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How talking therapies for trauma can be complemented by the inclusion of body-oriented approaches
No full textSection A
Trauma can have lasting effects on both psychological and physiological wellbeing. However, evidence suggests that traditional talking therapies for trauma may not fully address the body-based impact of trauma. In response, body-oriented approaches, such as yoga, sensorimotor psychotherapy, and dance movement therapy have gained attention for their potential to support trauma treatment. While research shows promising outcomes for body-oriented approaches, their effectiveness in combination with talking therapies is less clear. This systematic literature review aimed to explore whether the combined approach supports treatment and how body-oriented techniques complement talking therapies.
A systematic literature search was undertaken, and nine papers were included and reviewed for their quality. Quantitative and qualitative findings from those papers were explored through a narrative review. The findings suggest that integrating body-oriented approaches with talking therapies may support treatment for trauma with improvements seen in
psychological and physical symptoms, however some participants showed adverse reactions. Findings further show that body-oriented approaches seem to complement talking therapies by increasing clients’ sense of safety and self-awareness. Implications and limitations are explored relating to clinical practice and future research.
Section B
Traditional talking therapies for trauma may fall short in addressing the body-based imprint of trauma. In response, body-oriented approaches are gaining recognition for their ability to support emotional regulation and access trauma from the body level. Emerging evidence suggests that the integration of body-oriented approaches with talking therapies may support trauma treatment and literature shows that the integrated approach is already being applied in practice. This study aims to contribute to this growing area by exploring practitioners’ beliefs about what body-oriented approaches bring to talking therapies, their experiences of using these approaches with talking therapies, and the aspects of trauma work where they draw on body-oriented approaches.
Eight participants from diverse professional backgrounds were interviewed and transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Five themes were identified: ‘contextual foundations’, ‘the role of the body in therapy’, ‘creating conditions for emotional depth and safety’, ‘practical considerations when integrating body-oriented approaches’ and ‘pathways to integrating body-oriented approaches’. Findings suggest that integrating body-oriented approaches with talking therapies can deepen emotional processing, support clients in accessing nonverbal material, and create conditions of safety and regulation. Participants also highlighted need for flexibility, impact on them as practitioners and concerns around scope of practice. The findings are discussed in relation to the study's limitations and its clinical and research implications
Working paper: Enabling AI in law enforcement: Making a case for the adoption of a human rights principles-based approach
No full textThe working paper proposes adopting a high-level principles-based AI risk assessment premised on a human-rights-centric approach to govern the design, development, and deployment of AI tools by law enforcement agencies. The aim is to maintain the security of the nation and the safety of individuals while also ensuring responsible legal governance, balancing the need for national security with the protection of human rights.
While various approaches to national security can stem from differences in legal cultural norms or reflect a diversified strategy of approach, fundamental traditional human rights and their evolution in the age of AI will act as overarching principles, a metric of measuring the realisation of these principles when law enforcement agencies utilise AI systems. These principles are distilled from traditional and emerging human rights frameworks, prevailing AI ethical frameworks, and model AI law enactments.
As a backgrounder, the paper lays its foundations by setting out some fundamental understanding of the technology and most importantly, the different approaches to governing AI.
The paper proceeds to outline the various and prevailing uses of AI systems in law enforcement and policing, highlighting both the benefits and the risks, harms, and vulnerabilities (such as bias in AI algorithms when used in predictive policing, intrusions into individuals’ privacy, invasive use of emotional AI, and potential misuse of AI for surveillance) that erode individuals' fundamental human rights when designing and developing these systems and when deploying them.
Thirdly, the paper scopes various sources: the corpus of international traditional human rights frameworks and the emerging and evolving “new rights” found in established international AI ethical frameworks and AI legislation. This holistic approach distils a set of rights relevant to the design, development and deployment of AI tools in the context of national security and law enforcement, recommending these rights to be adopted as the “principles” underlying the proposed approach.
Against this background, the paper traces how risks of using AI tools engage with the abovementioned rights, mapping these risks to the principles and their potential erosion.
The paper posits that these high-level principles allow designers, developers, and deployers of these AI tools to build their capacity to ensure that safeguards and guardrails are in place at the various stages of the lifecycle of AI tools. The paper recommends that when operationalised and realised in a risk assessment and assurance tool, the principles-based approach serves as an effective Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA)
The community of Pluckley 1500-1650: people, place and belonging
No full textThis thesis is a historical study of the village of Pluckley in Kent, which explores the life experiences of individuals and the collective personality of an early modern community. Chapter one considers the consequences of gavelkind on individuals as well as the influence it had on the shaping of the community. Pluckley’s social structure was fluid as a result of the settled, inter-generational nature of a high proportion of the community and its vast kinship networks. The predominant historical interpretations that servants were mobile and that there was a reliance at the time on retainers is challenged in chapter two, which provides an investigation into the Dering household. In chapter three, the people of the parish are then placed within the Wealden landscape that shaped local settlement patterns. This chapter discusses the importance of spatial interactions and explores whether the community felt a sense of place. Also investigated are the many physical, spiritual, economic and social components of the church of Saint Nicholas, as well as its central role as the administrative centre of the parish. The concluding chapter looks at how the character of the community influenced how it responded to the changes and challenges of the early modern period, including those of a political and religious nature. Neighbourliness was very important to them but, like many of the Weald, the community did not shy away from asserting their views. Through this immersive understanding of the village and its defining characteristics, a greater understanding of the relationship between change at local and national levels during the early modern period is attained
The magic of emotion: Researching and representing protest and activism through creative criminological method and methodology
No full textThis project provides an empirically grounded and creatively presented study of emotion in the context of climate-related protest and activism. Emotion is described by Sartre (1939) as ‘magical’, in the sense that it transforms our perceptions of the world, providing a distinctive way of apprehending, interpreting, and responding to situations, objects, and other people. In this view emotions are not caused by external factors but are directed and reflective of a personal search for interpretation and meaning.
In the context of the climate crisis, when faced with material and imagined existential threats to human safety and future of the planet, emotion plays a critical role in peoples’ perceptions of the problem and their activities.
The project applies a creative criminological approach to researching and representing the experiences of participation in Extinction Rebellion (XR) activities. Qualitative and visual data were obtained using semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and digital photography, from which four themes are identified and creatively explored: sense of community and sharing; personal nourishment; dealing with the ‘gaze’ of others, and bodily sensations.
These themes are artistically represented as a photomontage installation, incorporating qualitative interview data and images from the sites of protest. The visual and narrative findings posit emotion as directed with intentionality, transforming protestors’ experiences by providing a way of apprehending, interpreting, and responding to climate related issues. The project aims to appeal to those interested in studying the emotion of protest and activism, and in developing innovative and creative methods and methodologies for social research and knowledge production
Positionings, agencies and roles in an academic, virtual learning environment: a topology of learning
No full textThis paper presents a small-scale, Action Research study with a group of undergraduate students and two tutors on a dissertation module in a British university. The aim was to explore the ways students’ collaborative engagement can be facilitated in a virtual learning environment. Drawing on positioning theory, the authors explored the ways participants constructed the self and others in this virtual space: their perceptions of the rights, duties, roles and expectations of each other; their evolving identities as learners and the impact of these positionings upon their sense of personal, collective and relational agencies. They used questionnaires and interviews to examine the participants’ discourses and positionings. The virtual learning space was experienced as a predominantly relational space, where participants assumed certain dynamic positions, always in relation to each other. The findings suggest the existence of a topology of learning
Children's wellbeing in schools
Get PDF• Research data for England suggests that positive wellbeing helps children to engage in learning.
• Research shows that aspects of school culture, including relationships and sense of belonging, are important for wellbeing.
• Short-term outcomes of low wellbeing can include effects on relationships and behaviour, absence from school, and lower academic achievement.
Long-term outcomes can include effects on mental health and adult employment.
• More evidence is needed around approaches to improving wellbeing of children in schools, the factors underpinning the most effective approaches, and how best to measure their impact.
• Practices that may improve wellbeing include psychological, social, culture and environment-based practices, and physical health promotion. However, evidence around these practices is mixed and it is challenging for practitioners to determine which practices to implement, and how.
• In December 2024 the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was laid before Parliament, which contained several proposals related to wellbeing in schools including on provision of breakfast clubs
Developing a positive transport marketing campaign for Canterbury: Workshop report
No full textThis report presents key findings from a workshop, convened by Canterbury BID on 8 January 2025. The workshop aimed to support the development of key messages to underpin a positive transport campaign for Canterbury
Models, metrics and meaning: Evaluating counter-terrorism strategy effectiveness
No full textInvited speaker at a workshop
Key considerations when evaluating counterterrorism strategies
No full textThis article outlines four key areas that should be considered when attempting to evaluate counterterrorism strategies