Case Study: Supporting Women with Trauma

This case study highlights the importance of group exercise for women who have suffered from trauma. It talks about trauma informed practice and how group exercise can be a safe space for women. It also covers improved educational attainment, enhanced value of human capital, enhanced social capital, volunteering (value-in-kind), mental health service usage and the mental wellbeing of volunteers.

Fiona Roberts is the Founder and CEO of theMovement Charity – an organisation that partners with charities to deliver group exercises classes to women experiencing trauma while simultaneously delivering accredited training courses to instructors to equip them with the necessary skills to deliver sessions tailored to women that are experiencing trauma.

Fiona first found her love of group exercise as a participant, attending a spinning class each week to help her “switch off” and “destress” following work. She found the community to be fun and motivating. 10 years ago, Fiona caught glandular fever and developed chronic fatigue as a result. A year without exercise made her further appreciate the benefits of physical activity and she incorporated group exercise into her recovery in order to improve both her physical and mental health.

Knowing the impact that group exercise can have, Fiona was keen to spread the benefit to those facing deep inequalities and high barriers to participation. “I knew that women experiencing multiple disadvantages would feel even more of a benefit than I did”.

Fiona became an instructor and would use the profit generated through traditional class delivery to offer classes for free to women experiencing trauma – often going in to refuge centres in order to do this.

One participant remarked how the group exercise class worked really well alongside her psychotherapy sessions. “The counselling sessions were naturally tough and emotional, so it was great to have the exercise classes to look forward to and simply focus on my health. With each week I felt I was feeling stronger mentally, emotionally and physically; I was doing positive activities for my whole wellbeing”.

Fiona talked about how her training is very popular with instructors and operators alike.

A number of instructors go through an education programme and are accredited by theMovement Charity. “Some will pay for this as part of CPD while others will do a free course and volunteer their time with our charity partners to deliver sessions to women who have experienced trauma. The instructors regularly tell me that these are their favourite classes each week and have a positive impact on their mental health”.

TheMovement Charity have innovated their training offering to equip instructors with the necessary expertise and confidence to understand (often covert) barriers to participation, and tailor their group exercise sessions accordingly. “We focus on three areas within our training.

Number one is creating safety, for example making sure the equipment used, or exercises performed, aren’t emotionally triggering.

Number two is finding the right power dynamics. As an example, we encourage participants to take an exercise mat to an area where they feel safe. At the start of their journey most participants gravitate towards the door as it is a means for an easy exit. A shift will occur over time as they come closer to the front of the class when they feel safer and more assured with the instructor.

The third area our training focuses on is connection with the body. A lot of people experiencing trauma report a lack of feeling in their body, often described as numbness. We train instructors to get participants to notice positive feelings and sensations within their body.”

Successful collaboration is vital for theMovement Charity to be effective and support women through group exercise who are suffering from trauma. Fiona explained that “we have 24 active charity partners and all work with women who experience multiple disadvantages. The charity will refer a person or group who would benefit from our session, and our accredited instructors will tailor the sessions accordingly. For example, we would work with charities, instructors and participants to select the appropriate location, session style, exercise preference and group size. We also provide clothing and footwear if required as this is often a barrier to physical activity that doesn’t get recognised.”

Fiona finished the interview by admitting that group exercise couldn’t be for everyone, but there are enormous upsides. She said that if people are nervous about taking part, they should go along and watch, appreciating the fact that the class can be tailored to each individual.