The chair is one of the few places where a person is touched, seen and talked to for an hour at a time, by someone they trust and come back to on a schedule. That makes stylists, barbers, nail technicians and estheticians some of the first people to notice when something is wrong in a client's life - and among the least likely to have ever been trained for that moment.

Care in the Chair™ is Rica Elysée's practical training for licensed beauty professionals on trauma-aware client care. This session covers what the program is built on: how to recognize signs of distress in the chair, what to say and what not to say, how to respond without diagnosing or interrogating, when and how to point a client toward real help, and how to hold a professional boundary so the person behind the chair does not absorb the harm. It also covers scope of practice, and what to do when a client discloses something serious mid-appointment.

The case for treating the chair as a genuine health-adjacent touchpoint is not theoretical. A cluster-randomized trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Black men with uncontrolled hypertension saw a 21.6 mm Hg greater reduction in systolic blood pressure when barbers promoted health in the shop and specialty-trained pharmacists managed medication on site. Beauty professionals already hold the kind of trust the health system spends years trying to build.

This is a practical session, not a theoretical one. Every part of it is built to be used on the next client.

Who it is for: licensed stylists, barbers, nail technicians and estheticians; salon, shop and spa owners; beauty school educators and cosmetology program directors; and public health, mental health and domestic violence practitioners who want to understand the beauty workforce as a trusted referral channel.

What attendees leave with: a working definition of trauma-aware care in a service setting, language they can use in the chair the next day, a clear line between support and clinical care, and a boundary practice that protects the professional as well as the client.

Available as a 45-60 minute conference session, a keynote, or a longer hands-on training. Can be delivered in person or remotely, subject to agreement. A 50-seat Care in the Chair™ training is scheduled for 16 November 2026.

Target audience: licensed beauty professionals, salon and shop owners, beauty educators, and public health, mental health and domestic violence practitioners. No clinical background required.

Content note: this session references client distress, mental health and domestic violence in general terms. It is a professional-skills session, not a clinical or therapeutic one, and does not train attendees to provide clinical care.