Four Cycles Institute level 1 Expressive Arts Therapy and Level and Trauma Informed Practice Training with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi, Ph.D.

Session One:

Foundations Integrating Expressive Arts Therapy, Somatic Therapy, and Sensory Integration, to Address Traumatic Stress

Because trauma requires a multi-sensory, body-based, and implicit approach, this first session sets the foundation for the core treatment principles. Participants will deepen their understanding of three major areas – somatic therapy, sensory integration, and expressive arts therapy. Best practices in each area are explained with an emphasis on emerging research on how these frameworks support the connections between implicit recovery [the body’s sense of well-being] and explicit restoration [new narratives that support healing of both the body and mind].

Schedule (session one):

• 9:30 – 10:30: Introduction to Expressive Arts Principles, Frameworks, and Models in Psychotherapy
• 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
• 11:00-12:30: Building Capacity v Tolerance through a Polyvagal Lens and Breathwork and the Intermodal Shift
• 12:30 t0 13:00 Q&A, or  case discussion.
• 13:00 to 14:30 LUNCHTIME
• 14:30 to 15:30: Sensory Integration as a Foundation to Trauma Repair and Recovery
• 15:30 to 16:30: Body-Based Practices as Sensory Integration
• 16:30 end of the day.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Define why trauma treatment requires a multi-sensory approach to body and mind
• Define the major Somatic Therapy approaches to traumatic stress
• Define Sensory Integration and why it is foundational to treating trauma
• Define the MSSS Model of Expressive Arts Therapies as a brain-wise, body-based, and culturally-resonant framework for addressing traumatic stress.
• Define the term “intermodal shift” and why it is key to supporting transformative micro-moments in sessions.
• Define the difference between the Window of Tolerance model and the Circle of Capacity Model when working with traumatic stress.
• Apply at least one somatically-based Expressive Arts Therapy approach to work with traumatized patients or clients.
• Define Polyvagal Theory and the importance of sound, rhythm, and vocalization in trauma work.
• Apply at least three universal sounds and vocalizations for body awareness and regulation
• Apply at least three ways of working with the breath as a form of sound to support body awareness and regulation.
• Understand how the integration of breath, movement, sound, image, and narrative increases body awareness.

Session Two:

Embodied Cognition, Reflexive Convergence, and Restorative Embodiment

Traumatized individuals are often either in mind-body states of anxiety, worry, panic, and hyperarousal or are numb, withdrawn, fearful, collapsed, or dissociated from others and their environment. As a result, many individuals often become alienated from their ability to experience a sense of mastery, empowerment, and self-efficacy in both body and mind. They may no longer feel the reparative moments of joy, playfulness, curiosity, and enlivenment necessary to full repair and recovery from trauma. This session defines three key principles in supporting regulation and restoration in expressive work—embodied cognition, reflexive convergence, and restorative embodiment. The session also focuses on an expressive, somatically-oriented, and sensory integrative attachment model, S.A.G.E. (Malchiodi, 2023)—Synchrony, Attunement, Grounding, and Engagement. We will explore hands-on approaches and how to apply these strategies to adults, children, and groups.

Schedule (session two):

• 9:30 – 10:30: Embodied Cognition, Disembodiment, and Restorative Embodiment in Trauma Recovery
• 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
• 11:00- 12:30: Bilateral Movement and Stimulation—Body-Based Experiences Exploring Synchrony, Movement, and Rhythm
• 12:30 – 13:00 Q & A
• 13:00 – 14:30 LUNCHTIME
• 14:30 to 15:30: Reflexive Convergence and Co-Regulation as Foundations for Trauma Healing
• 15:30 to 16:30: What is the S.A.G.E Model and Restorative Attachment?
• 16:30 End of Day

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Define the four key components of self-regulation, co-regulation, exploration, and restoration
• Define embodied cognition as a key principle in a trauma-informed intervention
• Define reflexive convergence as a somatic, sensory, and expressive form of attunement
• Define restorative embodiment, disembodiment, and embodied practices within the scope of trauma intervention
• Define the S.A.G.E. Model for restorative attachment through expressive, somatically-oriented, and sensory integrative approaches
• Define bilateral work as a sensory-based, somatically-oriented, and expressive arts therapy approach to traumatic stress
• Define at least three reasons why rhythm is foundational to regulation and co-regulation in treating traumatic stress.
• Identify why energy arts are essential trauma-informed cultural practices as trauma treatment through rhythm, movement, and synchrony.
• Define protective orientation as a trauma response
• Define explorative orientation as a capacity-building response
• Apply at least one capacity-building practice in work with patients or clients
• Identify at least three factors necessary to establish safety through expressive approaches

 Session Three:

Sensorimotor Approaches to Trauma—Building Capacity through Sensory Integration and Expressive Arts

Sensory integration is one emerging area of innovative trauma treatment that underscores why we must address the body’s senses as a foundation for working with the mind. Trauma specialists frequently hear individuals say, “I feel off balance,” “I feel unstable when I am in a large space,” “I cannot tolerate certain sounds (smells, touch, or tastes),” or “I cannot feel anything in my body,” among other sensory observations.

Current research is demonstrating that sensory integration is a key foundation for trauma recovery. This session focuses on strategies to help individuals connect external sensations (exteroception) with the internal felt sense (interoception) to address trauma reactions. We will also explore sensory processing and trauma through proprioception (where we a located in space and the environment), vestibular function (our sense of balance and gravitational security), and proxemics (our comfort level in relation to others). Combining these sensory integration concepts with expressive approaches help individuals increase body awareness and support capacity-building experiences. A hands-on experience with five movements derived from Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is introduced as a strategy for working with body awareness, particularly with individuals who are experiencing dissociation or hyperactivation.

Schedule (session three):

• 9:30 – 10:30: Interoception, Exteroception, Proprioception, and Vestibular Function and Trauma; the Importance of Proxemics with Traumatized Individuals
• 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
• 11:00- 12:30: Applying the Five Restorative Movements to Increase Body-Awareness through Gesture, Sound, Enactment, and Creative Writing
• 12:30 – 13:00 pm – Q & A 
• 13:00 – 14:30 pm LUNCHTIME 
• 14:30-  15:30 Bilateral Stimulation for Grounding, Resourcing, and Orienting
• 15:30 to 16:30: The EMDR “Butterfly Hug” as an Expressive Arts Psychotherapy Approach
• 16:30 END OF DAY

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Define interoception and how it impacts the felt sense of traumatic stress
• Define exteroception and at least five ways it is impacted by traumatic stress
• Define proprioception and at least one way it is altered by traumatic stress
• Define the vestibular function’s role in trauma treatment
• Define the concept of proxemics in relation to trauma-informed practice
• Identify how proxemics are altered in traumatized individuals
• Identify at least five simple movement strategies to address hyperactivation and dissociation
• Apply at least one expressive strategy to address trauma through using movement, rhythm, sound, image, and narrative

Session Four:

From Body-Based to Brain-Wise: Using the Senses to Facilitate Restorative Narratives

This session emphasizes how practitioners can support individuals in safely witnessing their “lived experiences” (personal stories) and how to develop body-based, sensory-oriented, and expressive methods to understand these experiences. The continuum of intervention in the form of rhythm, movement, gesture, synchrony, sound and simple vocalization, drawing, and narrative is emphasized with special attention to bottom-up and top-down trauma intervention. Hands-on experiences that demonstrate “body-based”(sensory) to “brain-wise” (language) are introduced with an emphasis on both individual and group approaches. We will also discuss current research on how we can support individuals through facilitating restorative, resource-building storytelling, visual journaling, and creative writing.

Schedule (session four):

• 8:30 – 9:30: Reviewing “Bottom-Up” and “Top-Down” Approaches and Applications to Trauma Intervention
• 9:30- 11:00: Visual Journaling as an Evidence-Based Practice in Restoration of the Self
• 11:00 to 11:30: Break
• 11:30 to 12:30: Applying Expressive Approaches in Groups through a Continuum of Practice
• 12:30 to 13:30: Using Group-Driven Narratives to Support Mean-Making
• 13:30 to 14:00: Case Examples, Consultation, Q and A Diploma Ceremony and Closing 

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Define “bottom-up” approaches that are body-oriented and grounded in rhythm, movement, and sound
• Define “top-down” approaches that are brain-wise and focus on narrative-based strategies
• Identify experiences when non-first-person narratives support regulation and an internal sense of safety
• Identify experiences when first-person narratives support the capacity for resilience and reparation
• Define the three major components of the Expressive Therapies Continuum
• Apply at least one expressive arts therapy strategy that utilizes both “brain-wise” and “body-based” components to address trauma through sensory-based experiences that stimulate narratives
• Define at least three ways visual journaling through image making and creative writing support the restoration of the self.