PRACTICUM ETIQUETTE
he practicum used to be called an “intensive” for a reason. It’s a lot of learning in a short time.
Our shared intention: maximum growth, minimal side effects!
Take in what you can.
Digest it.
Let go of what doesn’t stick.
Whatever you miss will come back later.
Pause often. Appreciate yourself and each other.
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What Practicum Is
• Perfectly imperfect
• A lab — experimenting with peers
• A rehearsal hall — practicing before any real performance
• A playroom — play opens the heart
• A Polarity party — come as you are, enjoy each other
What Practicum Is Not
• Criticism, judgment, grading, or shaming
• One-upping, showing off, or performing
• Cutting yourself down (“compare & despair”)
If these show up: pause, breathe, reconnect. Be gentle. Humor helps.
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Learning & Teaching
Learning can be fun and hard — especially as adults and especially with weird material that eludes easy explanation!
Kindness toward yourself and others makes the process easier. A little humor goes a long way too.
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Logistics
• Time: 9:00am–5:00pm (Sunday 9-1)
• Door is unlocked 8:45–9:00; ring bell after
• Lunch: ~starts 12:45–1 usually. Ends 2:00-2:15 usually.
• Short snack breaks morning & afternoon
• Arrive on time (morning and after
breaks). We will start without you if you’re running behind but we strongly prefer
to have you there.
• Eat during breaks, not while working
• Store food/perishables properly
• Keep belongings contained
• Help pack up the last 10–15 minutes
Care for the Space
Lift chairs and tables — don’t drag them
Leave things better than you found them
Feel free to say hello or thank you to our gracious hosts: Bill, Angie, and Bee
Please come scent-free when possible. Perfumes, colognes, and even essential oils can trigger sensitivities
No incense or burning materials
Tea, microwave, and refrigerator are fine
Please do not cook in the kitchen
If using the microwave, please avoid heating meat if possible
Be mindful of what food is ours and what belongs to others who use the church
Clean up after breaks and put food away
Help reset the room at the end of the day
Please do not go upstairs into the chapel
Bathrooms (Important)
• Fragile plumbing
• Be mindful about flushing
• Use restaurant bathrooms at lunch when possible
• We’ve clogged both toilets before — it was costly and stressful
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Recording & Microphones
Practicum sessions are recorded. Please be mindful of what you share.
Microphones are used throughout. They can feel awkward, but they matter — you’ll appreciate being able to hear yourselves when reviewing material later.
Please help by:
• Holding the mic close to your mouth
• Passing it to others who want to speak
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Self-Care & Group Awareness
4.5 days is a lot. Pace yourself.
Balance:
Your own needs
The needs of the group
Your freedom
The structure we are working inside
Check in:
“Does this serve just me, or the group?”
If you talk a lot → make space
If you disappear → let yourself be seen
If you know a lot → stay teachable
If you feel lost → ask
Trust the curriculum!
Master what is in front of you before reaching for what’s next.
Try to stay focused on what the group is learning. If you have a question or concern that’s unique to you, save it for a side conversation or private tutorial.
We are following a structured progression based on established Polarity Therapy training standards, clinical experience, and decades of teaching.
Going off on your own path can create confusion—for you, for your partners, and for the field.
Ask questions. If you’re wondering, others probably are too.
Trust the process. Every group is different. Periods of doubt, confusion, or “nothing seems to be happening” are part of the learning. When unsure: slow down, do less, hang out.
Patience — with yourself and with clients — is one of the most important skills you’re developing.
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When People Tend to Struggle
Difficulties often arise when:
Instructions are missed, half-heard, or ignored. In partner exercises, improvising or “doing your own thing” can put your partner in a difficult position and disrupt the learning.
Side conversations happen while instructions, demonstrations, or clinical guidance are being given.
Expectations, boundaries, or needs go unspoken. No one can read your mind.
Someone begins stepping into a teacher or TA role with peers.
There is a strong need for approval, recognition, or a “gold star.” Self-pressure affects the field.
Feedback is experienced as criticism, rejection, or personal failure rather than part of the learning process.
Students begin reaching beyond the current curriculum before mastering the foundations being taught.
If you miss instructions: ask.
If your partner seems unclear about the assignment: pause and call over a TA or instructor.
If you are unsure: slow down before moving forward.
In this work, guessing, assuming, or improvising can create confusion—and at times can affect safety, trust, and the therapeutic container.
Feedback
Feedback is how clinical skill develops.
Every participant receives feedback.
That is part of the value of being trained—working in real time, with real people, under supervision.
Feedback is not punishment, criticism, or humiliation.
It is part of learning to work responsibly, ethically, and skillfully with other human beings.
Stay open. Stay teachable. We are all practicing, not performing.
We all continue to develop — even clinicians with advanced skills continue to receive feedback and guidance from mentors and peers.
Learning in the Field
We cannot anticipate everything this group will need in advance.
Part of this training is learning to respond to what arises in real time.
Sometimes an important lesson emerges through one person’s session, question, pattern, or struggle.
This does not mean you are being singled out.
It means something relevant has surfaced that others can learn from as well.
If something pertains only to your personal process, it will be addressed privately.
If something is discussed in front of the group, it is because it serves the education of the group.
In this environment, we learn from each other.
We support each other.
We progress together.
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Partner Trades
You’ll work in pairs, trios, and sometimes with the instructor or TA.
The value of in-person learning is experiencing many nervous systems and styles. Expect experimentation.
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Practitioner Role
Touch & Boundaries
Touch is always:
• Consensual
• Respectful
• Professional (anchored; no sliding)
Never:
• Sensual
• Aggressive
• Effleurage
Consent & Sensitive Areas
Always ask before touching:
• First contact
• Below the belly button (pelvis/sacrum)
• Throat/neck
• Upper chest/pectorals
Never touch:
• Genitalia
• Breast tissue
• Orifices
Clients are always clothed.
Accidental contact: stop, acknowledge, check in, and call a TA or instructor if needed.
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If Something Goes Off
If pain or persistent discomfort arises → stop.
Required steps:
• Pause
• Check in
• Call a TA or instructor as needed
Either partner may call for support at any time — encouraged.
If there’s charge, confusion, or conflict in the field, that’s a sign support is needed. Interrupt instructor or a TA anytime.
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Technical Principle (Required - you MUST do this)
Every active technique must be followed by a sattvic hold.
Rule of thumb:
• 1 min active → 30 sec hold
• 30 sec active → 15 sec hold
Always okay to ask:
“Is this okay?” or “How are you doing?”
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Client Role (Very Important)
You are students, not real clients.
This is not a professional session.
The session serves the practitioner’s learning, not your healing. Please keep this in mind.
While you may experience some side benefits, your reason for being in the client role is to help your partner’s learning and for you to learn more about your role as practitioner from the perspective of being a client.
Classroom trades are not personal therapy.
You alone are responsible for keeping yourself regulated in the client role. Keep the content you’re exploring and the size of your reactions appropriate to a learning environment.
Do not bring your heaviest or darkest material forward with a student practitioner who is just trying to learn the basics. Save that for a private session with a professional.
Know your limits. Remove yourself from a trade or decline being in the client role if you feel unable to keep yourself emotionally or physically regulated.
Being in the practitioner role is not optional to graduate but you can sit out an exercise as needed. You will be required to make up the content through a private tutorial later.
Expect:
• Interruptions
• Uncertainty
• Teaching moments using session material
• Your needs may not be fully addressed
Guidelines:
• Don’t bring your darkest material — save it for private work
• Stay self-aware and self-regulated
• Help the practitioner learn
• Don’t micromanage
• Don’t shut down — speak up
• If you don’t like where it’s going, stop the session
• You can revoke consent or decline the client role at any time
Practitioner may ask:
“Anything I should know before touch?”
Client may ask:
“Anything I can do to support your learning?”
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Consent & Safety
By being here, you give general consent to touch.
You may revoke consent at any time.
You never have to:
• Endure pain
• Endure persistent discomfort
• Push through something unwanted
If there’s pain → stop.
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Discomfort vs Pain
Mild discomfort for a short time can be normal.
If it lasts more than a couple minutes → stop and call support.
If you’re unsure whether to stop, stop.
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Giving Feedback (Client)
• Ask consent
• Describe your experience (“When you did this…, I felt…”)
• Ask questions rather than dictating
• If you find yourself coaching → call a TA or instructor
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Learning Frame
You’re here to rehearse, not to be perfect.
Like theatre:
• Pause
• Ask questions
• Try again
• Go slow
Feedback = support.
Most feedback is for the whole group.
Perfectionism will show up. Breathe. Slow down. Share it. Laugh if you can.
Every pair should aim to call over a TA or instructor at least once.
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Your Individual Freedom vs Collective Responsibility
This training encourages authenticity, individuality, spontaneity, and real experience. At the same time, the practicum is a shared learning environment—not a private session or tutorial.
Part of professional development is learning to balance personal freedom with awareness of the room.
The training is not only about your own unique experience, but also being able to track:
Your trade partner & classmates
The exercise at hand & learning objectives the teacher is trying to impart
The pace and rhythm of the group
The impact your behavior and choices have on others’ ability to focus and learn
Individual freedom exists within collective responsibility. When your process begins pulling significant attention away from the exercise, your partner, or the group’s ability to learn, it is time to pause, regulate, and widen your awareness.
A helpful check-in:
“Am I aware only of my own experience… or am I aware of the field as a whole? What’s my impact on the group process?”
Clinical maturity includes learning how to care for both your own process and the shared space.
If you consistently pull focus from the group or find it difficult to stay regulated, follow structure, or participate in ways that support a safe and focused learning environment, it may be a sign that additional support is needed outside of class.
Personal challenges can arise in the training, and you are responsible for having adequate support outside of training to work with them. While the teaching staff will do what we reasonably can to support you in class, we are not able to alter the curriculum, pace, or focus of the group around one individual’s process, preferences, or personality.
In private sessions or tutorials, individual needs take center stage. In practicum, the priority is the group, the exercise at hand, and the learning objectives already established.
To be part of a group requires you at times to set aside personal impulses and preferences in service of others’ interests and the larger field as a whole.
Feedback for Me
I welcome feedback about the program and the practicum process.
I’ll ask for it at the end, and you’re also welcome to share it earlier. I have room to grow too.
If it pertains to you personally rather than the group learning, please save it for a private conversation.
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