Janina Fisher, PhD
Grieving Our Lost Childhood
A Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Approach
How do we help them grieve without re-opening the wounds of childhood?
How we deal with loss is complicated by a society that recognizes only the losses caused by death or war. The loss of a stable, loving childhood, safe attachment figures, or the experience of being cherished are not obvious losses.
Yet therapists know the cost to their clients when these losses are never acknowledged or comforted. And because grief is such a painful emotion, the universal instinct of all human beings is to avoid feelings of sorrow. That leaves our clients angry at the failure of their attachment figures or angry at themselves for not being good enough to be loved, unable to resolve their grief because it is too frightening to ‘go there.’
Topics include:
A mindfulness-based Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach to grief and loss takes advantage of the body to achieve optimal levels of sadness, not too much or too little, increases our ability to tolerate grief and helps us befriend grief.
Yet therapists know the cost to their clients when these losses are never acknowledged or comforted. And because grief is such a painful emotion, the universal instinct of all human beings is to avoid feelings of sorrow. That leaves our clients angry at the failure of their attachment figures or angry at themselves for not being good enough to be loved, unable to resolve their grief because it is too frightening to ‘go there.’
Topics include:
- The physical and emotional consequences of acute loss
- The practice of “mindful grieving”
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy interventions for regulating the intensity of grief
A mindfulness-based Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach to grief and loss takes advantage of the body to achieve optimal levels of sadness, not too much or too little, increases our ability to tolerate grief and helps us befriend grief.
You’re invited!
If you’re a therapist or counsellor who treats grief and loss, this workshop is for you! We also welcome psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, body workers, counsellors, allied mental health professionals, and health & wellbeing professionals.
Upon completion of this course the participant will be able to…
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Describe the physical and emotional consequences of acute loss
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Summarize the practice of “mindful grieving”
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Identify 2 Sensorimotor Psychotherapy interventions for regulating the intensity of grief
"Recognizing that we are triggered does not mean our feelings are unimportant. It means that our feelings are remembering something far worse than what triggers them."
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Janina Fisher, PhD
Why Sensorimotor Psychotherapy?
Trauma first and foremost leaves its imprint on the body, yet, for many reasons, the body has historically been omitted from therapeutic inquiry. SP can help clients release the hold and effects of traumatic experiences, and draw upon the wisdom of their bodies in ways that enrich their lives.
About Janina Fisher
Janina Fisher, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former instructor, Harvard Medical School. An international expert on the treatment of trauma, she is an Advisory Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation. Dr. Fisher is the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Self-Alienation (2017), Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: a Workbook for Survivors and Therapists (2021), and The Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart (2022).