Activist and author Sophie Olson and addiction specialist, psychotherapist and poet Jacky Power offer this transformative workshop that explores how creative expression becomes a bridge when direct speech feels impossible.
Sophie and Jacky, both survivors who found refuge in writing will share their journey of using metaphor as a protective language, challenging the common therapeutic misconception of "regressing to childhood" and reframing it as a natural response to overwhelming experiences.
Through their lived experience of sexual abuse, the facilitators illuminate how invalidation compounds trauma's impact, and how creative expression became their tool for self-witnessing.
The workshop offers five practical approaches for therapists who feel uncertain in their trauma work, emphasising the art of "walking beside" rather than pathologising client experiences.
Central to this workshop is understanding the power of the unspoken - how to truly see and hear what clients communicate through subtle signals and metaphor without presuming to know their story. The facilitators will demonstrate how creative work creates a shared space where difficult truths can be held safely, allowing both client and therapist to navigate trauma's landscape with gentleness and awareness.
The session moves beyond creative expression to examine how therapists can shift from clinical labeling to supportive presence, encouraging practitioners to reflect deeply on their responses to client behaviors. Through discussion and experiential elements, participants will learn the delicate art of working with trauma responses, emphasising attunement over intervention.
Key Themes:
- Creative expression as a protective metaphor
- Reframing "childlike" responses
- Understanding covert sexual abuse and validation
- Practical therapeutic approaches
- The art of present witnessing
- Moving from pathology to partnership
Sophie's Bio
Sophie is a survivor activist, writer, founder and managing director of The Flying Child: a National Lottery Community funded nonprofit organisation improving the awareness of child sexual abuse and the consequences of trauma. The core aim of The Flying Child is to normalise speaking about CSA. The Flying Child Project brings lived experience into the heart of professional settings, providing training in Education, Social Work and Healthcare. Sophie’s work aims to challenge the societal culture of silence around CSA. She has a particular interest in the non-pathologisation of trauma, and advocates for appropriate specialist therapy and support.
With first-hand experience in a system that was unable to support her with childhood trauma, her story was covered by Radio 4 in the Lights Out documentary The Last Taboo.
She works with various research projects across Dentistry, Mental Health and Maternity, aiming to improve survivor access – and is co-developing The Skylark Project: a pathway of care in the NHS, specifically for survivors of sexual violence, conceptualised by a collaboration between Sophie and Dr. Charlotte Small, co-lead of the Herefordshire Pain Management Service and clinical lead of the Wye Valley Trust Preoperative Assessment Service.
Sophie is a speaker and author. She publishes regularly on The Flying Child blog, and her writing, poetry and art has been featured in the work of Epione, Drop the Disorder and The Survivorzine.
Most recently, she was shortlisted for the Criminal Justice Alliance Awards 2022 Saskia Jones Award for Victims Services.
Jacky's Bio
Jacky Power, MSc, is an addiction specialist, therapist, and performance poet who combines therapeutic expertise with creative expression. She is founder of Feeling Freedom, an online programme supporting those affected by loved ones' addiction. Her award-nominated poetry collection "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off: Words for When You Want to Leave the Planet but Don't Have Billions to Build a Rocket," was a finalist in the Independent Authors Awards 2022. A performer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and host of "The Therapeutic Poet" podcast—a finalist in the International Women's Podcast Awards— Jacky continues to break new ground in merging mental health support with the creative. Find out more about Jacky here.
This event WILL be recorded for people who can't attend live to watch later
