Calliope Massage - Trauma Informed Touch

Next Monday 6/27 at 4pm CST!

Stay tuned for an event page to RSVP to!

Pride month 2022 has been such a great opportunity to support and celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, however as we celebrate the community it is important to be mindful of the year round challenges and dangers this community faces. LGBTQ+ individuals encounter sexual harassment, assault, and violence at disproportionately higher rates than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. Because of this, it is crucial that prevention efforts and safer spaces are inclusive of gender diversity.

The GAP Initiative invites you to join our special PRIDE month community panel designed to help allies and the community support and advocate for the lives of our LGBT+ community year round. This panel invites professionals in the realm of supporting the LGBT+ community in creating safer spaces and supporting survivors through community education on the topics surrounding assault and gender based violence. Together we hope to help allies and community members in going beyond the PRIDE celebration and into real support and safety for the q***r community year round.

Next Monday 6/27 at 4pm CST! Stay tuned for an event page to RSVP to! Pride month 2022 has been such a great opportunity to support and celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, however as we celebrate the community it is important to be mindful of the year round challenges and dangers this community faces. LGBTQ+ individuals encounter sexual harassment, assault, and violence at disproportionately higher rates than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. Because of this, it is crucial that prevention efforts and safer spaces are inclusive of gender diversity. The GAP Initiative invites you to join our special PRIDE month community panel designed to help allies and the community support and advocate for the lives of our LGBT+ community year round. This panel invites professionals in the realm of supporting the LGBT+ community in creating safer spaces and supporting survivors through community education on the topics surrounding assault and gender based violence. Together we hope to help allies and community members in going beyond the PRIDE celebration and into real support and saftey for the q***r community year round. #pridemonth #lgbt #lgbtq #assaultprevention #protecttranskids #protectlgbtyouth

I had the fantastic opportunity to 'sit down' with Bijay Poudel of Physio Radio Nepal to discuss trauma informed care and it's applications in touch centered fields like physiotherapy and massage therapy.

Podcast: https://youtu.be/TCta-dVHx7s?t=580

The podcast is in Nepali and English, so for those in the audience who are not fluent in both, the questions I answered were:
1) Could you tell my audience how did you incorporate TIC in your practice both at a clinical level and an organizational level?

2) I read somewhere that TIC isn't a separate clinical skill set that you perform during a set time but it is a shift in paradigm. Could you elaborate more on this?

3) One of the most important principles of TIC is collaboration between service providers and service seekers. Collaboration also entails levelling power differences. In the context of Nepal, both clinicians and clients engage in a clinical interaction from a perceived place of power and powerlessness respectively. How do we begin to decrease power discrepancy and create an environment where collaboration can be facilitated?

Gentle reminder that being Trauma Informed is not an intervention to treat or heal trauma. For most of us in touch-based fields, that is way out of our scope of practice.
Trauma Informed care is a framework that informs every level of interaction with your clients; by focusing on not causing harm and sharing power, you can create the conditions for more effective and inclusive care.
I like to think of it as 'universal precautions' for trauma- approaching everyone with the same level of care and caution, so no matter what their history, you do your best to make them feel safe and empowered.

Day 5 of trauma informed principals applied in a touch centered setting: EMPOWERMENT

How does it feel for you to say no? How does it feel hearing no?

Image ID: Yellow and white text on blue box with background image of a rubber plant. Text reads: " EMPOWERMENT: The success of the treatment is attributed to the choices, actions, and nervous system of the client- not the practitioner's ego, skill, or gift. Support in self advocacy and self care options. Encourage client to notice what feels good and works for their body. "