Groups + Workshops

 
 

Announcing
Bodacious Boundaries
6-Week Online Therapy Group
Tuesdays, August 22-September 26, 2023, 6:00-7:30 p.m. PST

An online therapy group for adult California residents

Do you ever…

  • Find your lips saying “yes” when your mind is yelling “no!”?

  • Overextend yourself at work and in relationships?

  • Express anger “sideways” (hello, passive aggression!)?

  • Let resentment simmer for ages until you finally boil over?

  • “Freeze ‘n people-please” instead of setting your boundary?

In Bodacious Boundaries, you’ll learn how to identify and communicate your boundaries…
firmly, effectively, and compassionately

  • Learn practical info about boundaries (including boundary types and categories, effective vs. ineffective boundary communication, and how to deal with people who habitually disrespect your boundaries)

  • Explore and upgrade your boundaries with art, creative writing, and Somatic Experiencing (body-based mindfulness, movement, and skill building)

  • Gain insight with weekly journaling prompts to work on between sessions

  • Give and receive heart-centered support from a like-minded group of people (capped at 10 participants to keep the group small and intimate)

The details

  • Six sessions, 90 minutes each

  • August 22-September 26, 2023

  • Tuesdays, 6:00-7:30 p.m. PST via Zoom

  • Application deadline: Tuesday, August 15

  • Cost: $550 with early bird discount if you register by Friday, August 11; $600 thereafter

  • Note: Group registration requires submitting a few short application forms plus an initial complimentary 20-minute phone consult for us to see if this group is a good fit for your goals and needs

“It may seem that a call for boundaries…is a prompt to create more distance between people….This is only partly true, and part of the work to be discovered….Boundaries [also] make room for the deeper connections and intimacy we actually want to have.”

PIXIE LIGHTHORSE

Your group facilitator:
Chiara Viscomi, MA, LMFT, SEP

Read more about me and how I work here!

Why “bodacious”?

“Bodacious” is a word that has a few different connotations and meanings, including thorough, gutsy, and noteworthy. It’s possibly a mashup of the words “bold” and “audacious.” What stands out the most to me is its origin: “bodacious” is thought to come from bodyaciously (meaning “bodily, totally, root and branch” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary).

These last words in particular capture the essence of what makes this group unique. The Bodacious Boundaries group is designed to help you have a full, embodied experience of your boundaries (not just a “heady” intellectual understanding of them). Group therapy sessions will include Somatic Experiencing, mindfulness, and expressive arts therapy to help achieve this goal.

Taking an embodied approach to learning about boundaries is important, because often the key to learning how to properly set (and maintain) boundaries lies in the body and nervous system. In particular, if you’ve struggled with narcissistic abuse and/or codependency, your boundaries could likely use a bodacious reboot. In the Bodacious Boundaries group, you will truly learn what it is to identify and communicate boundaries bodily and totally from the root of your being.

FAQs about the Bodacious Boundaries 6-Week Online Therapy Group

  • This group is for adults who are ready to explore and improve their boundaries. In addition, this group is for people who are CA residents and who will physically be located in the state of CA for every session.

    As a facilitator, I am committed to providing an inclusive and affirming environment for people of all varieties of gender expression, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship status, lifestyle, age, size, and religious and spiritual background.

  • These are the steps to register for the group:

    1. Click the “Apply Now” button on this page and complete and submit the application form on the destination page.

    2. After your application form is reviewed, you’ll be emailed a link to complete 2 documents (an intake form and your credit/debit card info). If the facilitator determines that the group is not a fit for your needs after reviewing the intake form, you will not be charged for the group and the facilitator will let you know via email. If the facilitator determines the application process can move forward after reviewing your intake form, you will be charged for the group.

    3. If your initial intake is successfully processed, you will receive an email with a link to schedule the mandatory free 20-minute consult call to see if the group is a good fit for your goals and needs. If the facilitator determines that the group is not a fit for your needs after the consult, you will receive a full refund for the group. If the facilitator determines that the group is a fit after the consult, you will be emailed a link to complete the remaining paperwork.

    4. Upon receipt of the final paperwork, you’ll receive a confirmation email with information on how to access the sessions, what to bring, and how to best prepare for the group.

  • Cancellation policy: If you register for the group and then decide to not join the group, you have until August 15 to email or call the group facilitator to let them know that you are cancelling to receive a full refund.

    No partial or full refunds will be provided for any cancellation requests starting August 16, regardless of the reason.

  • Refund policy:
    1.) You will not be charged for the group if the group facilitator determines that the group is not a good fit for your needs after reviewing all application documents.

    2.) After the free 20-minute consult call, if the group facilitator determines that the group is not a good fit for your needs, you will receive a full refund for the group.

    3.) A full financial commitment is required for all 6 sessions, even if you miss one or more sessions. Payment in full is required to enroll in the group. No partial or full refunds will be issued if you miss one or more sessions, regardless of the reason.

  • Consistent attendance for all 6 sessions is important for the group dynamic, sense of safety, and overall effectiveness of the group.

  • After you complete the online application form, you will receive an email with a link to 2 forms: an intake form and a form to input your credit/debit card info (this info is encrypted).

    Upon reviewing your intake form, if the group facilitator determines that the application can be processed, you will be charged the fee for the group.

    If the group facilitator reviews your intake form and determines that the group is not a good fit for your needs, you will not be charged for the group and the group facilitator will email you to notify you.

  • The first time that we meet, the group facilitator will start with a few minutes of mindfulness. Then, the facilitator will review group agreements, Zoom logistics, and the agenda for the session. We’ll go around making some brief introductions and then dive into a talk on the day’s topic, followed by an experiential exercise, discussion/Q&A, journal prompts for the week, and then closure.

    In subsequent sessions, each session will start with a few minutes of mindfulness, followed by a few minutes of group business and a review of the session’s agenda. Each session will have a learning component, an art or somatics experiential component, time for discussion/Q&A, journal prompts for the week, and closure.

    In the very last session, time will be carved out for the group to integrate the experience.

  • Topic discussed include:

    What are boundaries?

    Boundary categories

    Boundary types

    Factors that influence our boundaries

    Nervous system responses to perceived threat

    Grounding and regulating yourself

    Tuning into the body and emotions to understand our needs, wants, and boundaries

    The difference between preferences, desires, and deal breakers

    Internal boundaries

    Respecting others’ boundaries

    Effective vs. ineffective boundary communication

    Setting and maintaining boundaries with difficult people


  • Group activities will include:

    Mindfulness

    Drawing

    Creative writing

    Listening to short presentation on topic

    Group discussion/Q&A

    Body-based experiential exercises (using gesture, posture, movement, breathwork, etc.)

    Journaling