Somatic
Journaling
*clinician edition
Somatic Self Care- for the care takers.
Somatic Journaling is a trauma informed self care skills group. You will learn how to use journaling to track your nervous system and uncover unmet needs that may be causing dysregulation. You will practice noticing bodily experiences that come up while writing and use that information to inform your self care routine. This group is exclusively for therapists and meets once a month for 6 months. $50/ month includes a new journal, drinks, snacks, hand outs, and more. Group size is limited to 9 participants.
Based on principals from Somatic Experiencing®:
Learn 5 channels of interoception to interpret information from your nervous system and address unmet needs in your life.
Practice pendulation to grow your capacity for uncomfortable emotions.
Understand how to resource yourself without toxic positivity or feeling invalidated.
Deepen trust in the wisdom of your nervous system- you have everything you need to heal within you (and so do your clients).
“Where do you feel that in your body?”
Is just the beginning of the conversation.
What you will learn over six monthly meetings:
Interoception skills: Interoception is the ability to receive information from your body. We will explore 5 different ways the body communicates and practice each one.
Purpose: Our personal reason “why”.
Emotion: Comfortable and uncomfortable emotions are neutral sources of information about how our body perceives our relationships and lives.
Abstraction: The experience of the 5 senses, real or in our mind’s eye such as memories.
Reaction: How we react to people and situations in our lives.
Location: Where we get visceral sensations inside our bodies.
Pendulation: This is a movement that happens naturally in your nervous system. You will learn what it is, why it’s important, how to track it in yourself, and how to track it in others.
Resourcing: This is essential in any healing work. It is the key to feeling in control of your emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them. This skill will become one you use in your personal healing, but also in all relationships in your life.
How to feel your feelings (without analyzing them): Using all of the above information to be able to feel your feelings in a safe, controlled way. This will allow emotions to move through your body so you don’t feel “stuck” in them. We will explore how to connect to the bodily experience instead of the cognitive experience and what to do with bodily responses like dissociation, freeze, anger, shame, and other patterns that we tend to get “stuck” in.
Who is leading this group?
Hannah Milks (she/her) AKA the creator of somatic journaling and founder of Clever Babes Co
Hannah is a queer somatic practitioner and trauma informed designer. She received her master’s degree in Interior Architecture and Product Design from Kansas State University in 2020. Her thesis was on trauma informed design specifically in police buildings and spaces where the public and police interact. Her interest in social justice and the role of design in social change led her to the Somatic Experiencing® training. She wanted to know how people heal from trauma to design space for trauma survivors. This training is meant for trauma therapists and she was rejected three times, but she knew in her gut this training was essential for the work she wanted to do. Fast forward to now and she has completed all three years of the training and has built her life, creative practice, and business through a somatic lens.
Hannah’s approach to nervous system regulation and healing work is based on the belief that you already have everything you need to heal within you. You may need help accessing this information from your nervous system, but it is innate in each of us. She sees her role as a facilitator between you and this inner “knowing” as she calls it. She believes you are the expert on your life and ultimately you are the only one who knows what you need. Her work is consent based and she hopes to help participants connect with the sensation of no and feel comfortable expressing it to themselves and others.
Follow Hannah on Instagram for mental health, self care, and queer affirming content.
Where will the group meet?
Moments Counseling 8010 State Line Road, Suite 154, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208, United States
Kelsey McLaurine (she/her) structured Moments Counseling with the intention of promoting clinician care to ensure quality client care where individuals from varying backgrounds can come, be seen, and feel heard as they work through what brought them to therapy. This is an LGBTQIA+ affirming space. Follow Moments Counseling on Instagram to learn more.
sign up here
Is this for me?
Are you available Friday afternoons? We will meet once a month on Friday from 3-5pm. The dates are: June 21st, July 19th, August 16th, September 20th, October 18th, and November 8th.
Are you near the south of KC? We will meet at Moments Counseling: 8010 State Line Road, Suite 154, Prairie Village, Kansas
Are you interested in somatics? No previous training in somatics or Somatic Experiencing® is required but a curious mindset, interest in bottom up approaches, and willingness to sit with uncomfortable bodily experiences will help you get the most out of this group.
Are you looking for community care? Being a part of a group as a participant can feel much more vulnerable than leading a group. Are you ready to have your healing be witnessed? Your grief be held? And to witness others without giving advice or stepping in? The purpose of the group in this case is to be present with others while taking care of yourself. This role of receiving can be uncomfortable to people who are so used to giving.
Are you in support of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community? This group is an affirming space for all people.
Are you able to hold space for clinicians of color? Therapists of color have likely had different experiences than white therapists in the field and in life. If you are not able to hold those experiences as valid without explanation this is not the group for you.
Are you in need of a sliding scale option? There are a few sliding scale spots available to queer or BIPOC therapists in need. Please email Hannah directly at hannah@cleverbabes.co. No financial “proof” will be necessary.
Have more questions? Email hannah@cleverbabes.co for further inquiries.
Building Resilience in KC
At Clever Babes Co we see design as a vehicle for change. We know our power lies in empowering people, through their clothes and by engaging them in change. Somatic Journaling is just one of the ways we are educating and empowering Kansas City with trauma-informed self care skills and nervous system regulation practices. If you are interested in a more luxurious retreat style of support click here.