As therapists, our aim is to help them effectively identify and understand their emotions, so that they are able to process, respond to them, and express them safely in societal, familial and organizational settings. But we can face multiple challenges in this endeavour:

• Before our clients can learn to self-regulate, we need to achieve co-regulation, which is an essential precursor to emotional regulation
• We need to get through to the thinking brain with our clients – the survival brain is not designed to process emotional regulation
• Moreover, self-regulation can be arduous if they are surrounded by people who are in dysregulated states, and we need to help them navigate this environment

This seminar is aimed at providing us, as therapists, a set of creative, physical, sensory and cognitive emotional regulation practical tools that can be applied in clinical settings not just for encouraging self-regulation in clients but also for our own regulation and well-being. The toolkit that we discuss includes:

• Breathing and Calming tools and techniques – as applied to emotional regulation. Our aim here is to assist our clients to stay in the present moment, especially when they experience intense stress and anxiety, and we look at:
  • Grounding techniques that use everyday objects around us
  • Progressive muscle relaxation
  • Self-soothing techniques using breath exercises
• Sensory techniques including creative extensions of the safe-place exercise and sensory boxes.  We consider:
  • How we can creatively build on and expand the safe-space
  • Reconnecting with our senses and getting rid of negative imagery
  • Using sensory boxes that draw attention to the here-and-now; with both children and adults
• The different approaches and tools for up-regulation and down-regulation; including:
  • Making the choice between up & down regulation
  • Creating a mindful acceptance of emotions
  • Assisting our clients in the reframing of emotions

The seminar follows an integrationist approach – we draw on cognitive, psychoanalytical and sensorimotor domains – with the goal of effective regulation that works in the face of worry, stress, trauma, mood swings and cognitive difficulties. We consider how, as therapists, we can practice holding a receptive stance, so as to assist co-regulation and work actively at mitigating dysregulation in the client’s environment.

© nscience, 2020 / 21