How the Traditional Martial Art of Aikido Teaches Us
to Engage, Blend, and Heal in the Therapy Room
November 20, 2025; 6–8 pm /MST
Presenters:
Bradd Buckingham, MA, LPC (VA), CTP, NCC
Matthew Buckley, EdD, LPC (MS), LCMHC (UT), NCC, ACS, BC-TMHC
Professor of Counseling, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions
Workshop Difficulty: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced
Continuing Education: Two (2) hours of continuing education credit
Workshop objectives:
1. Integrative Awareness and Presence: Participants will be able to describe how Aikido concepts such as irimi
(entering), blending, and grounding inform therapeutic presence and co-regulation, enabling clinicians to stay
centered and attuned during moments of client resistance, conflict, or emotional escalation.
2. Transforming Resistance and Energy: Participants will be able to demonstrate ways to apply Aikido principles—
specifically Kaeshi Waza (countering) and Henka Waza (adaptability)—to therapeutic encounters, reframing
resistance as energy that can be redirected into collaborative movement rather than confrontation.
3. Embodied Therapeutic Techniques and Metaphors: Participants will be able to translate martial concepts into
embodied clinical metaphors and interventions (e.g., stepping aside, redirecting energy, changing angles) that
support client insight, emotional flexibility, and the de-escalation of interpersonal tension.
Bio: Bradd Buckingham
Bradd Buckingham is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Certified Trauma Professional (CTP).
Bradd specializes in working with adults, men’s issues, teachers, first responders, and military veterans.
Bradd brings a unique skill set to his work as a counselor, including military service, over a decade of work in
the defense industry, experience working in the community as a substitute teacher, as well as a teacher/mentor for at-
risk children and adolescents. Additionally, Bradd is a lifelong student and Assistant Instructor (2nd Degree Black
Belt) in Aikido.
Bradd graduated with his Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of the
Cumberlands. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Conflict, Politics, and National Policy from Mary Washington
University.
