An Embodied Approach to Counselling

We are pleased to provide a two day workshop that introduces practitioners to clinically verified ways of using the body to address the trauma that many of those we work with experience and to support worker well being.

 

Bessel van der Kolk, renowned trauma psychiatrist, made the observation that mainstream therapeutic approaches pay little attention to "helping terrified people to safely experience their sensations and emotions" (from The Body Keeps the Score, 2014). In recognition of this gap, this two day workshop will provide practitioners with a taste of how  integrating techniques that draw on the body's wisdom into their current approaches to counselling and therapy can support more sustainable outcomes in their work.

 

Between us, we both have extensive theoretical and practical experience understanding and working with embodied approaches. Dr Jo Mensinga has completed research exploring yoga as a therapeutic modality and has recently co-edited a special edition on Embodiment and Social Work in the Australian Social Work Journal. Manon van der Lee, MA, is a Body and Movement oriented Psychotherapist which is an experiential therapy, using movement activities and a focus on bodily experiences to diminish psychiatric symptoms, increase mental health and improve psychosocial development and functioning.