HRV and Trauma Treatment: Supporting Nervous System Regulation in Refugee Survivors
HRV and Trauma Treatment: Supporting Nervous System Regulation in Refugee Survivors
INTEGRATING HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN TRAUMA TREATMENT: CLINICAL APPLICATIONS WITH TORTURE SURVIVORS
Refugee survivors of torture and trauma often experience profound disruptions to emotional, physiological, and psychological regulation following prolonged exposure to violence, persecution, displacement, and loss. These experiences can leave the nervous system in persistent states of hyperarousal, shutdown, or instability, affecting a person’s capacity to feel safe, connected, and regulated in everyday life. Supporting nervous system regulation and embodiment has therefore become an increasingly important focus within trauma-informed clinical practice.
This Clinical Master Class explores the role of heart rate variability (HRV) in understanding and supporting autonomic nervous system functioning in survivors of complex trauma. HRV offers clinicians a valuable window into regulation, stress responsiveness, and recovery, while also providing practical pathways for supporting emotional and physiological stability through body-based interventions.
LEARN FROM EXPERTS IN TRAUMA, NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND BODY-BASED INTERVENTIONS
Join Dr Kasia Kozlowska, child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinician researcher at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and Melissa Beit, STARTTS Neurofeedback Counsellor, as they bring together theory, neuroscience, and clinical practice in this highly practical webinar. Dr Kozlowska will provide an expert overview of HRV and its relationship to stress, trauma, emotional regulation, and wellbeing, including practical considerations for clinical application. Melissa Beit will then present a clinical case from her work with a survivor of the 2014 Ezidi genocide, demonstrating how HRV training and body-based approaches can support regulation, reconnection, and recovery following severe trauma.
WHAT YOU’LL GAIN
- A practical understanding of heart rate variability and autonomic nervous system functioning
- Insights into the relationship between trauma, stress physiology, embodiment, and emotional regulation
- Knowledge of how HRV can be integrated into trauma-informed clinical practice
- An understanding of body-based approaches that support regulation and recovery in complex trauma
- A real clinical case study illustrating HRV training with a survivor of torture and genocide
- Strategies to support emotional and physiological stability in refugee trauma work
- Greater confidence integrating nervous system-informed interventions into therapeutic practice
- The opportunity to engage directly with presenters during a live Q&A
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists, and social workers
- Mental health clinicians working with trauma and complex PTSD
- Practitioners working with refugees, asylum seekers, and survivors of torture and trauma
- Occupational therapists, body-based practitioners, and neurofeedback clinicians
- Youth, family, and community practitioners supporting trauma-affected populations
- Health and humanitarian workers interested in nervous system regulation and trauma recovery
- Anyone interested in trauma neuroscience, embodiment, and trauma-informed care