WHAT IS BODY COLLABORATION?

Body Collaboration® is a radical process of healing and gathering in the different parts of ourselves, supporting you in creating respectful inner boundaries and balance, and drawing them together respectfully to communicate more harmoniously and cooperatively, to give you more inner peace and integration.

Use the Body Collaboration® model to develop an understanding of each of your different Aspects – the Coach, the Critic, the Cheerleader and the Child, and also the ‘you’ that’s in charge – your Sovereign Self.

This holistic somatic approach helps you to manage the needs, strengths, joys and challenges of each of these aspects, creating a more hospitable inner environment, to get you all on the same team, and working towards the same goals with compassion and empathy.

• Develop respectful rules of engagement for all the different parts of yourself to meet, share their needs, their objectives and ask for support in the challenges they’re experiencing 

• Identify your Team Values, recognising when hurtful and harmful messages are actually internalised from dominant culture, and practice drawing all parts back to communicating in a way that aligns with the Team Values 

• Create a more harmonious inner conversation between these parts, and balance the input of all your Aspects 

• Develop internal boundaries to manage the more challenging behaviour of each Aspect 

• Provides a framework for you to consider the different parts of yourself, and to meet their needs 

• Recognise old woundings in each Aspect, gathering in hurt parts rather than exiling them 

• Learn how to manage conflict between different parts with differing needs, building a sense of an internal team 

ask yourself…

Do you often find yourself beholden to one part of yourself – an angry, critical voice that constantly gives you a hard time? Or a timid, anxious part of you that feels like it always holds you back? 

Body Collaboration® is a framework for you to develop a healthy and compassionate inner conversation – recognising the voices of your four main Aspects – Coach, Critic, Cheerleader, Child – and developing the voice of your Sovereign Self. This model empathically holds space for the needs and input of your different parts, informed by their input, but not overwhelmed by them. 

Do you often feel ambivalent about life, torn in two different directions, and feeling frozen about the next move to take? 

Body Collaboration® takes the very common experience of feeling divided and works to create a more integrated and in-contact inner experience. This model takes all the diverse thoughts and feelings within you, and provides you with a framework to unify those diverse voices, and find a collaborative way forward. 

Do you notice that you often talk to yourself in a way that you would never talk to others? 

Body Collaboration® is a practice of creating a respectful inner environment, that encourages all Aspects to engage in healthy, respectful interactions, in line with mutually shared Team Values 

Do you notice that you often talk to yourself in a way that you would never talk to others? 

Body Collaboration® is a practice of creating a more hospitable environment, that encourages all Aspects to engage in healthy, respectful interactions, in line with mutually shared Team Values 

Do you feel you would like to get rid of the voice inside you that you hate the most? When they start talking, do you try and shout them down?  

Body Collaboration® takes a radically inclusive approach to our inner voices – moving away from exiling parts of ourselves, and instead working to encourage all our parts to engage in our inner conversation in a respectful and constructive way, for results that benefit the whole team. 

ABOUT THE MODEL

This model is informed by my experience as a therapist and incorporates influences from trauma sensitive practice, anti-oppressive practice, Emergent Strategy, Big Friendship, and the partnership model of social organisation, with grateful acknowledgement of the work of Judith Lewis Herman, Babette Rothschild, Janina Fisher, Rachel Cargle, Sonya Renee Taylor, adrienne maree brown, Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman, and Riane Eisler. 

This model rejects oppressive dominator models, including white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, anti-LGBTQ+ hate, anti-fat bias and ableism. 

The spirit of this work is inspired by the mutual aid, accountability and generosity modelled by the Black Lives Matter community, disability activism, queer and trans rights advocacy, the fat acceptance community and the ESEAEats community, with my deep thanks. 

THE BODY COLLABORATIOn PROCESS

Body Collaboration® can be incorporated into your therapy at Concentric Counselling – just get in touch to learn more about how I integrate this model into my work.

ONLINE & professional TRAINING

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This training is cross-disciplinary and may inform your work as a coach, counsellor, nutritionist, dietician, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, financial advisor, activist or advocate.