Somatic Practice Movements for Fight, Flight, Freeze, Involuntary/Voluntary Fawn with System Involved Youth & Caregivers

Nima Novak

Training Description

Somatic movements are important for system-involved youth because they offer a trauma-informed approach that helps youth reconnect with their bodies and promote healing. Somatic movements aid in emotional regulation and stress management, empowering youth to identify, express, and regulate their emotions effectively. By developing body awareness, system-involved youth gain a sense of empowerment and make informed decisions regarding their well-being. Engaging in somatic movements also builds resilience, enhances coping skills, and provides a non-verbal mode of self-expression and communication for youth who may struggle with verbal expression. In this training, participants will be guided through a sequence of learning discussions to explore and understand somatic movements. Learning activities will include: lecture with concrete steps, demonstration of somatic movement strategies, self-reflection, storytelling of real life examples and participant question time.

Learning Objectives

· Participants will be able to identify & define at least 2 trauma responses & their functions.

· Participants will be able to explain the window of tolerance & identify 8 symptoms of dysregulation as well as 2 potential impacts on system involved youth or those that support them.

· Participants will acquire at least 2 somatic movements to release trauma which can be used by caregivers of system involved youth or taught to system involved youth to support safe healing.

Agenda

12:30-12:45pm  Welcome, Community Norms, Participant Introductions

12:45-1:00pm  Resourcing the body activity

1:00-1:30pm  Definitions & Functions:

· Foundations of body: sleep & poly vagal theory

· What are somatic movements & practice

· Trauma effects on the body: fight, flight, freeze, fawn

· ACE scores

· How we hold trauma & how to complete response for anger, sadness, fear

· How we can build capacity in the body for more joy, fun

· What is voluntary fawning vs. involuntary fawning

1:30-1:45pm  Small group break out rooms

1:45-2:15pm  Definitions & Functions

· Parasympathetic Nervous System vs Sympathetic Nervous System

· Window of Tolerance

· Interoception

2:15-2:30pm  Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

2:30-2:45pm  Group Questions & Answers

2:45-3:15pm  Somatic Movements demonstration to complete specific nervous system response

· Fight response

· Flight response

· Freeze response

· Automatic Fawn

· Choosing Fawn (Boundaries)

3:15-3:30pm  Story Telling

3:30-3:45pm  Break out Rooms & Group Share

3:45 -4:00pm  Questions & key takeaways & wrap-up

Meet Our Trainer

Nima Novak is an Indigenous Speech Language Pathologist from the Mohawk Tribe of the Iroquois Nation. She holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Speech Language Pathology. She has worked extensively in marginalized communities, specifically in Oxnard with Indigenous preschool population and on the west side of Chicago, where she has seen first hand the negative effects of trauma on speech, language and fluency development. She is currently studying somatic therapies, Polyvagal Theory, Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) and Reiki to promote healing across the communities she serves, with the intention of loving kindness for all. Her focus on evidence-based practices and empirical research serves to bridge the worlds of healing and science which are often relegated to different categories. Nima’s holistic approach of resilience and education teaches how research-based mindfulness practices can be used to manage trauma in the body for both her students and colleagues experiencing the effects of secondary trauma. She is dedicated to empowering her students and all womxn to pursue their passions through the cultivation of resilience and self-worth. In her school based speech therapy and basketball coaching Nima takes a trauma-informed approach to support BIPOC and all students at every level. Nima is an advisor on Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Connection Team Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Board and mentor's current students at California State San Marcos in the Students of Speech & Language, Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity Group. For her anti-racism work, she has been featured in Vice Magazine, Medium.com, The Community Psychologist Special Feature, Authority Magazine and Thrive Global Magazine. She is a contributing founder and author of the anti-racism work group Living in Empathy. Nima has been featured in interviews on Evergreen State College, Educators for Justice IG live, SLPs Of Color IG live, the SLPs of Color podcast, the FAACT podcast and the Breaking Down Podcast. She has presented as a keynote speaker for The Rainbow Project, LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, Chicago Minds, Women Trans Femme Bike Group, Bradley Street Bicycle Co-op, University of St. Augustine Health Sciences, Community Living Thunder Bay, First 5 Lake County, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Northwestern University.

This course meets the qualifications for (3.25) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.