Title: Coming Home to Self: Action-Based Approaches for Identity, Safety, and Embodiment
Speaker and Degree: Aimee Hadfield, LCSW, CP, PAT
Description: Many LGBTQIA+ clients experience disconnection from their bodies and
internal worlds due to trauma, shame, or invalidation. Action and expressive therapies offer powerful, non-verbal ways to support reconnection, identity integration, and embodied healing.
In this introductory workshop, participants will explore how creative and experiential methods, such as relational mapping, symbolic expression, role play, and movement, can promote safety, authenticity, and self-trust in therapeutic work with LGBTQ+ clients. The session will blend discussion with gentle experiential practice.
Aimee Hadfield, LCSW, CP, PAT is the founder and director of Hearten House, the largest experiential therapy-based outpatient mental health treatment center in North America. A Board Certified Practitioner of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy, Aimee specializes in trauma-informed, body-centered care that integrates expressive, action, and creative methods. With a background in clinical leadership and a deep commitment to reimagining mental health care, Aimee helps clients and clinicians alike reconnect with authenticity, embodiment, and meaning. She is a passionate educator and guide for those exploring innovative approaches to healing, especially within trauma-impacted communities.
Learning Objectives: Based on this presentation I can…
1… describe the foundational principles of action and expressive therapies and their relevance for LGBTQ+ clients.
2…apply at least two experiential tools that support embodiment, expression, and relational safety in clinical settings.
3…articulate how action-based methods can help clients explore identity and reclaim trust in their bodies.
CEU’s have been applied for all in‐service programs through the Utah Psychological Association. CEU’s are free for Guild members & $5 for non‐members, per meeting. CEUs for Plan-B events have been applied for via NASW
AASECT hours: Exciting news for American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) providers! The Guild is collaborating with our friends at The Healing Group Institute (THGI) to issue AASECT continuing education hours for the Guild's in-services. Look for the link to THGI's website, to apply for AASECT hours, every month, at the bottom of the emails titled: “Zoom Link.” These are the emails sent out before each in-service, that contains the Zoom link to our in-services, and the link to our CEU evaluation form. If you want both professional UPA-approved CEs and AASECT CEs you will need to fill out both evaluations. THGI is offering attendees 1.5 AASECT CEs for each of our 1.5 hours in-services for a fee of $35. You will be given the opportunity to apply when you attend the event.