Purity Culture and Religious Trauma, Jess DeVries
 
For practitioners who have not come from purity culture or similar Christian indoctrination, it can be difficult to understand the way that shame and fear show up in the bodies of their clients. Beyond the typical sex negativity that we are all swimming in, folks who are in or have emerged from purity culture have the natural expressions of their sexuality, gender, body, and orientation placed at odds with holiness, goodness, connection to the divine… with very serious consequences if they stray from the teachings. 
 
We will discuss the ways that surrogate partners can meet clients with this lived experience with care and understand some of the common beliefs that you will likely encounter in these sessions and the importance of moving at the speed of trust.
 
Topics we will cover: 
How church doctrine, and purity culture specifically, reinforces disembodiment as a way to build power and maintain control of individuals.
Understanding most Christian religious upbringing as trauma whether your client does or not.
Discussion of some of the themes you will see when working with clients who have this experience
Passivity, people pleasing, and lack of agency/trust in their own knowing
Resources for further learning
 
Offering Sliding Scale Pricing: A Somatic Approach. Katherine Yeagel
 
About the Presenters
 
This session will go from 3:00 to 5:40 Pacific time, which includes 2.5 hours and allows for a 10-minute break somewhere in the middle, at a time that is appropriate for the material. Then the guest speakers will leave us, and there will be an additional half hour, from 5:40 to 6:10, which will be a facilitated discussion and integration of the prior content. This last half hour is optional, so if you’ve had enough at that point you are welcome to skip it. If you choose to stay, you will be invited to consider questions, either all together or in breakout groups, like “What most impacted you from today’s session?” “How do you think you can incorporate this in your work as a surrogate partner?”
 
SPC Members can attend for 60% off. To get the member price, sign in to your account and select Member CE from the Membership Menu. Become a Member