Strengthening Relationships at CLARA
At CLARA, all of our work revolves around relationships. This extends well past romantic or family relationships. We believe that a foundational tenet of our work is to promote healthy, sustainable relationships with partners, children, ourselves, our community, our planet, and our spirituality.
We are social creatures, primed for connection in order to survive and thrive. Once again, this extends well beyond dating or traditional “romantic” relationships. Unfortunately, many of us have had painful experiences within relationships that have disrupted our connections with others. This is tricky, because if pain occurred with a relationship, we must also heal that damage within the context of relationship as well. We know how scary that can be.
Here’s the good news: relationships can look so many different ways, and this healing can take place in community with others, as well as inside ourselves. This is why CLARA’s newest group offering from the Wisdom Collective is so important. This group, Dating and Relating: A series on interpersonal growth, will provide participants with the tools, safety, and space to examine old relationship patterns that keep us feeling stuck. Think of it as a class where you do some serious unlearning.
Amber and Lindsay will bring a relatable, holistic, creative, and body-based perspective to healthy relationships. If you are interested in learning more about the neuroscience of relational connections, check out the work of Dr. James Coan on Social Baseline Theory. SBT states that humans have an internal “baseline” that orients them to others for safety, connection, and sharing of resources (Coan and Sbarra, 2015). The neural and mental load of survival is exhausting, and we are primed to seek resources and relief in others. In addition, healthy relationships foster healthy, more well-regulated bodies. Steven Porges’ Polyvagal theory (2011) expands on what is happening biologically inside of our bodies within our nervous system when we feel “in connection” with others . This can be an incredible tool for assessing safety, trust, and intuition in the context of relationships. In this group, Lindsay and Amber will teach you more about how to strengthen your relationship with your nervous system through the use of art, breath, and movement. This can then be a guide for navigating relationships with others.
See the flier below for more information about this exclusive group, starting Thursday June 16, 2022. We’d love to have you join.
– Kristin, CLARA Founder and Clinical Director ♥
References:
Coan, James & Sbarra, David. (2015). Social Baseline Theory: The Social Regulation of Risk and Effort. Current opinion in psychology. 1. 87-91. 10.1016/j.copsyc.2014.12.02
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W W Norton & Co.