Summit: Somatic Attachment Healing

Dr. Scott Lyons (DO, PhD, MS, MFA, CHT, BMCP/T, RSMT, SME, BMCP, IDME, SEP, CST, BFA, RYT-500) is a Clinical Psychologist, Osteopath, and Mind-Body Medicine practitioner who specializes in therapies for infants, youth, and adults. Additionally, Dr. Lyons holds a BFA in Theater/Psychology, and an MFA in Dance/Choreography. Scott is the creator of The Embody Lab — a hub for embodied education, self-discovery and healing— and developer of Somatic Stress Release™ — a processes of restoring our biological adaptation system.

Kai Cheng Thom, MSW, MSc, Qualified Mediator, Certified Professional Jungian Life Coach, and Certified Somatic Sex Educator, is a coach, process facilitator, and mediator whose work focuses on the intersections of trauma healing, Transformative Justice, and social change. A noted theorist and practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, Kai Cheng has made significant contributions towards the integration and application of conflict transformation, crisis intervention, and body-based trauma healing methods in an activist context through her writing and teaching. Kai Cheng maintains a private practice as a one-on-one somatic coach, consultant, and group facilitator, drawing from extensive professional trainings in a wide variety of healing and wellness disciplines. She has also trained hundreds of embodiment and wellness professionals as Adjunct Faculty with the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education and a Senior Teacher at The Embody Lab.

Maureen Gallagher, PhD, is the founder of Somatic Inner Relationship Focusing (SIRF), a somatically informed parts-work model rooted in embodied awareness and Inner Relationship Focusing. With over 30 years in private practice, she integrates attachment theory, embodied relationship, and internal working models. Dr. Gallagher is faculty with Somatic Experiencing International, a trainer in Inner Relationship Focusing, and a Certified Supervisor in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, bridging somatic practice and psychotherapy.

Diane Poole Heller, PhD, is an internationally recognized speaker, author, and expert in Attachment Theory and Trauma Resolution. Her signature approach—DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience)—offers therapists and individuals practical skills for healing attachment and trauma wounds. As Senior Faculty for SETI, Diane studied with Dr. Peter Levine and taught Somatic Experiencing® internationally for over 25 years. She is the author of The Power of Attachment, Crash Course, and the audio book Healing Your Attachment Wounds. Her film Surviving Columbine aired on CNN, supporting community healing after the shootings.

Sheleana Aiyana is a best-selling author and founder of Rising Woman, guiding millions through heartbreak, relational healing, and self-reclamation. Her poetic yet grounded writing blends personal storytelling with somatic wisdom, offering a soul-deep path to wholeness.

Ben Goresky is a men's coach, an addiction counsellor, and the host of The Evolving Man Podcast. With a focus on men’s work, conscious relationships, and addiction recovery, Ben wants to wake people up to their potential for healing and transformation. Ben is co-director of The Arka Brotherhood, a men’s community focussed on conscious growth and leadership training for men. He also teaches conscious relationship work with his wife Sheleana Aiyana in their course "The Path To Conscious Love” and to men in his “Conscious Relationship Council” live training.

Manuela Mischke-Reeds. MFT is an international teacher of somatic psychology, somatic psychotherapist, a founder of Hakomi Institute of California and Embodywise (non-profit) that cultivates learning from the wisdom teachings of the body. She is the developer of the Innate Somatic Intelligence Trauma Therapy Approach (ISITTA), an in-depth trauma training program for therapists and practitioners.

Manuela has 25+ years of clinical experience with trauma clients, coaching executives, first responders. She lectures and trains professionals on the topics of Hakomi Therapy, mindfulness-somatic psychology, trauma healing, embodied mindfulness for trauma and stress, Movement Therapy, Somatic Psychedelic assisted Psychotherapy.

Manuela is the author of several books, including 125 Somatic Psychotherapy Tools for Trauma and Stress (PESI 2018), 8 Keys to Practicing Mindfulness: Practical Strategies for Emotional Health, Well Being (W.W.Norton 2015), Trauma-sensitive movement (2025), Embodied Psychedelic Therapy (2025).