Mary Gitau, a psychologist and suicide prevention specialist based in Nairobi, shares how she's bringing TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises) to communities across Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan affected by conflict and war. She discusses her personal healing breakthrough with TRE and how body-based approaches can reach populations where traditional talk therapy cannot—particularly in cultures where men don't openly discuss emotions. This conversation explores the intersection of TRE with Somatic Experiencing, bioenergetics, and EMDR, the critical importance of cultural adaptation, and both the opportunities and challenges of making trauma healing accessible across diverse communities.

In this episode, Mary shares stories of working with Somali and Sudanese men who experienced profound healing through the tremor mechanism, her journey integrating multiple somatic modalities, and practical wisdom on contextualizing TRE for different cultural settings. She also addresses the challenges of people misusing TRE through online videos and her vision for making trauma healing accessible through free group classes at her organization, the Center for Suicide Research and Intervention (CSRI).

Listen to the full episode to hear Mary's inspiring journey bringing body-based trauma healing to East African communities.

Links & Resources Mentioned
Center for Suicide Research and Intervention (CSRI) https://csricentre.org/

Episode Timestamps
00:01 - TRE Training in Kenya with Dr. Berceli
00:04 - Childhood Trauma and Becoming a Psychologist
00:06 - Why Talk Therapy Wasn't Enough for Trauma Clients
00:09 - From Bioenergetics to Trauma Releasing Exercises
00:12 - Personal Breakthrough: Releasing Pelvic Trauma Through TRE
00:18 - First TRE Session with Somali Refugees in Nairobi
00:22 - Working with Men Who Don't Talk About Emotions
00:28 - Integrating Somatic Experiencing and TRE in Practice
00:35 - Cultural Adaptation: Avoiding Exorcism Misconceptions
00:40 - Dangers of Self-Guided TRE from Online Videos
00:45 - Making Trauma Healing Accessible and Affordable
00:47 - Teaching Children and Families TRE at Home
00:48 - Bringing TRE to Conflict Zones in East Africa