TCTSY - A Program of the Trauma and Embodiment Center at JRI, Brookline, MA, - is an evidence-based, stand alone and complementary treatment for complex trauma. The theoretical underpinnings that support TCTSY are Attachment Theory, Trauma Theory, and Neuroscience.

Taking place within the context of relationships and overwhelming adversity, complex trauma causes a person to experience disempowerment and disconnection from their body and other people. Together, the five core elements of TCTSY offer the opportunity for the participant to encounter a new experience— one that is not trauma. Through exploring the physical forms and movements of hatha yoga or another chosen sequence of movements within a particular culture, with the emphasis on the participant’s internal experience rather than the external forms, and within a safe as possible space of non-coercion, choice-making, invitational language, shared authentic experience and present moment experience, the participant begins to discover self-empowerment and connection.

The role of the TCTSY Facilitator is to demonstrate the five core elements and to share power with the participant. With warmth and empathy, a TCTSY facilitator practices the yoga movements and noticing what is happening within their own body, while simultaneously remaining engaged with the participant/s who is having their own unique practice. Physical assists do not take place in TCTSY. Facilitators practice non-attachment to outcomes in TCTSY because for recovery to take place, the power must remain with the participant.