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ChatGPT Image Feb 6, 2026 at 02_39_56 PM

​Going In: An Embodied Recovery Group

A structured, trauma-informed group for nervous system regulation, embodied awareness, and integration.

Going In supports adults who are doing trauma recovery work and want deeper support with emotional regulation, dissociation, somatic distress, and repeated survival patterns. This group complements individual therapy by building the practical, embodied capacities that make change more sustainable.

 

At a Glance

Duration: 6 weeks
Sessions: 6 × 2 hours weekly
Format: Mixed-gender group
Location: Ōtepoti / Dunedin
Entry: Screening + informed consent required

Proposed 2026 intakes: TBC

 

Who It’s For

This group is for adults (18+) who:

  • are experiencing trauma-related distress (e.g., hyperarousal, shutdown, avoidance, intrusive thoughts)

  • may live with anxiety, low mood, mild–moderate dissociation, somatic symptoms, or emotional reactivity

  • want support to understand and shift recurring emotional/relational/behavioural patterns

  • can engage safely in a group environment and are willing to practise body-based awareness and gentle experiential work

  • are in ongoing individual therapy or have adequate external support (assessed at screening)

  • ACC Sensitive Claims and self-funded participants are welcome.

 

What This Group Supports

Many people can understand their trauma intellectually, yet still feel stuck in automatic nervous system responses. Trauma lives not only in thoughts, but also in breath, posture, muscle tension, physiology, and patterned survival responses.

 

Going In is designed to help participants:

  • build interoceptive awareness (noticing sensations, emotions, impulses, needs)

  • strengthen self-regulation and co-regulation

  • increase tolerance for emotion without overwhelm, collapse, or avoidance

  • integrate thought + feeling + body response

  • develop greater agency, choice, and self-compassion

  • reduce trauma impacts such as hyperarousal, dissociation, reactivity, and avoidance

  • grow relational safety, boundaries, and connection

 

The Approach

This programme draws from evidence-informed practice including:

  • Trauma-informed care 

  • Somatic and embodied psychotherapy

  • Attachment-informed practice

  • Psychodrama and action methods (experiential integration, role flexibility)

  • Mindfulness and interoceptive practices

  • EMDR-informed bilateral stimulation techniques

  • Te Ao Māori and relational worldviews (mind–body–wairua–whānau–whenua interconnectedness)

 

What a Typical Session Looks Like

Each session follows a consistent structure to support safety and integration:

  1. Arrival & Grounding (10 mins)
    Breathwork + orienting to settle the nervous system.

  2. Check-in & Relational Attunement (15 mins)
    Brief sharing of how you’re arriving (emotionally and physically), with support for regulation as needed.

  3. Psychoeducation & Skill Focus (15 mins)
    A practical theme (e.g., resourcing, patterns, window of tolerance) and a specific tool.

  4. Experiential Practice (30–40 mins)
    Guided somatic practices, titrated action methods, relational exercises, and/or bilateral stimulation—always invitational.

  5. Reflection & Integration (15–20 mins)
    Linking body sensations, emotions, thoughts, and meaning-making.

  6. Closure & Regulation (10 mins)
    Grounding, resourcing, and safe transition out.

 

Inclusion and Exclusion

Participants must:

  • be 18+

  • be stable enough for group work (no acute crisis needing immediate intervention)

  • agree to confidentiality, consent, respect, and group safety agreements

  • be willing and able to participate in a mixed-gender group

 

Not suitable if

This group is not appropriate for people who:

  • are in acute psychiatric crisis

  • are actively suicidal without adequate containment/support

  • have unmanaged psychosis or severe dissociation impairing present-moment awareness

  • have active substance dependence that would interfere with participation

  • cannot commit to the full 6-week programme

Facilitators

Cinnamon Boreham

Psychotherapist, psychodramatist, and group facilitator with 25+ years’ experience in trauma recovery, family violence, and community-based therapeutic practice in Aotearoa NZ. Co-founder/director of Wai Counselling & Psychotherapy. Specialist in nervous system stabilisation, safe group process, and psychodramatic and embodied integration. Works in a Te Tiriti-informed, culturally responsive framework and adheres to professional ethical standards.

 

Rushi Vyas

Facilitator, researcher, and educator with over a decade of experience supporting trauma-impacted individuals and groups. Manager of Training & Development at Te Whare Tāwharau (University of Otago), working with sensitive disclosures and survivor support. Psychodrama trainee (AANZPA-aligned) with strong strengths in relational attunement, mediation, cultural reflexivity, and embodied meaning-making.

Let’s Work Together

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