2019 Autumn Events

The Trauma Counsellor's Toolbox: Exercises to Aid Recovery and Healing from Complex Trauma A one day workshop with Christiane Sanderson London, 2 November 2019, Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm Complex trauma is often the result of persistent, repetitive traumatic experiences which may include multiple violations such as sexual abuse, physical violence, emotional abuse and neglect – in many cases at the hands of someone known to the victim. This cycle, where trust is repeatedly betrayed can manifest in a range of symptoms such as dissociation, alterations to sense-of-self and fear of intimacy in relationships. Working with survivors of such trauma requires a range of therapeutic techniques that involve both top-down and bottom-up processing. This is particularly the case when trauma has been split off and is not easily accessible through verbal recall. Moreover, as complex trauma is primarily stored in the right brain, practitioners need to be able to facilitate right brain engagement through a selection of creative techniques and exercises. This training workshop, which would be especially relevant for counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists, across modalities – provides an opportunity for professionals working with survivors of complex trauma to add practical skills to their therapeutic repertoire. The aim is to enable practitioners to explore more creative ways of working with complex trauma and help them become more embodied, so they can facilitate post-traumatic growth for their clients. The workshop achieves this through a series of experiential exercises including: working with nesting dolls, soft toys and transitional objects, exploring family constellations using peg dolls and animals, modelling the trauma narrative with playdoh, making masks to explore the hidden faces of shame and sand tray work to access the unspeakable aspects of trauma. The workshop combines experiential aspects with grounding skills and relevant theory to specifically consider: Ensuring safety and control: we look at appropriate usages of anchors, oases and safe places; exercises that enable clients to be present, reflect and relax Skills that improve daily routine for clients: improving sleep, making the bedroom safe and regaining contact with the body Grounding skills: identifying triggers, managing hyper and hypo arousal states, sensory connections Skills for managing flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety: handling internal dialogue, gaining control over flashbacks, recording nightmares and the protocol for panic attacks Getting rid of negativity: mental filtering and reappraisal of thoughts Working with memory fragments: reducing over-processing, pacing memory work and recording memories Managing boundaries: understanding collapsed or rigid boundaries and drawing the optimal personal space

nscience UK is an independent organisation that seeks to explore the interdisciplinary richness of mental health disciplines. Through a series of seminars, workshops and conferences that are conducted throughout the year, we aim to present the latest advances in theory and research to practitioners; with a view to furthering their continuing professional development.

Disclaimer: Individuals pictured are either conference speakers or models. All images are used for illustrative purposes only.

Continuing professional development through seminars, workshops and conferences for psychotherapists, counsellors and psychologists.