Somatic Psychotherapy differs from other modalities in its unique focus on the whole being of the person, a conceptualisation to which the term body-mind refers. Somatic Psychotherapists work from the basic premise that body - soma - and mind - psyche - are interdependent and form a single holistic entity .
Training in Somatic Psychotherapy is designed to develop and extend the capacity of students to think about, and work with, problems of living and their manifestations through the dynamic interplay of mind, body and emotion.
Training in Somatic Psychotherapy typically includes and integrates three perspectives in the understanding of the human condition: those of psychodynamic theory, somatic work and the student’s subjective experiences, in order to enhance the student’s clarity, understanding and effectiveness when working with his/her future clients.
Somatic psychotherapy is a depth psychotherapy. As such, students are expected and encouraged to engage with psychodynamic theory and the concepts emanating from theories including Developmental Psychology, Object Relations Theory, Dynamic Systems Theory, Self Psychology, Intersubjectivity, Family Systems Theory, Trauma work, Attachment Theory, Neuropsychology and Neurobiology.
From a body-oriented perspective, students are trained to work directly with the individual’s bodily experience. Using models such as Biodynamic Massage and Vegetotherapy, or indirectly, without touch, but nevertheless with the client’s felt sense, utilising techniques such as existential phenomenology and Gestalt theory to observe the breath, the voice, the eyes, sensation, body language, body posture and subtle movements, and the embodied experience of grounded presence.
The perspective of the student’s personal experience is included, both because of the profound learning opportunities presented by a ‘hands on’ approach and because this domain is the primary focus of psychotherapeutic engagement with clients.
An experiential approach to training provides an opportunity for students to engage with their personal process to learn more about their own patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. This approach includes opportunities for learning skills such as verbal counselling and therapeutic touch.
Such opportunities are facilitated by ongoing personal therapy, which students are expected to engage in for the duration of their training, as well as through the Group Dynamic. The exploration of personal experiences are intended to bring about an understanding of processes such as transference and counter-transference, so that students gain the experience of sitting with their own and their client’s difficulty, confusion and distress while developing the ability to remain neutral, self-regulated, “present” and grounded while dealing with levels of complexity. “Presence” is the ability to stay in the moment or to bring oneself back when distracted and “grounded” is the expression used for remaining connected to ourselves and others.
Ethical principles of working with touch and with other modalities, is also a vital component of any training in Somatic Psychotherapy.
Somatic Psychotherapy training should integrate principles and practice emanating from the vast knowledge about the body, the mind and emotion. In this way, students learn about the establishment of a safe therapeutic relationship within which the possibility exists for their future clients to bring awareness to habitual patters which are held both attitudinally and somatically, to find new meaning and actions in the world and to gain agency or self confidence in their lives.
The AASP does not formally endorse specific trainings, nor prescribes a curriculum. The AASP is not affiliated with any training organisation, although accredited AASP members do offer training in somatic psychotherapy.
A career as a Somatic Psychotherapist can be pursued via a number of paths and backgrounds, from which members have come to join the association. Anyone who believes they have completed a professional training or combination of trainings and have accumulated the number of personal therapy hours which satisfies the criteria for membership of the AASP, are always most welcome to apply for membership.
The AASP is non-discriminatory, open to all with appropriate training and not limited to graduates of any particular training program, providing the eligibility requirements for AASP membership are met.
To prepare you for accreditation as an AASP member, a training course should offer:
* a high academic standard
* engage students in experiential and theoretical course work
* integrate somatic, dynamic and systems theory and practice
* require students to undertake ongoing and in-depth personal psychotherapy as part of the training process and encourage the continuation of on-going, post-training personal psychotherapy.
* Encourage weekly supervision for a minimum of two years, post training.
[ Note that to apply for accredited membership of the AASP, a minimum of 80 hours post training supervision is required.]
For people wishing to pursue an interest or career in Somatic Psychotherapy, and study in Australia, the following two private training programmes are available:
1. The Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy (ACCSP)
For more information, visit http://www.somaticpsychotherapy.com.au/
2. Somatics Body Oriented Psychotherapy Training
For more information, visit http://www.somatics.com.au