Language Practices that Reduce Activation

Date

Friday, March 13, 2026

Time

05:30 PM Australia/Sydney

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A trauma-wise approach recognises that interoceptive enquiry requires language that feels safe, spacious, and invitational—an essential foundation for healthy neuroceptive functioning. In this webinar, we will explore the practicalities of facilitating interoceptive awareness in a way that honours each client’s experience. Participants will learn how to describe bodily sensations, interpret the felt sense, and support clients in choosing responses that feel safe and effective. Emphasis will be placed on the power of choice-rich, non-coercive language to promote nervous system regulation, enhance empowerment, and restore a sense of internal authority. Through experiential practice, clinicians will develop skills to guide somatic awareness with curiosity, compassion, and care, fostering environments where clients feel both seen and supported. This training integrates theoretical understanding with hands-on techniques, enabling participants to confidently apply trauma-informed interoceptive practices in their clinical work.

Shirley Hicks

Shirley empowers clinicians to meet clients with safety, sensitivity, and the deep nervous-system attunement that trauma recovery requires. Her work centres on creating healing experiences—somatically, cognitively, and relationally—so survivors can move toward stability without being retraumatised in the process.

With over three decades of somatic psychotherapy experience, Shirley’s practice is anchored in one essential question: “What functional new experience can we co-create in this moment?” She brings profound depth and compassion to her work with survivors of religious and institutional abuse and Victims of Crime, and she loves training clinicians to embody presence as a living part of effective practice.

And when the workday ends, Shirley returns to her creative loves—gardening, singing, cooking, and eating beautiful food (though not all at once!).

Agenda

AGENDA

Lecture & Brief Discussion (60 min) – Explore how interoceptive enquiry can enhance nervous system regulation and restore internal authority. Learn practical strategies, including safe language, felt-sense interpretation, and guided somatic exercises, to help clients cultivate curiosity, choice, and embodied empowerment.

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