FROM TRAUMA TO TRANSFORMATION-Embodied Pathways to Freedom, Fluidity & Connection

Name: FROM TRAUMA TO TRANSFORMATION-Embodied Pathways to Freedom, Fluidity & Connection
Start: 2027-07-20T09:00:00+1000
End: 2027-07-21T16:00:00+1000
Location: Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre

Tue, 20 Jul, 9am - Wed, 21 Jul, 4pm 2027 AEST

Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre

Coolangatta QLD, Australia

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Shirley Hicks - Embodied, relational and trauma-informed learning for clinicians and workplaces

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Description

In this immersive two day program, we’ll explore how developmental movement approaches can help clients move beyond familiar patterns of protection towards greater choice, connection, regulation and possibility. Rather than simply learning about the body, you will have the opportunity to experience the work in your own body—developing a deeper understanding of how movement, sensation, nervous system regulation and relational presence can support meaningful therapeutic change. More than learning a technique this workshop invites you to experience the difference between knowing about the body and knowing through the body.

Learning Outcomes

Over two days, you will develop practical skills and embodied understanding to:
Recognise how trauma lives in movement—including patterns of tension, collapse, restlessness, holding and disconnection.

Understand the developmental movement patterns of Yield/Push, Reach/Grasp and Pull/Release and their relationship to agency, contact, boundaries and functional living.

Explore movement quality, intensity and muscular organisation, and how these influence emotional, sensory and cognitive experience.

Learn how to use titration and pendulation to create a safe rhythm between activation and regulation

Expand your repertoire of somatic interventions for supporting clients to discover new ways of experiencing their bodies and themselves

Translate your embodied learning into practical applications for clinical practice.

Participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance for 12 hours of CPD.

Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity

Refund policy

Program Cancellation Policy Thanks for registering for this program. There is a maximum (20) and minimum number (8) of students per class. Book early to secure your place. If the minimum number of students is not achieved within 1 week of the commencement date, the program may be cancelled. For those of you travelling from Interstate make sure that you make flexible travel bookings so if the program is cancelled you can also cancel your travel bookings without penalty. Cancellations by workshop attendees: Cancellations made 2 or more weeks prior to a booked workshop date will receive a full refund. This credit will be applied to the credit card used when making the booking. The option to transfer to the next scheduled date is an option here. Cancellations made less than 2 weeks of a booked workshop date will receive a refund, less a Service Fee (25% / ticket). This is to cover expenses incurred in holding that ticketed space. The option to transfer to the next scheduled date is an option here. Cancellations made less than 1 week of a booked workshop date due to illness or unforseen circumstance have the opportunity to transfer their booking to a later scheduled date . Transfers will only be valid for the next scheduled date for the workshop. If this subsequent date is also cancelled by the registrant within a week of the booked workshop date the participant will not automatically receive a refund. Where possible, every effort is made to fill spots with an attendee on the workshop wait lists. If this is possible, you may then be able to refund your workshop fee. On booking you will receive a confirmation email and a reminder 1 week prior to the event via the email you used when registering. No sms reminders will be issued. If you are a No Show to the workshop you will forfeit 100% of your ticket fee. This is in acknowledgement of the ticket held for you based on your original booking and the expenses incurred by the organiser in holding the ticketed space.

Host information

Shirley Hicks - Embodied, relational and trauma-informed learning for clinicians and workplaces

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At the heart of my work is a simple but profound belief that the way we meet people in session matters. My work empowers clinicians to meet clients with attuned safety, sensitivity and embodied awareness, supporting trauma recovery in ways that honour the whole person. I integrate somatic and relational approaches to help clinicians understand how trauma lives not only in memory and meaning, but also in movement, breath, sensation, relationship and the nervous system

Effective trauma responsive practice is not simply about knowing the right theory or having a collection of techniques. It is about developing the capacity to be genuinely present—to notice what is happening in the body, recognise nervous system states, remain curious rather than reactive, and create the conditions in which another person can experience greater safety, choice and agency.

I am a trauma educator, somatic psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, yoga teacher and mindfulness practitioner with more than 30 years of experience working at the intersection of trauma, embodiment, nervous-system regulation and relational healing.

I work with survivors of complex and systemic trauma, including survivors of religious and institutional abuse, cult and ritual abuse, and victims of crime. I also provides clinical supervision and mentoring to mental health practitioners, supporting clinicians to develop their therapeutic skills and confidence when working with complex presentations.

My rather eclectic, professional background includes a Master of Counselling, qualifications and certifications in Somatic Psychotherapy, Dru Yoga, Meditation and Naturopathy. I am a PACFA-registered Mental Health Practitioner and Supervisor and I also work as a facilitator with the BlueKnot Foundation, supporting education and professional development in the field of complex trauma and childhood abuse.

My clinical and educational thinking has been influenced by the work of Judith Herman, Ron Kurtz, Wilhelm Reich, Babette Rothschild, Peter Levine, Ruella Frank and Bessel van der Kolk, alongside my own decades of clinical experience and ongoing exploration of embodiment, movement and relational practice.

Ultimately, my work is about creating the conditions for greater safety, connection, choice and possibility—for clients, clinicians and the communities in which we live and work. I believe that healing is not simply about getting people back to where they were before trauma. It is about creating the possibility of experiencing the body, relationships and life differently.

Outside my professional life, I can usually be found gardening, singing, cooking, practising yoga, exploring the bush or enjoying the beauty of the Gold Coast Hinterland.

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Tue, 20 Jul, 9am - Wed, 21 Jul, 4pm 2027 AEST

Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre

Coolangatta QLD, Australia

Hosted by Shirley Hicks - Embodied, relational and trauma-informed learning for clinicians and workplaces

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