A One-Day Experiential Workshop for Counsellors & Therapists
This event is designed for therapists and counsellors who are interested in how the body holds emotions—not just for ourselves but also for those we work with. Trauma, stress, fear, and despair can be stored in the body, sometimes long after the initial experience. Through creative expression, we can explore ways to process and release these emotions, both for our clients and ourselves.
Join us for a reflective and experiential day of learning, discussion, and creativity to deepen your therapeutic practice.
What to Expect:
• Introduction & Ground Rules – Creating a safe and confidential space.
• Small Group Sharing – Exploring personal and client experiences of how the body holds emotions and trauma.
• Creative Processing & Reflection – Using art, poetry, and symbolic objects to express and explore difficult emotions.
• Experiential Learning – Engaging in creative exercises that promote well-being, both for yourself and those you support.
Key Takeaways:
• Practical tools to use in therapy when working with trauma and the body’s response.
• Insights from key research, including:
• The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk
• Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and the brain-body connection (FND Hope Charity)
• Boarding School Syndrome – Joy Schaverien
• Research by Fortune et al. on childhood trauma and autoimmune disorders
• Creative techniques for exploring pain, anger, anxiety, shame, and sadness.
• Strategies to prevent vicarious trauma and burnout in therapeutic work.
Who is This For?
This event is particularly suited for:
• Counsellors and therapists interested in integrating art, poetry, and symbolic objects (e.g., shells, Russian dolls, masks) into their practice.
• Professionals working with children, young people, and families.
• Arts and drama therapists (including music, play, drama, and art therapists).
About the Trainer: Pauline Colles
Pauline Colles is an experienced Art Therapist with 26 years of practice across community, school, home, and health settings. She is a British Association of Art Therapy (BAAT) approved private practitioner, practice educator, and supervisor.
Before becoming an Art Therapist, Pauline worked as a general nurse in intensive care and liver transplant units. She is currently training as a mentalization-based family practitioner and has a strong professional interest in attachment theory and psychodynamic thinking.
Pauline currently works at:
• Primary Schools – Supporting children through creative therapeutic interventions.
• NHS Lothian – Bringing art therapy into healthcare settings.
• Wellspring Centre for Counselling and Therapy – Working with a wide range of clients through a psychodynamic lens.
In the past, Pauline has also worked for Shelter Families Project, Shakti Women's Aid and SWiiS foster care.
Pauline is also a mother of two teenagers, bringing both professional expertise and personal understanding to her work.
More information at:
https://greenwood-events.cademy.io/body-june25
Also check out other Arts events in Edinburgh, Workshops in Edinburgh, Performances in Edinburgh.
