Using a Somatic Approach for BIPOC Clients
Although stressed clinicians treating high-stress clients was common pre-pandemic, Chinwé Williams, PhD, noticed an increased number of adolescent, college students, and professionals of color seeking to restart counselling or begin that process for the very first time.
Rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, queasy stomachs, and tension are some signs of physical distress that clients of all racial and ethnic backgrounds arrive to therapy with. We don't simply think anxious thoughts, we feel anxiety.
As a mindfulness-based, attachment-focused, somatic therapist, Dr. Williams has found opportunities to practice mindfulness exercises with her Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) clients. The key to managing distress, anxiety, and overall well-being lies in self-understanding, so Dr. Williams utilizes a mindfulness exercise to help ground clients and begin the process of learning to ground themselves before the intake process even begins.
In this video, Dr. Williams invites you to practice a mindfulness exercise to use with your BIPOC clients to help them in the process of learning deeper self-awareness, how to regulate their nervous system, and manage their anxiety before it spirals from tolerable to overwhelming.
That’s why we’re inviting you to our first-ever Beyond Cultural Competency Summit on February 23-24, 2023, where you’ll join the experts redefining how we work with diverse clients in some of the most tumultuous times we’ve ever seen.
Chinwé Williams, PhD, is a licensed and board-certified EMDR therapist, and counselor educator and supervisor with close to two decades of experience supporting individuals in trauma recovery. She has a strong commitment to helping clients overcome various forms of trauma and anxiety. As a published researcher, author, consultant, and educator, Dr. Williams brings a wealth of knowledge to her work.
Her expertise lies in somatically focused approaches that teach clients how to regulate the nervous system and utilize the body for healing from various traumatic experiences. Formerly a faculty member at Georgia State University, the University of Central Florida, and Rollins College, she specializes in trauma recovery, stress/anxiety management, adolescent and women’s wellness, and equity-centered trauma-informed education.
Dr. Williams is actively involved in contributing to the field of behavioral health. She consults with several corporate and nonprofit organizations, and school districts. Dr. Williams also serves on the advisory board for Brightline, a telemedicine company providing mental health support to kids, teens, and families. In this role, she consults on the best practices to support diverse youth and families through programs, content development, and care team training.
She is the author of three books, SEEN: Healing Despair and Anxiety in Kids and Teens Through The Power of Connection, Beyond the Spiral: Why You Shouldn’t Believe Everything Anxiety Tells You, and Calm, Courageous and Connected: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Emotionally Resilient Kids. As the owner of Meaningful Solutions Counseling & Consulting, a thriving private practice in Roswell, GA, Dr. Williams applies her expertise to address a broad range of trauma issues across many client demographics.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Chinwé Williams maintains a private practice, the co-owner of Southeastern Counselor Training Institute, and a presenter for Lyra Health. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Chinwé Williams is a subject matter expert with Orange.
