What ACEs taught me about healing

When someone develops a chronic illness or experiences persistent physical pain, the impact of childhood stress and trauma is often overlooked.

Many of my clients sense there is a link between their adult health challenges and their childhood experiences, yet healthcare providers rarely address this connection.

Discovering ACEs

I first encountered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) while studying counselling. If you are unfamiliar with ACEs or the ACE assessment, you can read the World Health Organization's ACE-IQ questionnaire.

Connecting adult health problems to childhood trauma can feel difficult and overwhelming. However, learning how ACEs affect long-term health and well-being gave me new insight and changed how I thought about trauma recovery. It also made me wonder if my own chronic health issues were related to my high ACE score.

Caring for my nervous system

This curiosity really shifted my therapeutic focus. I have spent more than 15 years exploring how childhood trauma and stress affect physical health. I am not a researcher or health expert, but caring for my nervous system with yoga, naturopathy, bodywork and somatic experiencing made all the difference. It was a slow process that required steady, consistent effort, but most of my symptoms faded over time. As I reached perimenopause, some symptoms changed, which I knew could happen for people with high ACE scores.

The books that connected the dots

In 2011, my search for answers came when someone gave me Dr Peter Levine's book, Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body. The book included a CD of guided techniques, which I still keep in my office as a valued resource. Using his methods made me want to learn more. I read his book Waking the Tiger, which gave me a clear understanding of how our bodies store traumatic stress. In 2011, this topic was not as widely discussed as it is now.

These texts helped me connect all the dots. Realising how our nervous system informs how we move through the world, and how we can recover, showed me how important it is to keep seeking information, to keep listening to my body, and to trust myself.

Why my hope keeps growing

With ongoing advancements in research and treatments for trauma and the nervous system, my hope continues to grow. I am now often asked about this connection, and each time I believe more strongly that anyone can recover with the right information and support from an experienced practitioner.

I am a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and yoga therapist, and I hold a Master's in relational psychotherapy. I use these approaches to support others in my private practice in Sydney.

At my practice, The Heart of Healing in Newtown, I maintain a large and growing collection of books and research papers that clients often inquire about. If you would like personalised recommendations, or have helpful titles to share, I would love to hear from you.