Reclaiming Self: Supporting Survivors, Empowering Providers

A Sexual Assault Awareness Month Summit hosted by Healing Exchange

About the Summit

Sexual trauma changes the relationship we have with our bodies, our boundaries, our pleasure, and our sense of self. And yet, healing is possible.

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Healing Exchange invites survivors, clinicians, advocates, students, and community members to gather for an afternoon of reflection, embodied learning, and connection.

Reclaiming Self: Supporting Survivors, Empowering Providers is intentionally designed as a survivor-centered space that also offers clinical depth. This is not a traditional “how to treat trauma” training. Instead, we invite professionals to step into practice themselves. To embody the work, not just intellectualize it.

Because when providers do their own work, everyone benefits.

Our goal is that attendees leave feeling:

• More grounded in their bodies

• More confident navigating consent and boundaries

• More hopeful about healing and growth

• More connected to community

Healing from sexual trauma deserves conversations that include not only pain and survival -- but pleasure, reclamation, growth, and possibility.

Summit Schedule

Keynote: Getting Clear: Embodied Consent as Your North Star

Presented by Tunde J.O.

For many of us, the phrase “healing begins at home” is a familiar one. Though how many of us move through our days remembering our body as our first, last, and most consistent home?

In this interactive workshop, we will explore the way that socialization impacts our embodied access to choice and connection with self and others, before practicing strategies to address it.

This workshop considers the identities and lived experiences of those present as factors into the shaping of how we interact with each other, our families, our clients and communities, and the root - ourselves.

Through tools, discussion, and play, this workshop invites us all to move one moment closer to this space: the one that supports us to show up with integrity, create and uphold clear agreements, recognize our boundaries and limits, and honor those of others. This space will look different for each of us based on factors like race, ethnicity, gender, neurotype and many others. That said, access to this space is vital to everything from healthy romantic relating to organizing action to child rearing (all acts of love).

So come and explore. Bring something for notes, and an item you enjoy holding.

Participants will be able to:

1. Deepen their understanding of consent beyond “yes” and “no,” exploring what makes consent complex, relational, and ongoing.

2. Reflect on how family messages, culture, gender, power, and lived experience shape the way we understand and practice consent.

3. Notice and re-examine unspoken or unnegotiated agreements in relationships, communities, and helping roles.

4. Practice embodied tools to support clearer boundaries, self-trust, and mutual respect in personal and professional spaces.

Workshop 1: Embodied Sound Healing: A Trauma-Informed and Complementary Approach for Reconnecting with the Body for Trauma Survivors

Presented by Melony Crayton, LPC

This experiential workshop introduces sound healing as a trauma-informed, complementary modality to support nervous system regulation and embodied reconnection. Participants will explore how vibrational sound practices, including the use of singing bowls, can promote grounding, interoceptive awareness, and a felt sense of safety.

Grounded in trauma-informed principles, this session will examine the clinical considerations, contraindications, and ethical integration of sound-based practices within therapeutic settings. Attendees will experience guided sound practices and reflect on how these tools may support survivor healing when used thoughtfully and collaboratively.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe key research findings that support sound healing as a complementary approach alongside trauma-informed therapies.

2. Identify historical and modern uses of sound in trauma recovery and recognize emerging directions in the field.

3. Participate in a brief sound session and describe the emotional and physiological impact.

Workshop 2: Healing for Neurodivergent Sexual Trauma Survivors

Presented by Kat Seal, LMSW

Neurodivergent survivors often navigate trauma recovery within systems that were not built with their nervous systems in mind. This session centers sensory needs, communication differences, and embodied regulation practices that honor neurodiversity. Participants will explore how to create trauma-informed spaces that reduce overwhelm and increase autonomy, both for clients and themselves.

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify unique considerations for neurodivergent survivors.

2. Describe trauma-informed adaptations that support nervous system regulation.

3. Apply sensory-aware and autonomy-centered practices for supporting survivors in clinical settings.

Details are subject to change.

Who Should Attend?

• Survivors seeking a supportive, community-centered space

• Family and friends of survivors and those impacted by trauma

• Therapists and mental health professionals

• Associate-level clinicians and students

• Advocates and community organizers

• Anyone committed to trauma-informed, consent-centered practice

This summit is open to all genders and identities.

Continuing Education

This event is pending approval by the Missouri Committee of Social Workers to offer 3.5 CE credits to licensed professionals who attend the full summit. Many licensing boards accept CE hours approved by other professional associations; however, participants are responsible for confirming acceptance with their individual state licensing board. Additional CE information will be provided upon arrival.

Registration

Tiered pricing is available to increase accessibility.

Space is limited.

Accessibility

We are committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment. While the event space is expected to be physically accessible, please indicate any accommodation needs during online registration so we can support you fully.

Content Considerations

While this summit will not include graphic details of assault experiences, topics discussed relate to sexual trauma and consent. Participants are encouraged to care for themselves throughout the day and reach out for support as needed.

Why Healing Exchange Is Hosting This

Healing Exchange specializes in sex therapy, relationship therapy, and trauma recovery. During Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we believe it is essential to move beyond symptom management and make space for conversations about healing, pleasure, embodiment, and community.

Our vision is a community where survivors are supported and providers are deeply practiced -- not just informed. And more importantly, we want survivors to know they are not alone.