In this introductory presentation, Susan and Jacquie will discuss the impacts of racial trauma, oppression, liberation, joy and reconnecting to our embodied wisdom of the body as black people. They will examine the oppressions rooted within the contexts of social injustice in which we live and work and how SP honours and creates space for reconnecting to liberation, joy and transformation through the elements of a resourceful perspective. They will discuss how the foundations of SP offer a lens of orienting to the wisdom present for our clients that is more aligned with cultivating a relationship to our natural state of being that creates space for growth and transformation.
We, as black people from the African diaspora, those of us who are descendants of enslaved people, are born of trauma as it lives in our DNA. We have the experiences of our ancestors and generations in our bodies. Our enslaved ancestors did not own their bodies; they did not belong to them. As a result of this trauma that we have inherited, so many of us are disconnected from our bodies. Over generations, we have learned to live in our heads, not our bodies. In this talk, Jacquie and Susan will speak about how SP invites us into a relationship with our bodies and how to practice from a more embodied location that assists our clients on their journey of becoming embodied.
Susan and Jacquie will discuss SP’s skills in establishing safety, changing procedural tendencies, moving in the world, and developing somatic resources that allow us the flexibility to respond differently to traumas as they come. In Level 1, we learn somatic resources, the intelligence of the body, and how, as a therapist, you can meet your client with whatever comes up from an understanding that it was from an adaptive origin and so much more. Susan and Jacquie will speak to the embodied transformation of SP practice and the journey of returning home to the wisdom of the body.
Jacquie Compton
Jacquie Compton, RP, RCAT (she, her, hers) identifies as a bi-racial black woman. She was born in Toronto but spent her formative years growing up on the island of St. Lucia. She is a registered psychotherapist, art therapist, teacher, supervisor, consultant, and poet.
Jacquie is currently a faculty member and clinical supervisor at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute, where she teaches courses on trauma-informed practice, embodiment, anti-racism, anti-oppressive practice and cultural humility in art therapy.
With over 16 years of clinical experience, she continues developing a trauma-focused, decolonizing practice incorporating art-based and body-based approaches. Jacquie has worked in the field of trauma and the Violence Against Women Sector in Toronto at not-for-profit organizations as manager and director of clinical counselling services. She began her work in the Caribbean with women and children who had experienced gender-based violence. In her roles, she has led and supported frontline staff, provided supervision and consultation to agencies, and provided innovative programming development in trauma work and education on vicarious trauma and anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices.
Jacquie is in private practice in Toronto, with a focus on trauma, intergenerational trauma, and racialized trauma. Jacquie provides supervision and consultation to art and somatic therapists and consultation to not-for-profit organizations and agencies.
Her approach is deeply rooted in anti-oppressive, anti-racist, decolonizing, feminist, and trauma-informed practices. Jacquie believes in the embodiment of practices beyond the therapeutic relationship and welcomes others to experience the beauty of being in a relationship with themselves and the world around them. Jacquie began training in sensorimotor psychotherapy in 2013 and is a certified sensorimotor psychotherapist. For Jacquie, the SP principles have transformed her way of being and moving in the world, and she enjoys supporting others in leaning into the gifts of SP. Jacquie thinks that play and creativity are vital sources of wisdom and help one navigate understanding and learning about ourselves and our world in a deeply integrated way.
Susan Webb
Susan Webb, MSSW, LCSW-C, LICSW, has been in practice for 42 years and holds certification as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher. She specializes in Women’s Issues, Trauma and PTSD, and Life Transitions. She is also a BTR Rock Star!!