This week PBS is airing a new 3-part series called “This Emotional Life.”  The first part, “Family, Friends & Lovers,” aired last night.  If you missed it, you can watch part 1 online.  Part 2 airs tonight; part 3 airs tomorrow night.

Here’s a description of the series from the website:  “The series opens a window into real lives, exploring ways to improve our social relationships, cope with emotional issues, and become more positive, resilient individuals.”

I watched the first 20 minutes of part 1 and found it very compelling … I thought it was very good.  I plan to watch the rest of part 1 and the rest of the series.

By the way, according to the website, this series is part of a two-year, multi-platform project that aims to create awareness, understanding and solutions surrounding emotional well-being.

This is a very important project, in part because the healthier all of us become emotionally, the more loving this world will become, and the more healing it’ll experience.  Way to go, PBS!

If you watch some of the series, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

A few months ago I attended an all-day seminar presented by Peter Levine (in photo at left), the creator of Somatic Experiencing (SE), a short-term, naturalistic approach to the resolution and healing of trauma.

I’m excited about this approach — it resonates with me.

Basically SE helps people get in touch with and harness the body’s innate capacity to heal itself from trauma.

What is trauma? Therapist Pia Mellody defines trauma as anything that’s less than nurturing. Based on that definition, most of us have experienced trauma (and still experience trauma from time to time).

According to Levine, when we experience trauma, our bodies respond by activating survival energy. When this energy is not fully discharged and integrated, it remains frozen (or trapped) in our nervous system, where it can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds.

Levine’s SE approach enables the frozen response to thaw, move ahead in time and then complete, healing the trauma (and alleviating traumatic symptoms).

If you’re interested in learning more about SE, I highly recommend Levine’s book Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. Also, check out Levine’s website, TraumaHealing.com. If you’re a parent, I encourage you to check out Levine’s newest book, Trauma-Proofing Your Kids, which I plan to read soon.

Yes, I’m a single guy with no kids blogging about parenting and child development. I’m passionate about (and fascinated by) human development — and I have a soft spot in my heart for child development.

I recently discovered an organization called Inner Bonding. The founders, Dr. Margaret Paul (in photo at left) and Dr. Erika Chopich, developed a process called Inner Bonding, which helps people develop emotionally and spiritually. I really like the work they’re doing, and I plan to write more about it later!

But right now I want to introduce you to the Parenting Advice section of the Inner Bonding website. There are some great articles, most of which are free, though you may have to become a basic member of the site (and basic membership is free). I actually don’t remember the process I had to go through to get access to the free articles — ha!

A recent parenting article is called “Following a Child’s Lead,” and I really appreciated it. Here are some other articles: “Are You Addicted to Your Children?” “Are You Present With Your Children?” and “Validating vs. Indulging Children’s Feelings.” View the whole list of articles.

I hope the articles are helpful. Let me know what you think!