I am a Somatic Therapist and Developer of Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP) ™ formerly known as Mindfulness-Based Somatic Therapy (MBST). I bring over 25 years of practice and insight in the healing of trauma to my training, and clinical supervision. Along with my Education in Master of Counselling Psychology, my training background in Mindfulness, Yoga, and Breathwork practices have enhanced my work in the healing trauma in a holistic way.
Having spent several years providing talk therapy with various non-profit Organizations, I came to realize that I was engaged in practices that reinforced a further disconnection between body & mind for many of my clients. The mind can often distract us from the real issues, though the body always speaks of truth! Indeed, true healing comes when we work in tandem with both body and mind. I believe wholeness comes from our connections to the body; wisdom comes from within. Connecting to the body requires willingness to connect to painful memories and emotions that can no longer be suppressed
or ignored once it is felt. FELT WISDOM is what heals.
The feeling of helplessness can be the most debilitating aspects of a traumatic experience. In a safe and nurturing environment, I guide individuals to regain control by overcoming emotional and physical pain through body-mind-emotion self-regulation for long-term healing and personal growth.
Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice supports the body’s natural process of releasing self-restricting patterns from body-stored trauma; opening a path for individuals to feel joy, peace, self-compassion and love.
The Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training offers a comprehensive and in-depth understanding and appreciation of the neurophysiology of trauma theory and trauma healing principles. It is an intensive part-time training taken over three years. There are three 4-day modules in each of the first two training years and two 6-day modules in the final year. This extended time frame allows the participant to consolidate and practice newly acquired skills on both a personal and professional level with ample opportunity for supervision and personal sessions along the way to help integrate the work.
Successful completion of all program requirements leads to a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP) certificate. To find out more about the training and program requirement please click HERE.
This training is open to professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, those who are working in the field of trauma or those who support people to deal with trauma. Participants often include psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers, physicians, nurses, craniosacral therapists, bodyworkers, coaches, acupuncturists, art therapists, massage and physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths, clergy etc.
What is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic Therapy uses the body as its starting point for healing. The word “somatic” is derived from the Greek word “soma” which means “living body.” It is a holistic form of counseling that goes beyond traditional talk therapy and is grounded in the relationship between the mind and the body. Learn more about somatic healing and the history of Somatic Therapy here.
Somatic Therapy Training
For over 30 years, Somatic Therapy Master Teachers Joe Weldon and Noël Wight have been training practitioners on how to touch people and transform their lives. At The Somatic Therapy Center, along with an experienced faculty, they offer an advanced body mind training that goes beyond traditional talk therapy and that has passed the test of time. Somatic Therapy is a clinically tested method for treating trauma.
Using all available technologies, the Somatic Therapy program combines the ease of learning from home through webinars and video with the invaluable experience of hands-on practical training in a community of fellow travelers.
Whether you want to use the skills you acquire to start your own Somatic Therapy practice, or to enhance the work you are already doing, the Somatic Therapy Center offers you an opportunity to take the next step in your career.
Could I be a Practitioner?
Transformative Touch Training provides you an opportunity to offer your clients a pathway to Relief, Recovery, and Renewal through somatic healing.
Whether you are…
- seeking a new career and being called to your life’s work through the healing arts
- a talk therapist who is ready to discover how a body-integrated approach can help you move your clients to healing and wholeness
- a bodyworker interested in somatic massage therapy who is looking to increase professional development by learning how emotions, memories, and beliefs are stored in the body
Transformative Touch is more than talk therapy, it is a mindbody technique that teaches you to use the power of combining gentle touch and compassionate dialogue to awaken the inner resources that bring relief and ease to your clients’ lives.
TESTIMONIALS
“As a massage therapist I was feeling frustrated..I felt my clients needed something more and I was looking for the missing piece that could help them.”
~ JC, Massage Therapist
“I knew that my decision to say yes to this training was the first step of many in coming home to myself.”
~ JM, Massage Therapist
“The training expanded my skills as a healing practitioner, as well as transformed my healing practice and my life.”
~ AM, Energy Practitioner
“When I found this training I found an approach which integrated touch , presence & awareness to support wholeness.”
~ C H, Physical Therapist
“The focus on the wisdom of the body offered me a simple and fundamental paradigm shift. …(i am) able to utilize my client’s experiences to assist them in employing their body as a resource in their own healing and recovery.”
~J G, Social Worker
“I wanted to help others experience the body as a resource to deal with the stress & challenges in life.”
~ AW, Psychotherapist
“Something came alive in me during the training; something that had long been neglected and ignored.I felt I had found my true work.”
~ CB Marketing Director
“Making this career change has been food for my soul.”
~ BG, Corporate Manager
Somatic Healing: Touching People, Transforming Lives
At The Somatic Therapy Center we hold the conviction that the BODY is the Keeper of Truth..the Holder of Wisdom and the Wayshower to Wholeness and Health.
TOUCH is the Gateway.
YOU are the Guide.
TRANSFORMATION is the journey.
With this somatic therapy training, you can use the skills you acquire to start your own practice or to enhance work you are already doing. Read a case study here.
Level One Overview
Level One is our “essential” training level for in it we focus on the “essence” of Transformative Touch and it forms the ground for all that follows. The overarching goal is learning how the body is a reliable resource, ally and guide for your life and how to tune into the sensations of the body as the communicators of its knowings.
Level Two Overview
In Level Two our focus is on the body of emotions. Resourcing the Body, you will guide your clients along the path of emotional competence. You will help them befriend their emotions and recognize that emotions are a full-body experience
Level Three Overview
In Level Three the body remains the resource, but the but the focus expands to include an exploration of the relationships, both internal and external.You will recognize and help repair core beliefs, family of origin dynamics, and other relational injuries that are imprinted on the soma and the psyche.
Level 1 Details and Costs
Over the course of 8 months, you will learn:
- The important role of Safety in the healing process
- The physiological basis of safety and how to help clients self-regulate.
- How to help clients tune into the wisdom of their body.
- How to support clients in listening to the sensations of their body and tap their body of knowledge.
- The importance of intention in touch.
- To develop a Touch of Presence.
- The role of touch in human development throughout our lifespan.
- The art of self-care in working with clients
- The essential elements of the collaborative therapeutic relationship.
- The importance and value of bodymind connection and how to impart this to your clients so that they can relieve chronic tension and stress, free themselves from pain, improve self-awareness, transform old patterns and make new choices which allow them to be fully alive to their life.
With our foundational Level One course in Somatic Therapy, you will be given all the essential skills necessary to help your clients heal holistically – heart, mind, body, and soul.Over the course of 8 months, you will learn:
Convenient Affordable and Effective
The good news is that most of the somatic therapy training can be done from the comfort of your own home. You will have:
- 15 webinars and home assignments which support two 6 day and one 3-day onsites. During the onsites you will learn the hands on combined with the verbal dialogue.
- Practice client hours with 5 one-to-one mentoring sessions with our experienced faculty members.
- It is experiential training with lots of individualized attention and care.
- Community is at the heart of the program.
Click here to view our upcoming dates.
Curriculum and Materials
Enrollment in this 250 hour somatic therapy training course includes:
- Instructional videos of the 2 bodymind sequences which will help you learn how to LISTEN to your body through movement and to heighten awareness of the bodymind connection.
- Demonstration videos by the founders Joe Weldon & Noël Wight.
- 17 webinars – These introduce the foundational principles of Transformative Touch, Safety and the role of the polyvagal nerve, the relevance of tone and attuned responses of the therapist, the importance of touch in human development and its part in the healing process. Additional topics include relational skills, bodymind education, ethics as well as business development including marketing and practice-building techniques. These webinars are LIVE and they are all recorded and available .
- Web Access to relevant course articles
- Two 6 day on-site and one 3 day on-site for hands-on learning experiences with an outstanding faculty as well as Co-directors Joe Weldon & Noël Wight
- 25 practice client sessions
- 5 individual mentoring sessions
- 1 curriculum guide
- 7 body wisdom guided meditations
- clinical forms templates
- 27 Massage & Bodyworker CE credits for somatic massage therapy
REGISTER NOW
The Somatic Therapy Center is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider and is also sponsored by NCBTMB to teach New York LMTs continuing education that is accepted by the state of New York for license renewal.
A value of $6995
Offered to you for
$4400.00
(Installment plans are available!). $ 1497.00 x 3
$ 793.00 x 6
For further information on other plans, reach out at [email protected]
(Travel, room & board fee, and private sessions are not included in the cost of tuition)
100% Money back guarantee within the first 30 days of the program if you are not totally satisfied. No questions asked
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Questions? Ask us any question about the Somatic Therapist Training Program and we’ll help you get clear so you know if it’s the right fit for you.
Interested in learning more about somatic massage therapy? Reach out to us at [email protected] to learn more about our programs.
REGISTER NOW
Certification
The certification process has several steps:
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Complete the application and pay the $250 certification fee.
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Complete an online written test covering the understanding of the principles of Somatic Therapy and its application through Transformative Touch.
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Send a video of a 50-55 minute session which demonstrates the skill competency of the level for which you are seeking certification.
Do you need a degree in Somatic Therapy to become a Somatic Therapist?
No, you don’t. Certification involves study, research, hours, and practice. Some schools do offer programs in Somatic Therapy, including Antioch University and Washington University. These certifications are part of a larger study of psychotherapy not required for practitioners.
Resources
Recommended articles, books, and films for somatic healing practitioners can be found here.
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