About this course

Learning Objectives

• Explain the relationship between sensory processing, Polyvagal theory, trauma attachment injury, body image and sense of self.
• Identify states of neurological regulation which may be contributing to body image distortions.
• Demonstrate one body-based, sensorimotor experience that will increase the accuracy of body perception.

Learning Levels

• All levels

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Rachel Lewis-Marlow , LPC, LMBT

  Rachel Lewis-Marlow, LCMHC, LMBT, is the director and co-founder of the Embodied Recovery Institute which provides training to eating disorders providers in a trauma-informed, relationally oriented and somatically integrative approach to eating disorders treatment. She is a somatically integrative psychotherapist, dually licensed in counseling and therapeutic massage and bodywork, a Certified Advanced Practitioner in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and has advanced training and 30 + years of experience in diverse somatic therapies. Rachel has extensive experience as a teacher and presenter, focusing on accessing the body’s unique capacity to give voice to the subconscious and to build the foundation for healing and maintaining psychological and physical health. In her private practice, Rachel specializes in working with people recovering from trauma, eating disorders, and dissociative disorders.

References

• Badoud, D., & Tsakiris, M. (2017). From the body’s viscera to the body’s image: Is there a link between interoception and body image concerns?. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 77, 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.03.017
• Buhl‐Nielsen, B., Steele, H., & Steele, M. (2024). Attachment and body representations in adolescents with personality disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 80(9), 1981-1997. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23705
• Schumann, A. Y., Uhde, T. W., Houghton, D. C., Yang, Q. X., & Cortese, B. M. (2025). Odor-enhanced Visual Processing in PTSD. NeuroImage, 309, 121072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121072
• Porges, S. W. (2025). Polyvagal theory: Current status, clinical applications, and future directions. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 22(3), 169. doi:10.36131/cnfioritieditore20250301
• Altabe, M. (2018). Trauma-informed approaches to body image disturbance: A historical review for a holistic future. Trauma-informed approaches to eating disorders, 325.