SAV – Sexual Abuse and Violence

A two-day workshop for therapists who want to explore their own attitudes and boundaries as well as expand their ability to meet, hold and guide clients with traumas relating to Sexual boundary crossing behaviour.

This workshop will focus on topics like (details further down):
1. What do you need and need to be aware of in working with sexual abuse and sexual violence survivors?
2. How does trauma affect the body, feelings and the relation with the self?
3. Theoretical framework how to work with the effects of boundary-crossing behaviour.
4. How does traumatised sexuality has its effects on survivors, partners and and family systems.
5. Relating SAV concretely to the practitioner’s work.

This workshop is suitable for trained therapists:
• Who want to increase their readiness in working with issues relating to SAV.
• Who want to increase their professional know-how.
• Who wish to learn more about themselves and what they might run into in this work
• Who want to take responsibility and make a contribution in the particular field of work.

Format
• Short lectures and presentation of key perspectives, terminology and the theory behind.
• Process work with opportunities to identify personal challenges and apply theories. Practice with cases.
• Reflection and sharing of professional experience.
• Transpersonal and existential perspectives in working with SAV.
• Models and tools that can be implemented in professional practise.

Workshop-leader
Psykosyntes - Giel LuichjesGiel Luichjes is working as a psychotherapist in Amsterdam. He has specialised in working with gender and sexuality, including sexual abuse and violence. His professional training includes Psychosynthesis psychotherapy, gender and sexual diversity training, sexual abuse training and training on working with sex offenders and the models of trauma theory and trauma-sexuality.
Furthermore, Giel is a Psychosynthesis trainer in Sweden and The Netherlands. He has a special interest in existential psychotherapy and social constructivism in trying to understand complex social phenomena and the dynamics in human relations.

Dates and venue
Wednesday 28 November 9.00-18.00
Thursday 29 November 9.00-17.00

Stiftelsen PsykosyntesAkademin
Tengdahlsgatan 32, 2tr
116 47 Stockholm

Price
SEK 2 900 incl VAT (private payment)
SEK 2 900 plus VAT (corporate payment)

Signing up
Application and payment via the enclosed link to Simple Signup, after which your place is guaranteed.»

We will take a maximum of 21 participants and a minimum of 12. The workshop will be held in English, but reflections in smaller groups will include Swedish.

Contact us and find us at:
info@butik.psykosyntesakademin.se

Further description of topics
1. What do you need and need to be aware of in working with sexual abuse and sexual violence survivors?
In the workshop we will be looking into what makes the participants want to work with survivors of sexual abuse and violence, as this can be quite a challenging topic to work with. What transference might you be exposed to and counter transference can be triggered in the work?

2. How does trauma affect the body, feelings and the relation with the self?
Using contemporary trauma theory, understanding the effects of trauma and how it can be met in therapy.

3. Theoretical framework how to work with the effects of boundary-crossing behaviour.
The acknowledgement of sexual abuse and violence (SAV) – as far as we can feel and understand its impact now – could be a major step forward in preventing sexual abuse. The prevention might even reach out to areas of a non-sexual nature, thanks to a rise in the awareness of boundary crossing behaviour. We wish to invite thinking about how we could meet clients, whilst working on this rather complicated area of past experiences, that with certainty touch upon our own experiences, beliefs and constructs.

4. How does traumatised sexuality has its effects on survivors, partners and and family systems.
Trauma-sexuality means the sexuality of survivors. That, which has been affected by events and experiences and in that sense has been traumatized. The sexuality is no longer free and no longer solely belonging to the person. The internalized perpetrator prevents the survivor becoming the owner of their sexuality. Mechanisms might be put in place to block the flow of the Eros energy. This effects the relationship with a partner and can impact the life’s of family members.

5. So how can therapists work with clients who bring their experiences of trauma-sexuality to therapy?
What approach would support the understanding of those involved around the confusion, disorientation, anger, pain and shame? How can the therapist guide survivors through this landscape where the client finds herself/himself lost in?
Firstly, it’s important to explore the internalized and deeply rooted social and cultural beliefs about one’s own sexuality and other people’s sexuality. What myths and beliefs are around? However much we think that we are not affected by cultural and social belief-systems, we are. On a subtle and less conscious level, we are all affected. Secondly, how can we keep in touch with the client’s experience as well as his or her truth and experience of the situation, yet not becoming overly involved in such a way that it will limit the space of understanding in a much broader frame of reference? That might also include events in other cultural settings than our own. However unsettling the client’s stories are, how can we keep that space?