All of us work with clients who have experienced sexual trauma as a child, sexual assault as adults, with couples who grapple with sexual incompatibilities, or people who struggle with debilitating shame, dissociation, flashbacks, sexual/gender identity, body image and just generally resist being in their bodies.  This workshop is designed to tackle just these issues, and is aimed at helping practitioners acquire a variety of new and effective tools to best serve these clients—even the toughest ones. Introducing material and exercises not covered in the Somatic Experiencing training.

Social Workers, MFTs, Counselors, Psychologists, Substance Abuse Counselors, Psychiatrists

Identify the unique ways in which sexual trauma impacts individuals, taking into account cultural, developmental, and systemic factors.

Demonstrate the ability to implement trauma-informed strategies to support clients in rebuilding and repairing a sense of sexual safety.

Assist clients with complex trauma histories in identifying clear, achievable therapeutic goals to guide the treatment process.

Establish and maintain a therapeutic alliance based on informed consent, collaboration, and mutual respect to support client recovery.

Apply titrated, body-centered interventions to support clients in gradually reconnecting with their physical selves and experiencing comfort and pleasure.

Explain current, evidence-based information about human sexuality in ways that reduce stigma, promote client understanding, and foster self-acceptance.

Utilize somatic and grounding techniques that promote self-regulation and decrease daily triggers without requiring clients to revisit traumatic content.

Integrate mindfulness-based interventions to reduce somatic reactivity and desensitize startle responses to safe, consensual touch.

Facilitate the re-establishment of embodied safety for clients, especially in the context of interpersonal contact and relationships.

Implement boundary-strengthening interventions that help clients develop assertiveness, recognize personal preferences, and make empowered choices.

Apply evidence-informed approaches to reduce shame and promote self-compassion and resilience in clients affected by sexual trauma.

Demonstrate competence and cultural humility when engaging in therapeutic conversations about the body, sexuality, and intimacy-related issues.
 

Day 1
11:00-11:15  Walking mindfulness Intervention and Exercise.
11:15-11:30  Class Orientation, Expectations, and Guidelines.  Overview of intentions and what to expect.  
11:30-12:15 Class Lecture: Common mistakes therapists make when working with sexual trauma and Identifying biases
12:15-12:30  Break
12:30-1:00 Introduction to practice groups, setting intentions and naming support resources.
1:00-2:30 lunch
2:30-3:15 Class Lecture:  Early therapeutic interventions, establishing therapeutic cooperation, understanding resistance through the Dual Mode Model
3:15-4:00 Demonstration.  Practice in two’s with a debrief.
4:00-4:15 Break
4:15-4:45  Demonstration.  
4:45-5:15  Experiential exercise on ideal embodied self 
5:15-6:00  Class Discussion, questions, case examples.

Day 2
9:30-10:30 Class Lecture: Embodiment exercise involving self-touch and when to use it.
10:30-11:00 Questions, reflections, integration from yesterday
11:00-11:15 Break
11:15-12:00 Class lecture: specific interventions when people with sexual trauma are hesitant to sense their bodies
12:00-1:00 Demonstration and practice 
1:00-2:30 lunch
2:30-3:15   Class lecture: importance of body awareness to facilitate self-regulation. 
3:15-4:00 Identification, discussion and practice of numerous ways a sexually traumatized client might feel safe enough to sense into the body
4-4:15 break
4:15-5:00  Class Lecture: continuation of working with body avoidance, questions that facilitate cooperation and consent
5:00-5:30  Practice in small groups.
5:30-6:00 Follow-up on practice with discussion and questions

Day 3
9:30- 11:00 Class Lecture: Importance of re-establishing choice and preference--how to ask a proper question
11-11:15 break
11:15-12:30 Class Lecture: More exercises on making the body a friendly, less scary place
12:30-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:00 Class Lecture: Working with shame
2:00-2:30 Demonstration
2:30-3 Group practice
3:00-3:15 Break
3:15-3:45 Class Lecture: Integration and homework
3:45-4:00 Final mindfulness exercise/walking intervention