Learning Expressive and Embodied Approaches to Overcome Client Resistance in Therapy

Course Overview

As care professionals, we often meet clients—children, youth, or adults—for whom words are not an easy path to connection and healing. Some withdraw into silence, others push back with resistance, and many struggle to express the weight of their experiences, especially when trauma has shaped their lives. These moments can leave us, as practitioners, feeling stuck and searching for ways to connect and support meaningful growth.

Expressive and embodied practices offer another way forward. Rooted in the principles of expressive therapies, this workshop introduces non-verbal pathways—music, rhythm, movement, imagery, and metaphor—that reach clients where words alone fall short. These approaches help access the unconscious, open new insights, and provide pathways to transform patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. They foster connection without the pressure of verbal expression.

This one-day experiential workshop equips participants with practical, trauma-informed tools that can be readily integrated into their work. Emphasizing doing as much as knowing, participants will experience first-hand how expressive and experiential practices create safety, curiosity, and connection. Together, we will learn to see beyond behaviours—recognizing them not as defiance but as protective strategies—and create spaces where healing can begin without relying only on words.

This workshop offers practical, immediately usable tools and experiences—equipping care professionals with creative approaches to connect, regulate, and support clients who may not be reached through words alone.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Understand why talk therapy may not resonate for some clients, reframing resistance as protective strategies and recognizing how experiential approaches can access emotions and memories beyond words.
• Recognize the therapeutic value of non-verbal pathways—music, rhythm, movement, imagery, and metaphor—in supporting regulation and expression.
• Apply simple expressive techniques (e.g., rhythmic grounding, body mapping, symbolic arts, guided imagery, expressive writing) to engage clients safely and effectively.
• Support clients in building emotional literacy and adaptive coping through creative mediums that bypass cognitive barriers, fostering resilience and integration.
• See beyond surface behaviours to underlying needs and nervous system states, adopting a compassionate, trauma-informed stance.
• Enhance therapeutic presence through embodied practices, reflective pauses, and creative engagement, ensuring practitioners remain grounded, compassionate anchors in their work.

Target Audience

This course is suitable for:

• Social Workers, Counsellors and Psychologists
• Medical Social Workers working in hospitals and medical institutions
• Psychologists and Counsellors in private practice

Course Duration: 1 Day

Workshop Topics

This one-day program weaves together expressive and embodied activities for a cohesive, immersive experience:

1. Opening Doors Beyond Words
   Explore why some clients resist, withdraw, or act out in therapy. Learn how expressive arts offer non-verbal pathways to safety and connection, grounded in trauma-informed principles. Engage in reflective exercises to reframe resistance as protective wisdom.
2. Music, Rhythm & Movement for Regulation
   Experience how simple rhythms—through voice, breath, body percussion, or gentle movement—can stabilize the nervous system and foster co-regulation. Activities are accessible, adaptable, and practical for use with individuals or groups.
3. Movement & Expression as Release
   Discover how movement externalizes tension and expresses inner states. Through guided, playful activities, participants will explore how simple movement practices can support emotional release and relational connection.
4. Metaphor, Image & Symbol as Inner Language
   Use drawing, objects, and storytelling—paired with expressive writing—to bridge inner experiences with conscious awareness. Explore how symbolic expression and simple sandplay-inspired techniques can promote healing.
5. Seeing Beyond Behaviours
   Reframe challenging behaviours as survival strategies. Using trauma-informed and parts-oriented perspectives, participants will learn to uncover underlying needs and attachment wounds.
6. Practitioner Presence & Integration
   Engage in practices that sustain your own regulation, presence, and compassion. Explore creative methods to strengthen therapeutic connection and use reflective pauses to anchor self-awareness.