Reclaiming the Body: Nervous System Informed Somatic Healing for Sexual Compulsivity
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Conference Details
Sexual compulsivity is closely tied to nervous system dysregulation, often expressed through chronic fight, flight, and freeze responses. As a result, top-down, cognitive approaches alone are often insufficient to support lasting recovery. This immersive training introduces clinicians to a somatically informed, bottom-up approach to understanding and treating sexual compulsivity.
Delivered as two consecutive sessions, the training provides foundational education on the nervous system’s role in trauma and sexual compulsivity, alongside practical skills for nervous system regulation. Participants will learn grounding, orienting, and tracking techniques to help clients reduce time spent in hyper- or hypoarousal and restore a sense of safety in the body.
Building on this foundation, the training applies advanced somatic processing techniques—including pendulation and titration—directly to sex addiction treatment and the CSAT task model. Through experiential practice, clinicians will explore how sexually compulsive behaviors reflect stuck protective responses and learn strategies for supporting both client regulation and their own nervous system sustainability. Participants will leave with immediately applicable tools to integrate nervous system–informed care into their clinical work.
Target Audience
This live interactive webinar is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFT's and Addiction Professionals.
References & Resources
Kearney, B. E., & Lanius, R. A. (2022). The brain-body disconnect: A somatic sensory basis for trauma-related disorders. Frontiers in neuroscience, 16, 1015749. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1015749
Kuhfuß, M., Maldei, T., Hetmanek, A., & Baumann, N. (2021). Somatic experiencing–effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: a scoping literature review. European journal of psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1929023. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1929023
Nicholson, W. C., Sapp, M., Karas, E. M., Duva, I. M., & Grabbe, L. (2025, May). The Body Can Balance the Score: Using a Somatic Self-Care Intervention to Support Well-Being and Promote Healing. In Healthcare (Vol. 13, No. 11, p. 1258). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13111258
Payne, P., Levine, P. A., & Crane-Godreau, M. A. (2015). Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 124489. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00093
Riordan, J. P. (2022). Dyadic trauma and attachment: A monozygotic twin study assessing the efficacy of Somatic Experiencing®. Journal of Applied Neurosciences, 1(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.4102/jan.v1i1.3
Sariahmed, K., Alshabani, N., & Morone, N. (2025). The Acceptability of Somatic Therapy for PTSD Among Patients at an Urban Safety Net Primary Care Clinic. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, 14, 27536130251366942. https://doi.org/10.1177/27536130251366942
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Joint Accreditation (JA)
American Psychological Association (APA)
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)
Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (FL CSW, MFT, MHC)
Florida Certification Board (FCB)
Florida Board of Psychology
Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)
New York Education Department Board of Social Work
New York Education Department Board of Mental Health Counseling
New York Education Department Board of Psychologists
New York Education Department Board of Marriage and Family Therapy
Virginia Certification Board (VCB)
Conference Agenda
Feb 13th, 2026
PART I: Foundations of Nervous System Regulation in Sex Addiction Recovery
Sexual compulsivity is a complex dance between the nervous system states of fight, flight, and freeze. This is why a primarily top-down approach is not sufficient to support long-term recovery. If we want to provide holistic care to our clients, we must engage the body through bottom-up processing....
Sexual compulsivity is a complex dance between the nervous system states of fight, flight, and freeze. This is why a primarily top-down approach is not sufficient to support long-term recovery. If we want to provide holistic care to our clients, we must engage the body through bottom-up processing. This first part of a two-part training will establish foundational understanding of the nervous system's role in trauma and sexual compulsivity, and introduce core parasympathetic training skills. Participants will learn how nervous system regulation helps clients return to a state of balance through the reduction of time spent in hyper- or hypoarousal. The morning session includes psychoeducation on the threat response cycle, hands-on practice with grounding and orienting techniques, and an introduction to tracking skills that allow the body to release traumatic shock. This training will equip clinicians with immediately applicable tools to help clients begin restoring a feeling of safety in their own bodies.
Learning Objectives
After taking this activity, you should be able to:
- Explain the three physiological responses to trauma and how those states, when unresolved, can contribute to symptoms of PTSD.
- Identify five signs of sympathetic and five signs of parasympathetic nervous system activity in clients.
- Develop skills in articulating five phrases that support clients to track sensations for the purpose of greater interoception skills.
- Demonstrate the ability to help organize sensory and sensory-motor experience using the concepts of orientation and grounding.
Lunch
PART II: Advanced Integration and Application to Sex Addiction Recovery
Building on the foundational nervous system knowledge from Part 1, this afternoon session focuses on advanced somatic processing techniques and their specific application to sex addiction recovery work. Participants will deepen their understanding of how to work gently with trauma through pendulatio...
Building on the foundational nervous system knowledge from Part 1, this afternoon session focuses on advanced somatic processing techniques and their specific application to sex addiction recovery work. Participants will deepen their understanding of how to work gently with trauma through pendulation and titration, learning to help clients process stuck protective responses without overwhelming their systems. Through triad practice groups, clinicians will gain hands-on experience with grounding and orienting techniques. The training will then apply these somatic skills directly to the CSAT task model and sex addiction recovery work, exploring how sexually compulsive behavior represents stuck fight, flight, and freeze responses. Finally, participants will learn essential skills for protecting their own nervous systems when working with vicariously traumatizing material, supporting their long-term sustainability in the field. This session bridges theory and practice, equipping clinicians to immediately integrate nervous system regulation into their sexual addiction treatment approach.
Learning Objectives
After taking this activity, you should be able to:
- Demonstrate the ability to help organize sensory and sensory-motor experience using the concept of resourcing.
- Apply theoretical knowledge of titration, pendulation, and self-regulation to the conceptualization of a client session.
- Describe the concepts of how to establish, complete, and discharge protective survival responses that are stuck in a client's body and nervous system
- Demonstrate the ability to apply the cycle of protective responses to the conceptualization of working with sexual addiction.
- Identify three differences between joining and merging with a client's nervous system experience.
Conference Speaker
Dr. Christine Baker is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor. She has owned her private practice, Wayfare Counseling, for over ten years, where she has specialized working with trauma recovery and people struggling with sexual compulsivity and their loved ones. She is EMDR and somatically trained, and she has also completed the Traumatic Stress Studies certificate through The Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute under Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Dr. Baker has also served as an adjunct professor at Richmont Graduate University for many years in their Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, and she has provided support to many organizations and non-profits through training and education programs.
Presenting Sessions:
PART I: Foundations of Nervous System Regulation in Sex Addiction Recovery
PART II: Advanced Integration and Application to Sex Addiction Recovery
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