NARM Training Institute

NARM Master Therapist, Sherri Sharkins and Dr. Laurence Heller lead a webinar discussing NARM and the wisdom of adaptive survival styles. They begin by encouraging self-reflection on coping mechanisms, specifically how they might be hindering current functioning. The core of the discussion emphasizes that while these survival mechanisms might create difficulties now, they served a purpose and possessed wisdom in their original context. Larry elaborates on how individuals draw upon their internal resources and capacities, both inborn and developed, to survive various stages of developmental trauma.

The presenters further explain how mechanisms that once aided survival can lead to present-day symptoms and challenges. They stress the importance of accepting and valuing these survival mechanisms rather than rejecting them, highlighting the understanding that some part of the individual believes these mechanisms are still life-saving. They explore the wisdom behind each of the five survival styles—connection, attunement, trust, autonomy, and love-sexuality—and how these styles relate to developmental periods.