Grounding in Grief
Interrupting Overwhelm with Embodiment and Ritual
Course Description
We are at a crossroads: as dominant systems seek to diminish the harms of a global pandemic, racial violence, and climate catastrophe, among many ongoing crises, the collective body-mind is stuck in that incongruence. To resist further disconnection from self and others, we must name and work with natural responses to immense and prolonged societal violence. Though Western frameworks seek to separate psychology from the realms of physiology and spirituality, this compartmentalization represses our most basic needs, leading to burn-out, overwhelm, and shame.
This class will explore how grief can serve as a teacher, an assertion of our collective humanity when allowed acknowledgement and tending. Facilitators Camille Barton and Marika Hendricks will challenge the pressure to neglect these parts of self, moving through experiential practices rooted in somatics and ritual that offer pathways to transmute grief and ground in deepened connection and choice. Participants will be guided through feeling what has been lost, and what we might build into the future, if we can sit inside the generative power of grief, mourning this moment and resourcing ourselves to create space for pleasure, joy and liberation.
What you’ll learn:
How mainstream Western ideologies work to disconnect and disembody us from human responses to loss, harm, and violence
The ways grief and shame are stored and manifested in the body
The outcomes of unprocessed emotional and physiological overwhelm
The histories of colonization and how grief and shame impacts communities differently across experiences of racialization
Grief’s connection to creating room for mutual care, growth, and joy
How to utilize somatic and ritual practices to process and integrate collective and intergenerational trauma
Faculty
Camille Barton, Artist & Head of Ecologies of Transformation
Camille is an artist and renegade researcher working on the intersections of embodiment and healing justice. Camille is the head of MA Ecologies of Transformation which explores how art making and embodiment can facilitate social change. Camille’s practice is rooted in Embodied Social Justice - their work explores how oppression, such as racism and ableism, is rooted in the body; and how we can re-pattern it using mindful attention and movement. Camille is currently completing grief research in collaboration with GEN, to create a toolkit of embodied grief practices. They also work to ensure that psychedelic therapies will be accessible to global majority communities (POC).
Marika Heinrichs, Somatic Practitioner
Marika (she/her) is a queer femme of German, British, and Irish ancestry who has been practicing as a somatic therapist and educator within social justice spaces for over a decade. She has trained in the lineages of generative somatics, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST), Focusing, and NeuroAffective Touch. Marika holds a commitment to pushing back against the appropriation of BIPOC cultural wisdom in mainstream somatics, as well as to cultivating spaces for people of European ancestry to connect with something in themselves older than whiteness, through embodied practice
“Both of the instructors complemented each other brilliantly. I have rarely had an online space where talking (giving content), nurturing (embodiment practices), and discussion were so well balanced. It was wonderful.”
What You Get
15 videos (2+ hours of content) full of history, research, and unique perspectives
Exclusive readings and resources
Discussion with a creative community of professionals and advocates inside the course
A reference and resource list to aid ongoing learning and exploration on the course topics
Audience
This course is for:
Mental health and physical health professionals, including: clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, peer specialists, recovery support specialists, housing specialists, nurse practitioners, wellness support workers, coaches, holistic practitioners
Students
Activists
Family members and advocates
Anyone who works or plans to work with people experiencing mental health-related challenges
“I appreciated that both instructors shared practices and knowledge from their respective cultures. I loved the collective ritual and appreciated the amount of time allowed for debrief and questions.”
Take the Class
This self-paced course is hosted on Mighty Networks, home to IDHA's School for Transformative Mental Health. This virtual community space supports sustained learning, engagement with other students, access to supplemental resources, and opportunities to interact with your faculty.
We provide the option of enrolling for at the general ($20) or supporter rate ($40) to ensure the sustainability of IDHA’s work and enable us to create more accessible, cutting-edge training content.
CLICK THE BUTTONS BELOW TO JOIN US ON MIGHTY NETWORKS!
If you already have an account, simply log in to proceed to the course.
If you’re new to IDHA’s Mighty Network, you will be prompted to create an account and then receive access to course content.
FAQ
When does the course start and finish?
This is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course, content, or platform?
We love hearing your feedback on what we can do to improve our efforts to bring transformative mental health to the public! Shoot us an email at contact@idha-nyc.org and let us know your thoughts. If you disagree with any of the perspectives shown in this course - that's great! We encourage differing perspectives, so feel free to leave a comment in the course - so long as your comments remain respectful and you speak from your own point of view.
I am a person struggling with mental health issues/a family member of someone who is struggling. Can I take the course?
Absolutely! Just note that this course is geared towards professionals in the field, and will speak mostly to those working in a formal support role. However, we welcome anyone who wants to join!
Are refunds available?
At this time, all sales are final, we cannot offer refunds after purchase.