This workshop is intended for therapists and other mental health professionals who are interested in learning the basics of somatics, a framework for somatic interventions, and specific practices they might use with clients.
This workshop is intended for therapists and other mental health professionals who are interested in learning the basics of somatics, a framework for somatic interventions, and specific practices they might use with clients.
Do you ever find your clients stuck in the same behavior patterns—snapping at a loved one, not standing up for themselves, or numbing out? Do they ever express frustration that they can analyze their reactions to pieces, but it’s almost like their body just “takes over” even when they mean to respond more calmly?
Through safe, partner exercises, we’ll learn the foundational “grab practice” from the Strozzi Institute for Somatics. This can help our clients to stay mindful in moments of activation or trigger—and interrupt the routine sensation-impulse-reaction pathways their bodies learned, often long ago. We’ll learn our own “somatic cues,” to help us notice and patiently attend to our reactive sensations until they subside. This practice can give our clients more choice, so they can respond in ways that are aligned to their goals.
You’ll walk away with a step-by-step sequence for working somatically with triggers (reference handout will be sent digitally to participants), basic somatic vocabulary, and a framework for describing short-term and long-term change through somatic intervention..
This workshop is also open to somatic practitioners, teachers, facilitators, trainers, dancers, organizational leaders, public speakers, and others who might apply this in clinical or educational settings.
Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
Presenter bio: Zach Bell, M.Ed, helps purpose-driven professionals to sustain their impact over time and communicate more effectively at home and at work. He is a certified somatic coach with the Strozzi Institute for Somatics, and he specializes in conflict, boundaries, burn-out, anger management, anxiety, men’s work, gender identity, listening skills, and intimacy. His methodology, The Bodymind Breakthrough, brings together Nonviolent Communication, somatics, and role play to create practical, meaningful changes for leaders and teams. He runs a private practice over Zoom and in Oakland, which includes individuals, Men’s Groups (Oakland and San Francisco-based), and giving workshops at various retreats and family camps throughout the Bay Area.
His background includes founding his dream summer camp that brings young leaders from different race and class backgrounds together to build empathy, serving as an Oakland public middle school classroom teacher, dean, and Restorative Justice facilitator, as well as roles in education technology, management consulting, and nonprofit consulting. In addition to his clinical work, he channels his passion for men’s work through Real Men Share, a website for men to anonymously share first person stories about their experiences of masculinity, in an effort to reduce shame, promote healing, and shift perceptions of masculinity in our culture. He is also an avid basketball player, contact improv dancer, Jewish ritual host, late-in-life theater kid, and Ram Dass devotee.
Learn more at www.bodywisdomcoach.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.