When you’re a woman dealing with trauma from an abusive relationship with a narcissist, it can sometimes seem like there’s no way out. Multi-award-winning ICF Accredited Somatic Trauma Informed Coach and Therapist Caroline Strawson has good news: you can, and she’s living proof.
“I met and married a covert narcissist in 1999,” she explains. “I did not even realize I had been in an abusive relationship, and when our marriage ended in 2021, I was a shell of myself.”
She hit “rock bottom,” dealing with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and self-harm. “I often thought about suicide,” she admits, “but I had two children I could not leave.”
Finding that talk therapy only made her feel worse, Strawson began studying multiple healing disciplines. Now a member of the Forbes Coaching Council and ICF Accredited Trauma-Informed Certified Coach, her 20 accreditations include being a Certified High-Performance Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Master Hypnotherapy Trainer, and Certified Breathwork Teacher. She also specializes in neuroscience and Somatic Experiencing, in addition to being an Accredited Divorce and Breakup Coach.
She has integrated all of these varied aspects of her study into a singular, holistic approach based on somatic healing and positive psychology. “I am driven to help women,” she says. “I suffered financial and narcissistic abuse, and it nearly broke me. Narcissism is so misunderstood and over-used word. I look at it using Internal Family Systems, an evidence-based parts therapy and non-shaming.”
The idea of “post-traumatic growth” is essential to Strawson. “I bring a somatic look at healing,” she says, “using the term ‘post-traumatic growth’ in my work a lot to give people hope after narcissistic abuse. It is about hope, education, inspiration, and working at a nervous system level. I help people get into their bodies and reconnect with their feelings that previously they may have seen as too painful because of past childhood trauma.”
The three-time bestselling author, whose latest book is Divorce Became My Superpower, founded the IFC and PCD-accredited School of
Embodiment Trauma Informed Living program to “help educate, heal, and inspire people from trauma so they can move from Post-Traumatic Stress to Post-Traumatic Growth.” The program also teaches others how to do the vital work that she does.
Strawson’s popular podcast, Narcissistic Abuse and Trauma Recovery has over 150 5-star ratings and 3.3 million downloads. She also has a free
Facebook, the support group, has over 30,000 members, a low-cost healing membership called Thrivers, and a YouTube channel filled with helpful resources.
A good way of getting acquainted with Strawson’s work is via the free monthly Masterclasses she hosts on her Facebook page. The critical tool helps her reach out and connect with women worldwide
Strawson’s primary goal is to help women in difficult situations following a relationship with a narcissist know that they can experience post-traumatic growth.
“I give people hope that it is not just about surviving but thriving,” she says. “I lead an even better, happier, and healthier life because of the narcissist. I went from being homeless and penniless to building an international healing and coaching school to help others heal and then teach others to help others heal. We heal together, and I am creating a ripple effect far and wide with education around narcissism. The power to heal is within all of us.’