Today we’d like to introduce you to Mara Giovanni.
Hi Mara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My education and experience for decades is in social work, but I’ve been a martial arts practitioner/instructor for even longer. I have also been in recovery for 11 years and noticed lots of women with untreated trauma emerge during early sobriety. I kept wondering what kind of treatment would work for a population that often did not have funds to address these underlying issues and were in the initial stages of recovery.
I was in a trauma training class, and I heard Bessel van de Kolk (author of The Body Keeps the Score), say that “martial arts could be the best treatment for traumatic stress.” I was stunned to realize I may have the tools to create a much-needed trauma program. I immersed myself in the study of interpersonal neurobiology, polyvagal theory, and somatic treatment. I began creating Kali Connection Therapy.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Looking back, the road lined up perfectly for Kali to emerge, but there were numerous difficulties along the way. My program is so different from normal trauma treatment. I had to muster the tenacity to keep reaching out to organizations and following up after having my attempts to connect ignored. I knew if I could get a meeting with them and show them the therapy, I could win them over. Kali Connection Therapy (KCT) works. Integrative Life Center is now sponsoring certification training in Nashville starting in February at the beautiful Scarritt Bennett location. Kali is off the runway and ready to fly!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
KCT is inspired by basic exercises from Filipino Martial Arts that have been curated to be Trauma-Informed. These cooperative exercises are designed to bring nervous systems into regulation quickly. That means the feeling of anxiety and stress dissipates rapidly. This happens because KCT uses patterned, repetitive, rhythmic movements which turn on the primary regulatory system in the body. Clients love the sessions!
Additional benefits, it’s very much like The Karate Kid, wax on wax off. Underneath the exercises participants are learning real-life self-defense. Empowerment is the necessary experience for the powerlessness caused by trauma and depression. KCT also regulates therapists that, likewise, learn self-defense. I love a good BOGO!
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
It is my hope to empower survivors to help other survivors, so I would love to partner with anyone who has the same vision. All humans deserve the right to heal from trauma.
If you are therapist, wellness worker or mental health facility and you are interested in bringing this type of empowered somatic healing to your clients, get in touch!
Contact Info:
- Website: Kaliconnectiontherapy.com
