Hi, Jenny with Somatic Therapy Partners here. Today I wanted to talk with you all about something that’s really important to us here at Somatic Therapy Partners – and that is trauma-informed care. Today I’m here to talk to you about a word that you’ve probably heard quite a bit. And that word is: consent.
So, consent is used in a lot of different ways, it’s defined by a lot of different people. And so I’m just going to explain to you about why it’s so important to us here and how it might show up in your sessions.
During your first session what I like to do is make it very clear that your “no” or your
“I don’t know” or your pause always means we stop. I never am going to push you to do something you’re not comfortable with. And I really want your body to learn that it has a say and it will be listened to. That is so important! And what I’ve learned in my sessions with folks over the years is that even people who think “oh it’s no big deal, yeah feel free, we can just keep pushing through…” – that when I ask them to slow down, and when we practice consent building exercises, things show up in their body that they were not even aware of.
I have clients who might be on the table and they say that they’re ready and then they go like this [tenses shoulder upwards] or they’re ready and then they cross their arms or they tighten in some way. And what I want to teach and show you is that we can actually just listen to what your body is saying even if your mind and brain and voice is saying something else. We don’t have we do not have to push the body to be okay when it’s clearly telling us it’s not [tenses shoulders upward]. In those moments I’m just going to slow down with you and just be in that space – to wait until the body is actually ready. When your body goes from maybe this [tenses shoulder upwards] to this [relaxes shoulder into natural resting position].
And that’s not just okay but what we believe here at Somatic Therapy Partners is: that is actually the work. We want your body to have integrity. We want your body to have a voice. And for your mind and body to connect and be congruent. To be together, not to be separated.
I’m really glad that you joined us here today and I hope to see you in future videos.