Therapeutic work with Sexual Trauma

Workshop’s purpose

Do you want to contribute and support people healing their sexual trauma? Statistics show how many lives of people are impacted by it and how it might shape their view on themselves, others, and sexuality.

Sexual abuse and other violence of a sexual nature has been around for long, yet the awareness around it is changing, in the last decade even more. Survivors become aware that they too were on the receiving end of it. Or they themselves start to wonder what they might have contributed to their own and others’ experiences in sexual encounters. Sometimes under the influence of substances, sometimes just because they had the privilege and power to not empathise with the other(s) involved.

This means we will run into in our practices and we might get in contact with our own experiences, values and belief systems. The focus of this two-day seminar is to explore how to work with your clients, from what positionality and what trauma model(s) your thinking and approach is informed by. What are key concepts that might be of use in the psychosynthesis framework? Elements of Somatic Experiences and other body psychotherapies will be part of the work throughout the weekend, as an extension of the core concept of ‘body’ in the psychosynthetic understanding. We will explore how sexual trauma can be experienced differently from other traumatising events and can also lead to a feeling of disconnect from one’s spirituality and from our innate sense of interconnectedness.

Who is it for?

Counsellors and psychotherapist who feel a responsibility to work with their clients on past experiences in sexual abuse and sexual violence (and those in training at least after the first two years can participate).

Learning Outcomes

• Working trauma-aware and trauma-sensitive with clients’ past experiences where the clients’ sexuality boundaries were crossed, in order for them to release the impact and free their sexuality.

• Understanding the impact both physical and psychological on various levels.

• Distinguishing childhood sexual abuse from later sexual abuse and working with if differently.

• Differentiating sexual trauma from other types of trauma in the therapeutic approach.

• Working with shame and the internalised abuser is essential to shortcut internal (self)oppression, self-harm and to enhance self-worth.

• Aiming at reconnecting to the Eros-energy where withdrawal from it might have been the only possibility at the time.

• Looking through the psychosynthesis lens of healing trauma and concretised in psychosynthesis interventions, like the use of imagination.

• Applying basic body psychotherapy interventions in working with the client’s reactivity to past experiences in the here and now.

• Enabling counsellors and therapists to contribute to healing and at the same time avoiding vicarious trauma as well as to be aware of pitfalls that might lead to retraumatising clients.

What to expect?

The weekend will be focussed on generating an internal (theoretical) framework to apply in the client work. We will be using an action learning approach and include self-exploration (in pairs or small groups) to understand and experience one’s positionality better. At the start you will be asked to bring in your learning needs, in order to meet them as much as the time allows.

Our Approach

Psychosynthesis as psychotherapy is a unique approach that combines both mind, feelings, body and spirituality. It is a holistic view on humans that supports a concept of continuous change and a drive to include all parts of our being and expression. In life well might create patterns of behaviour as survival styles from traumatising events that limit our sense of self, of expression and connection. Even when meeting deeply challenging life events, there is an inherit trust in Psychosynthesis that our nature directs towards healing of wounding.

Psychosynthesis invites the client to re-open up to our interconnected nature as human beings and allowing creativity and expression to support healing. The body is seen as an immediate communication channel and is at the very core of psychosynthesis and it’s understanding that Body, Feelings, Mind and Spirit are one.

Ticket price

At the Trust we appreciate that each person has their own unique situation, so we invite you to select the price point that feels like it represents a fair contribution for attending this event.

There are three options to choose from when purchasing tickets: £195, £230, £250.

If you are a current Psychosynthesis Trust student and finances are a barrier to attending this workshop, please contact Kajal at events@ptrust.org.uk.

Refunds are available up to 7 days before the event. Eventbrite fee is non-refundable.

About the Trainer

Giel Luichjes is working as a European Certified Psychotherapist in Amsterdam. He has specialised in working with trauma as a certified practitioner of Somatic Experiencing (body psychotherapy), the Neuro Affective Relational Model and Somatic Embodiment. As he works with the clients’ experiences relating to gender and sexuality, including sexual abuse and violence, these are a core part of his work. His professional training includes Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy, Gender and Sexual Diversity training and trainings on working with Sexual Abuse Survivors as well as working with sex offenders. Underlying are models of trauma theory and traumatised sexuality.

Furthermore, Giel is a Psychosynthesis trainer in Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom on a broad range of topics. He has a special interest in existential psychotherapy and social constructivism in trying to understand complex social phenomena and the dynamics in human relations. He advocates that all counsellors and psychotherapists can make a meaningful contribution in healing sexual wounding and -in their professional role- have a responsibility to do so.