When the body won’t switch off: understanding sleep in client work

Counsellors and Wellbeing Practitioners
Written and delivered by Keeley Salmon – Night Counsellor
Sleep is more than rest, it’s where the psyche whispers what daylight keeps quiet. In this 3 hour workshop you will explore the emotional, symbolic and physiological layers of sleep through a compassionate and trauma sensitive lens.
Across the session you will learn how nighttime experiences insomnia, racing thoughts, vivid dreams, early waking often carry meaning rather than malfunction. You’ll gain practical, evidence-based strategies alongside gentler, more intuitive approaches that honour the client’s story, nervous system and sense of safety.
This training is ideal for Counsellors and Wellbeing Practitioners who want to deepen their understanding of sleep as part of the therapeutic landscape, weaving together psychoeducation, mythic symbolism, and emotionally attuned clinical practice.
Content
  1. Intro
  2. Physiology of Sleep
  3. The psychology of the night time
  4. Trauma, anxiety and sleep
  5. Meaning making, symbolic and narrative approaches
  6. Practical interventions for clients
  7. Closing integration and reflections