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Learning About Consent Based on the Wisdom of Sex Workers
Presenter: Catherine de Sauvage, LMFT, SEP, CST
Date: June 2, 2026 | 2:00 PM MST
Format: Live, interactive synchronous webinar | 1 hour
Content Level: Intermediate
Target Audience: Clinical Mental Health Providers, Medical Providers, Health Providers, General Public
CE Credits: 1 continuing education credit
Course Description
Consent is not a checkbox — it is a mutual, evolving, and fluid process that lives in the body, shifts moment to moment, and often requires repair. This one-hour live training offers clinicians a concrete, active, and experiential exploration of consent, drawing on the hard-won wisdom of sex workers and integrating somatic, relational, and 4-D Wheel frameworks to deepen clinical practice.
Through large group discussion, role-play, experiential exercises, and facilitated dialogue, participants will move beyond conceptual understandings of consent into embodied, practice-based skill development. The course explores how to recognize false "no" responses, support clients in a re-mothering process of learning to track their own internal signals, introduce the concept of a "waiting room" for clients who need time and space to find their answer, and help clients identify the somatic sensation of a brake in their body — then play Goldilocks with that brake to find what fits. The 4-D Wheel framework is woven throughout, offering clinicians a way to hold the split between heart and mind that clients often experience, and to create space for processing the grief of past choices made outside of true consent.
The training also introduces nervous system education as a foundation for consent work — examining how threat responses, freeze states, and dysregulation can masquerade as agreement, and how clinicians can create conditions of genuine safety that support an ongoing, authentic consent process.
This training is grounded in the core social work values of dignity and worth, the importance of human relationships, and a commitment to social justice — affirming that centering the lived experiences of marginalized communities, including sex workers, is essential to developing truly inclusive and trauma-informed approaches to consent.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to:
Explain that consent is a mutual, evolving, and fluid process that can be complex and may require repair, using the 4-D Wheel framework as a guide.
Apply the 4-D Wheel approach to demonstrate consent as a moment-to-moment fluid expression, incorporating attunement and intentional slowing down within clinical practice.
Identify nervous system responses that impact consent and implement techniques to create safety and space that support an ongoing consent process.
Limitations, Risks, & Benefits
This online training presents intermediate-level content that builds upon existing knowledge and practical experience, and is not intended to be comprehensive; clinicians are encouraged to seek out supplemental resources and peer-reviewed literature. The virtual format may not fully replicate the interactivity of in-person learning, and role-play and interactive discussions may feel vulnerable for some participants. Content reflects information available at the time of development; practitioners are encouraged to stay current with evolving research and regulatory standards. Benefits include foundational and practical clinical skills for working with consent in a somatic and relational framework, increased ability to support clients in tracking their own internal responses, and enhanced confidence and competence in delivering compassionate, trauma-informed, culturally responsive care.
About the Presenter
Catherine de Sauvage, LMFT, SEP, CST (she/her), is a bilingual (French/English) certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist originally from Belgium. She specializes in supporting sexual trauma survivors in releasing trauma through the body, restoring inner balance, and reclaiming intimacy and vitality. Catherine spent nine years leading groups for people recovering from incarceration, developing deep expertise in authentic connection and a profound respect for the experiences of sex workers and women in service navigating sexual trauma. She brings four years of experience with the Somatica Method and was personally trained by Dr. Gina Ogden to work with the 4-D Wheel — continuing Dr. Ogden's legacy through ongoing consultations and training.
Course Details
Delivery method: Live interactive webinar via the Institute learning platform
Course interactivity: Interactive — participants will engage in large group discussion, role-play, experiential exercises, and Q&A
Posttest/quiz: Because this is a live interactive course, a standard posttest is not required. Participation will be monitored throughout the session.
Certificate issuance: Certificates of credit will be issued immediately after course completion to participants who attend the full session and complete the course evaluation.
Contact for questions: institute@thehealinggroup.com
Accessibility accommodations: To request accessibility accommodations, please contact institute@thehealinggroup.com prior to the event. We are committed to making our trainings accessible to all participants.
ASWB ACE Statement:
The Healing Group Institute, provider number 2716, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 3/31/26 – 3/31/27. Social workers completing this course receive 1 continuing education credit.
AASECT CKA:
E. Intimacy skills (e.g., social, emotional, sexual), intimate relationships, interpersonal relationships, and family dynamics.
L. Substance use/abuse and sexuality.
M. Pleasure enhancement skills.
AASECT ST:
C. Theory and methods of approach to intervention in relationship systems experiencing sex and intimacy problems.
This presentation has been reviewed by Kristin Hodson, LCSW, CST, CSTS to ensure it meets AASECT standards.
Learning About Consent Based on the Wisdom of Sex Workers
Presenter: Catherine de Sauvage, LMFT, SEP, CST
Date: June 2, 2026 | 2:00 PM MST
Format: Live, interactive synchronous webinar | 1 hour
Content Level: Intermediate
Target Audience: Clinical Mental Health Providers, Medical Providers, Health Providers, General Public
CE Credits: 1 continuing education credit
Course Description
Consent is not a checkbox — it is a mutual, evolving, and fluid process that lives in the body, shifts moment to moment, and often requires repair. This one-hour live training offers clinicians a concrete, active, and experiential exploration of consent, drawing on the hard-won wisdom of sex workers and integrating somatic, relational, and 4-D Wheel frameworks to deepen clinical practice.
Through large group discussion, role-play, experiential exercises, and facilitated dialogue, participants will move beyond conceptual understandings of consent into embodied, practice-based skill development. The course explores how to recognize false "no" responses, support clients in a re-mothering process of learning to track their own internal signals, introduce the concept of a "waiting room" for clients who need time and space to find their answer, and help clients identify the somatic sensation of a brake in their body — then play Goldilocks with that brake to find what fits. The 4-D Wheel framework is woven throughout, offering clinicians a way to hold the split between heart and mind that clients often experience, and to create space for processing the grief of past choices made outside of true consent.
The training also introduces nervous system education as a foundation for consent work — examining how threat responses, freeze states, and dysregulation can masquerade as agreement, and how clinicians can create conditions of genuine safety that support an ongoing, authentic consent process.
This training is grounded in the core social work values of dignity and worth, the importance of human relationships, and a commitment to social justice — affirming that centering the lived experiences of marginalized communities, including sex workers, is essential to developing truly inclusive and trauma-informed approaches to consent.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to:
Explain that consent is a mutual, evolving, and fluid process that can be complex and may require repair, using the 4-D Wheel framework as a guide.
Apply the 4-D Wheel approach to demonstrate consent as a moment-to-moment fluid expression, incorporating attunement and intentional slowing down within clinical practice.
Identify nervous system responses that impact consent and implement techniques to create safety and space that support an ongoing consent process.
Limitations, Risks, & Benefits
This online training presents intermediate-level content that builds upon existing knowledge and practical experience, and is not intended to be comprehensive; clinicians are encouraged to seek out supplemental resources and peer-reviewed literature. The virtual format may not fully replicate the interactivity of in-person learning, and role-play and interactive discussions may feel vulnerable for some participants. Content reflects information available at the time of development; practitioners are encouraged to stay current with evolving research and regulatory standards. Benefits include foundational and practical clinical skills for working with consent in a somatic and relational framework, increased ability to support clients in tracking their own internal responses, and enhanced confidence and competence in delivering compassionate, trauma-informed, culturally responsive care.
About the Presenter
Catherine de Sauvage, LMFT, SEP, CST (she/her), is a bilingual (French/English) certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist originally from Belgium. She specializes in supporting sexual trauma survivors in releasing trauma through the body, restoring inner balance, and reclaiming intimacy and vitality. Catherine spent nine years leading groups for people recovering from incarceration, developing deep expertise in authentic connection and a profound respect for the experiences of sex workers and women in service navigating sexual trauma. She brings four years of experience with the Somatica Method and was personally trained by Dr. Gina Ogden to work with the 4-D Wheel — continuing Dr. Ogden's legacy through ongoing consultations and training.
Course Details
Delivery method: Live interactive webinar via the Institute learning platform
Course interactivity: Interactive — participants will engage in large group discussion, role-play, experiential exercises, and Q&A
Posttest/quiz: Because this is a live interactive course, a standard posttest is not required. Participation will be monitored throughout the session.
Certificate issuance: Certificates of credit will be issued immediately after course completion to participants who attend the full session and complete the course evaluation.
Contact for questions: institute@thehealinggroup.com
Accessibility accommodations: To request accessibility accommodations, please contact institute@thehealinggroup.com prior to the event. We are committed to making our trainings accessible to all participants.
ASWB ACE Statement:
The Healing Group Institute, provider number 2716, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 3/31/26 – 3/31/27. Social workers completing this course receive 1 continuing education credit.
AASECT CKA:
E. Intimacy skills (e.g., social, emotional, sexual), intimate relationships, interpersonal relationships, and family dynamics.
L. Substance use/abuse and sexuality.
M. Pleasure enhancement skills.
AASECT ST:
C. Theory and methods of approach to intervention in relationship systems experiencing sex and intimacy problems.
This presentation has been reviewed by Kristin Hodson, LCSW, CST, CSTS to ensure it meets AASECT standards.
