MEET THE BURLINGAME TEAM

Bodywork for Developmental Trauma w/ Dr Levine + team
June 6th - 12th, 2024

ABOUT PETER

Barbara Collier, BSN, LPC, SEP
Tucson, Arizona

Facilitator

Amongst other things, I am a Psychotherapist and an SEP. I work with children, families, and individuals who are trying to find their way home to themselves through the complexity of developmental, intergenerational, and social/historical trauma. I offer somatic, integrative touch to humans (and animals). Most often, my adult clients present with complex physical health conditions and chronic pain. I am co-founder of a non-profit where we offer somatically-based, trauma-informed services to folks who don’t otherwise have access. 

I look forward to meeting each of you and to supporting what each of you might want to be different in your lives, to holding the sacred space of looking in and being with oneself, and to supporting the shift that can happen for everyone in the space doing this work together.

With her current role as a group healing facilitator at Equinimity and a background as an ICU Nurse, Barbara brings a calm and stable presence able to hold the sensitive nature of group healing. In addition to co-teaching with Dr Levine numerous times, she has extensive experience as an Assistant for SE Master Classes and Retreats and the Somatic Experiencing International core training.

Sergio Ocampo, LMFT, SEP, EMDR II
Los Angeles, CA
Spanish, Dutch, Italian, and English

Facilitator

Sergio Ocampo is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Board Director of Somatic Experiencing International, and Adjunct faculty at Antioch University, based in the financial core of Downtown Los Angeles, California. With a rich cultural background gained through extensive travel, Sergio is fluent in Spanish, Dutch, Italian, and English, enriching his therapeutic approach.

He incorporates somatic and cognitive interventions such as Somatic Experiencing, DST, Family Systems, Generational Trauma Resolution, Dream Work, Depth Psychology, and EMDR. Central to Sergio's work is a focus on healing the effects of early life trauma, encompassing physical, sexual, birth, abandonment, or emotional challenges. His therapeutic approach is gentle and humanistic, aiming to achieve lasting resolution to trauma and emotional overwhelm from childhood experiences. Sergio is a co-developer and instructor of Somatic Dynamic Touch (DST), an innovative and highly effective trauma resolution approach using core values of Somatic Experiencing, Orthobionomy, and psychophysiology. DST is highly effective in unwinding early life overwhelm and physical syndromes such as chronic illness and pain.

Sergio researches and publishes about Generational Trauma and healing historical wounds, proposing that anyone can achieve happiness no matter how difficult or traumatic their family history has been. His recent article in the Therapist Magazine is the first to be published in literature meant for practicing therapists. Sergio’s motto is:  Anxiety and Depression are not a life sentence, but temporary discomfort.

Donna Hilbig, M.Ed., LPC-S, NCC, SEP, CCTP, BASE
Austin, Texas

Practitioner
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I have also completed BASE (Bodywork and Somatic Education) touchwork training. I have worked for 37 years, striving to help others find their path to healing trauma. Since being trained in Somatic Experiencing®, it has become my passion to make this work accessible to as many as possible. Since 2007, I have traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia to assist various faculty and have assisted Dr. Levine in numerous Master Classes in this endeavor. Early in this process, I realized the necessity to reach others at the earliest levels of the places where trauma begins.

I have strived to follow Dr. Peter Levine’s example of working with individuals at the age level at which their nervous system is showing up in the present moment.  Most often, the younger nervous system needs a reparative touch in order to begin to renegotiate the “stuckness” that has resulted from early trauma. With guidance, each person can heal as they learn the language of their own nervous system. They will learn to listen to and communicate with their body in a collaborative dance.

I worked many years in the hospital setting and have a specialization in medical illness/injury and chronic pain, as it commonly results from complex trauma. I also enjoy working with Veterans and was a part of Dr. Peter Levine’s Returning Home project for Veterans with PTSD. Another passion of mine is crisis response. I was a member of the 2008 China Earthquake Relief Team sponsored by the Somatic Experiencing Institute, providing training and SE First Aid for Szechuan earthquake survivors. I have also provided Disaster Mental Health services as an emergency responder for various incidents, including Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Ike, Ida, and Ian. I look forward to collaborating with you in your healing journey.

Kristin Burns, Integrative Somatic Psychotherapist, LCSW, SEP, DARe-P, RYT, BASE-P, IFS
Oak Park, Illinois

Practitioner
I am passionate about guiding clients in restoring more aliveness, wholeness, and ease in their lives. My practice utilizes a holistic approach that incorporates Somatic, Relational, and Spiritual healing techniques that support moving toward restoration and coherence of the mind, body, and spirit.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Masters of Social Service and Administration from the University of Chicago. I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and a Training Assistant with the Somatic Experiencing Training Institute nationally. I am also certified in Diane Poole Heller’s groundbreaking attachment healing work, Dynamic Attachment Repatterning Experience (DARe) and am a Training Assistant in this work nationally as well. I provide personal sessions and case consultations for current students of DARE.  I am trained in Kathy Kain’s Touch Skills for Trauma Therapists, as well as Dave Berger’s BASE (Relational Bodywork & Somatic Education) using touch for trauma recovery and for deepening somatic awareness. I am a Level Two Therapist with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and have studied Somatic IFS with Susan McConnell. For over 25 years, I have immersed myself in both Eastern and Western modalities and philosophies to support healing and am a certified Yoga Instructor with the Yoga Alliance, Yoga Facilitator with Prison Yoga Chicago, Prenatal Yoga Teacher, Birth Doula, Reiki Master/Teacher, and Zen Shiatsu Practitioner.

Cicily Thomas, SEP, Counsellor, Gestalt, NLP, Taichi-Qigong Master, Transforming Touch, Biodynamic Cranio Sacral and Brainspotting Practitioner
India

Practitioner
My spiritual journey began more than 25 years ago through self-inquiry and a deep search for purpose and meaning for my existence. For several years, I explored and practiced techniques including vipassana, zen, yoga, tai chi chuan, qigong, counseling, NLP, Gestalt Therapy, craniosacral therapy, traditional Chinese as well as ayurvedic acupressure and Systemic Family Constellation. I have drawn in the essence of ancient wisdom from these practices and blended them with modern-day holistic healing approaches.

For over two decades, I have been teaching tai chi chuan and qigong and, since 2017, have integrated Somatic Experiencing into my practices. I work with adults, adolescents, children, and pets, and it has been an amazing journey.

In the therapy sessions I offer, I look to support the client's autonomy in their journey to wellness and health. I encourage clients to be curious, explore, access, and ease their body through spontaneous movements. When appropriate, I include healing sounds, touchwork, boundary, and embodiment exercises to enable resilience and regulation in a relationship based on safety, trust, respect, curiosity, openness, kindness, compassion, and acceptance.

In addition to teaching in various methods, I assist with Somatic Experiencing® International (SEI) and Ergos Institute of Somatic Education.

Jenny Hoit, LMFT, ATR, SEP
Santa Monica, California

Practitioner
I am an art and somatic psychotherapist dedicated to learning, practicing, and enjoying presence and wholeness. I am passionate about supporting people in their processes of developing authentic and embodied connection to themselves and others. I see this as a creative, collaborative process to support greater cohesion, dynamic ease, enjoyment, and responsiveness. Our work together may involve somatic exploration, regulation-based touch work, compassionate mindfulness, expressive practices with art, movement, and voice, working compassionately with different parts of the self, and working with belief systems.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (California and Ohio), a Registered Art Therapist, and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I have trained in Kathy Kain’s regulation-based touch work and am in the process of completing certification as a Fitzmaurice voice teacher.

Charlotte (Char) Dillon, Ph.D., MPS, SEP, DARe certified
Aurora, IL

Practitioner
Charlotte is a clinical psychologist who owns an open and affirming, all-inclusive pastoral counseling practice in Aurora, IL. She believes that the nervous system and the relational system are essential portals to access the healing of body, mind, and spirit. She also utilizes developmental psychology to understand more fully where wounds may have occurred. In addition to Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller's works, she has taken Steve Terrill's Somatic Resilience and Regulation training and various online training courses focusing on SE and DARe principles. She has assisted either in person or online with Ariel Giarretto, Alicen Halquist, Mahshid Hager, Joshua Sylvae, and Raja Selvam. Char assisted with the Trauma Immersion Conference in San Diego in March and will be a floating practitioner with the Ergos Retreat in Burlingame in June. She believes that "how we treat one another matters" and credits this idea to principles within SE, DARe, and the neurosciences.

Charlotte will not be offering private sessions. She is a Retreat support practitioner.

Calvin Livingston
Oregon

Leading Meditation and Movement-based Programming
Calvin is a dedicated practitioner with over eight years of experience delving into the profound realms of breathwork, trauma healing, sound healing, and movement modalities. His journey began as a quest to understand the intricate connection between mind and body. Through years of study and practice, Calvin has honed his expertise in utilizing breathwork techniques to promote holistic well-being and inner balance.

His exploration into trauma healing and sound therapy has equipped him with deep insights into the transformative power of these modalities on emotional and physical health. Calvin's passion lies in helping others discover the profound healing potential within themselves, guiding them toward greater harmony and self-awareness. Through his work, Calvin aspires to empower individuals to unlock their innate capacities for healing and growth, fostering a deeper connection between mind, body, and spirit.

Calvin will not be offering private sessions. He is a Retreat support person and will lead you through your evening sessions.

Melissa Stager, EMBA, SEP
Vista, California

Retreat Director & Facilitator
Melissa Stager has been managing and developing programs for Dr Levine and the Ergos Institute since 2015. She has completed training in Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) and NeuroEffective Touch, with additional training in Relational Bodywork and Somatic Education™ (BASE™). Melissa has a passion for helping others heal traumatic impact symptoms somatically. Prior, she had an extensive career in curatorial arts and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Arts and Sciences and an EMBA in Business and Technology. Her art, including mixed media sculpture, focuses on patterns and childhood trauma narratives. Somatic Experiencing has provided Melissa the opportunity to develop understanding, ease, and empathy while processing her generational and developmental trauma and the effects it had on her body, mind, and spirit. Her dedication to somatic-based healing provides participants and educators with the foundation for exploration and growth. She resides in Vista, CA, working full-time managing healing-informed somatic-based programs.

Melissa will not be offering private sessions. She is the Retreat Director and will lead you through your Somatic Resource Journaling sessions.