Body Talk
Body Talk is a group workshop designed for children who have experienced trauma. Using Somatic Experiencing (SE) principles, the workshop gives them the opportunity to become aware of all the ways in which their body speaks to them, whether it is to run and hide, or freeze in the face of fear.
Children are helpless in the face of fear if they do not have a protective adult to run towards or step in. Often compensatory behaviours and management strategies come into play, leading us to believe they have recovered from the fearful event. Children can remain in shock, which can appear as disassociation or being shutdown. Being stuck in fear can prevent them from being in the moment and relating to others. They can become hypervigilant, which presents as anxiety and behavioural problems.
This workshop offers children:
A safe and fun approach to help restore their body’s defences and provide corrective experiences through games and exercises designed by Maggie Kline and by Peter Levin, founder of the Somatic Experiencing model
Psycho-education about the body’s innate behaviour to self-protect, its response to fear as a natural instinct, and healthy self-protective responses
The opportunity to learn about sensations and to increase their self-awareness of how their body talks to them as a form of intelligence
Art making as a way to mirror their experience and track their sensations
An experience of deactivation, known as settling, once they have been activated or triggered
An opportunity to connect to the felt sense of safety and restore a healthy equilibrium.
Body Talk has regularly featured in the Little Sparks Art Therapy School Holiday Program founded by Emerge: Women and Children’s Support Network.
This group is helpful for professional practitioners to gain further insights into children they work with as either a therapist, case manager or support worker.
Groups run for 1.5 hours and accommodate between 5 and 10 children. Activities and content can be adapted to suit the presenting issues of the children. Kids love this workshop!
Groups run for 1.5 hours and accommodate between 5 and 10 children.
Activities and content can be adapted to suit the presenting issues of the children.
Kids love this workshop!
