Alaine Duncan & Kathy Kain: Restoring inner balance

Combining Eastern and Western trauma physiology, Alaine Duncan and Kathy Kain introduce a new map for body-oriented clinicians to help restore balance in their clients. Using concepts from Acupuncture and Asian Medicine (AAM) alongside descriptions of the threat response from Western bio-behavioral science, they describe common physical symptoms, emotional presentations, and paths for healing for five survivor “types”. This approach is further developed in their new book, The Tao of Trauma – A Practitioner’s Guide for Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Healing.


Alaine Duncan is an acupuncturist and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Her clinical curiosity, at the interface of the neuro-biology of traumatic stress and ancient healing principles from acupuncture and Asian medicine, inspired the creation of The Tao Trauma: A Practitioner’s Guide for Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Treatment. Her research background includes serving on studies assessing the impact of integrative medicine on compassion fatigue in military caregivers; use of acupuncture for treatment of combat-related traumatic stress, chronic headaches in OIF/OEF veterans with traumatic brain injuries, pain in veterans of all conflicts, and for Gulf War Veterans Illness.  She was founding director of Crossings Healing & Wellness, Silver Spring, MD, a charter member of the Integrative Health & Wellness program at the DC Veterans Administration Medical Center, and is Chair of the National Capitol Area Chapter of Acupuncturists Without Borders, providing free acupuncture for immigrants and refugees.  See website.


Kathy Kain, PhD has been practicing and teaching bodywork and trauma recovery skills for over 38 years.  She teaches in the U.S., where she lives, as well as internationally. She is a Senior Faculty member for the SE Trauma Institute, and was a senior trainer for 12 years in the Somatic Psychotherapy training program based in Sydney, Australia, which helped develop her expertise in the integration of touch into the practice of psychotherapy and trauma recovery, as well as in somatic approaches to working with developmental and complex trauma.  Kathy is co-author of these books: Nurturing Resilience – Helping Clients Move Forward from Developmental Trauma;The Tao of Trauma – A Practitioner’s Guide for Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Healing, and Ortho-Bionomy – A Practical Manual. See website.


Published  May  2019.