Elizabeth Power’s book ‘Healer: Reducing Crises,’ is a phenomenal and much needed read. It is a book that is written to help people decrease the time, trauma, and costs of healing by integrating Emotional Intelligence skills with the trauma-informed perspective. This groundbreaking approach has made it one of the most talked about and sought-after books in America. The book address trauma in a way that helps readers learn how to not just survive but rather thrive.
In her work, Power covers a wide variety of trauma creating incidents, ranging from accidents and abuse to neglect and natural disasters. She does this because she values impact over event name. Her book also draws readers into this transformational practical and relatable style, that makes it an easy-to-read guide that is a must for individuals looking to deal with change, boost self-care, increase reliance, or transmute trauma.
Recently Power found some time in her busy schedule to have a chat with us about her work, her inspiration and what’s next for her writing and teaching, this is what she shared up with us.
“Healer: Reducing Crises,” is a groundbreaking book, which has helped so many people, but writing this kind of book can be challenging on many levels, what was the inspiration that led you to write this book?
Thank you so much! I am elated that it is helping so many. We’re facing a tsunami of trauma, both mass and individual from the pandemic, natural disasters, accidents, economic crisis, social justice issues, abuse, neglect and more. We bring with us what we already have. Running the numbers, its clear there’ll never be enough therapists or counselors. What to do? I applied another model to think it through.
I realized that in the workplace, folks are just about ga-ga over Emotional Intelligence skills. Schools are about helping children learn Social Emotional skills. Turns out they’re the same skills. What if they overlapped with skills supporting trauma recovery and post-traumatic growth? Could we do a mashup that made sense?
So I was inspired by the hope that I could do such a mashup. The skills people learn in “Healer: Reducing Crises” are easy, everyday tools that jack up Emotional Intelligence, help heal the past and insulate in the future. We surveyed four thousand therapists and counselors online, and 96% agreed their work would be easier if their clients had more of these skills. And I assure you, they are field-tested!
What did you learn throughout the writing process about yourself, life and over world as a whole?
I learned that I had a much broader “wingspan” than I thought I had in being multidisciplinary. I also learned that I have so many stories from so many folks and my own. The stories of success that fuel me are the ones about the underdog or when the expected failure soars! I’ve become more patient when dates slip a little, a little more able to kick back—I guess because I’m more conscious of doing the things I teach.
Finally, I think I fell in love with the world again. To stay in contact with my Japanese colleagues, my friends in Guatemala, South Africa, and more—many of whom helped me untangle key constructs—without the possibility of travel made me keenly aware of those deep inner connections I rave about. They’re like the roots of love.
What do you hope those who read your book will take away when they are finished?
I hope they take away all the goodness they can tolerate! Seriously—I want them to take away a whole new way of thinking, new skills for feeling and connecting, and deep repossession of their lives. I want them to know they can live beyond what has happened and how it has limited them as I have.
How do you feel the media/technology revolution has changed how we deal with trauma, or does it?
I think it opens us to more exposure to trauma as media/technology strives for more audience share, which means finding stories and hooks and tools to “capture” attention. This usually means more extremes (reality shows, adrenaline-driven competition, violence, gore, etc.). We can—especially children—be traumatized by what we see or hear and what we experience.
Has it changed how we deal with trauma? Exposure to traumatic events on media is now the norm. We feed on it without considering how that trauma takes a blowtorch to our lives.
You have a lot going on whether you are writing, speaking or helping people. It is a lot to manage all at once. Talk to us about your everyday process that perhaps someone else can apply to their own schedules?
Start your day by nourishing your soul: working the soil, meditating, in prayer, yoga, whatever feeds you.
Develop a rhythm that has the most repetitive tasks at the same time of day. I like mine at the beginning with a cup of tea.
Put like tasks together and then do the same thing several times—faster and easier. All proposals, all correspondence, all invoices.
Work in set periods of time, like 20 or 30 minutes. Then take a break and walk outside or do something different.
Whatever you do, love it. Have compassion for every action it requires to create the outcome.
Find at least three things a day that have nothing to do with trauma or your history and have a conversation with someone about them.
To get more information about Elizabeth Power and her work head over to her website.
