as a spiritual practice and psychology as depth psychology / psychoanalysis. In later sections the focus shifts towards current research on somatic psychology, trauma, and trauma-sensitive yoga. In the final section, Maria offers practical exercises based on Somatic Experiencing (developed by Peter Levine) that could be used to facilitate felt body sense (i.e., interoception) in a personal or taught yoga practice. 

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Resources 

David Emerson (2019) Trauma Sensitive Yoga Deck for Kids, For therapists, caregivers, and yoga teachers. North Atlantic.

I often use these cards when working with youths with complex mental illness, I've found them helpful for engagement. Different types of yoga forms are colour coded (e.g., back-bends are orange, forward folds are green), I offer the opportunity to pick shapes form different colour sections based on what they would like to explore on the day. The deck also comes with a small booklet that suggest other ways to use the cards and information about trauma-sensitive yoga with children and young adults. 

Trauma Sensitive Yoga Practice | Trauma Informed | TCTSY | 30 Minute Yoga Practice | Gentle Yoga
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Trauma Sensitive Yoga Practice | Trauma Informed | TCTSY | 30 Minute Yoga Practice | Gentle Yoga

A 30 minute Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) yoga practice. TCTSY was developed in collaboration with Bessel van der Kolk and the Trauma Center (now called the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI, USA) as a body based treatment for Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (cPTSD). The trauma sensitive yoga method includes invitational language, choice to move your body in way that suits you, and a focus on your physical experience. If practicing with a history of trauma, it is strongly recommended that you practice under the guidance of a certified TCTSY facilitator or your mental health professional. For more information about trauma sensitive yoga or body based therapy for mental health please see https://www.kathieovereem.com/
What is the Difference Between Trauma Sensitive, Trauma Aware, and Trauma Informed Yoga?
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What is the Difference Between Trauma Sensitive, Trauma Aware, and Trauma Informed Yoga?

Trauma-aware and trauma-informed yoga practices are more likely to offer safe and accepting places for people who have a trauma history. While trauma-sensitive yoga, especially Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is a therapy that has been shown to reduce symptoms of complex trauma and PTSD. Hi- I'm Kathie I have a (PhD, Psychology) and over 13 years of neuroscience research experience. My graduate work focused on how we form and express fear memories, and since 2018 I've worked therapeutically with survivors of trauma using trauma-sensitive yoga (i.e., TCTSY). If you are interested in learning more about trauma-sensitive yoga follow this link to my website: https://www.kathieovereem.com/trauma-sensitive-yoga Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathie.overeem/ Blog: https://www.kathieovereem.com/blog
Different Trauma Responses: Understanding Symptoms of PTSD
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Different Trauma Responses: Understanding Symptoms of PTSD

Trauma responses are automatic mind and body responses that protect us when our lives are at risk. For those that suffer from PTSD these responses, that once increased our chance of survival, become persistent and symptoms of PTSD. Here I talk about 6 trauma responses. This is a defensive cascade of trauma responses suggested by Sachauer and Elbert, 2010 (article link below) 1. Freeze 2 and 3. Fight or Flight 4. Fright 5. Flag 6. Faint Not everyone experiences the same PTSD symptoms. This is related to the types of trauma response they experienced during the trauma event. Not everyone will experience all 6 trauma responses described above. Individuals that went as far as sympathetic nervous system activation (i.e., fight or flight) will show similar responses when exposed to trauma cues. Those that experienced dissociative shut-down will also show a corresponding response when reminded of their trauma. These are trauma responses discussed in this video are associated with a single trauma event. Complex trauma, complex PTSD, and developmental trauma can result in additional or different trauma responses. You can find more of Kathie's work at www.kathieovereem.com Dissociation Following Traumatic Stress Etiology and Treatment Maggie Schauer and Thomas Elbert (2010) Journal of Psychology, Vol. 218(2):109–127. DOI: 10.1027/0044-3409/a000018 https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.463.1667&rep=rep1&type=pdf
What is the Best Treatment for PTSD? Talk Therapy vs Trauma-Sensitive Yoga.
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What is the Best Treatment for PTSD? Talk Therapy vs Trauma-Sensitive Yoga.

Here I talk about research that was published this year (2021) that compared TCTSY (Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga) to cognitive processing therapy for treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results showed that TCTSY was just as effective at reducing symptoms of PTSD. However, drop-out rates were lower for TCTSY therapy, this means a larger proportion of people were able to find benefit with TCTSY. The Trauma Center: https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/about The research paper: Kelly, U., Haywood, T., Segal, E., Higgans, M. (2021) Trauma-Sensitive Yoga for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Women Veterans who Experienced Military Sexual Trauma: Interim Results from a Randamized Control Study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 27, pp. S45-S59 If you are interested in finding out more about trauma-sensitive yoga, body-based therapy for mental health, body based theories of emotion please consider subscribing to my website where I write and upload videos on these topics: www.kathieovereem.com You can also find me over on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/IvyYogaBrisbane About me: Dr Kathie Overeem (PhD Psychology) runs group and private TCTSY sessions. She has worked with adults and youth that have experienced stress, anxiety, complex trauma, developmental trauma, PTSD, eating disorders, complex mental illness, and individuals in alcohol and other drug rehabilitation. She also currently works with Queensland Health and a number of community support organisations in Brisbane.
How does Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Work? | The Science of Yoga | Yoga Psychology |
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How does Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Work? | The Science of Yoga | Yoga Psychology |

Trauma sensitive yoga is a successful adjunctive treatment for complex trauma/PTSD. Here I describe the neuroscience behind how it works. Here I describe some of the neuroscience and psychology behind the effectiveness of this body-focused therapy. LINKS & REFERENCES MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO: The Psychology and Neuroscience of Yoga- The Mind Body Connection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP2pnO-EIS8 van der Kolk, B., (2015) The Body Keeps the Score. Mind, Brain and Body in Transformation of Trauma. Great Britain. Penguin Books. Emerson, D., (2015) Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy: Bringing the Body into Treatment. New York. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. van der Kolk, B.A., et al. (2014) Yoga as an adjunctive treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25004196/ Nummenmaa, L., et al. (2014) Bodily maps of emotions. https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646 Uddin, L.Q., et al. (2017) Structure and function of the human insula. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6032992/pdf/nihms849678.pdf Jeong, H., et al. (2019) Diverging roles of the anterior insula in trauma-exposed individuals vulnerable or resilient to posttraumatic stress disorder. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51727-3 FIND AND/OR FOLLOW ME ELSEWHERE: Website: https://www.ivyyoga.com.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IvyYogaBrisbane Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kathie.overeem/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathie-overeem-3975461a5/
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