Somatic Psychology Program

From a somatic psychology perspective, life experiences are embodied experiences and positive change involves the whole person.

Study Options

• Distance Learning through the Professional Specialty Program - Read more...
• Low Residence through the Monthly Program - Academic Calendar
• Certificate programs co-sponsored by and held at the Esalen Institute

The following description applies to all graduate programs in Somatic Psychology

Guiding Perspective and Principles

The Somatic Psychology programs bring the body, body awareness and body experience into the foreground of psychotherapeutic inquiry and clinical training. Santa Barbara Graduate Institute offers a Somatic Psychology program based on successful, established psycho-somatic practices, the latest research findings and time honored skills from the global wisdom traditions. Our focus is the integration of body, soul and self.

The goal of the Somatic Psychology programs is to prepare students to become effective therapists and educators who are knowledgeable in both conventional psychotherapeutic modalities and body-oriented approaches to psychotherapy. The programs emphasize the crucial role of the body in the structure and process of the psyche. These programs are integrative in their approach to somatic and psychological inquiry. They also provide a theoretical ground in the study of consciousness, presence and being and in the principles of holism.

The course of study focuses on the dynamic integrity and unity of psychological and somatic processes. From a somatic psychology perspective, life experiences are embodied experiences; breath flow, movement habits, musculature tone, cognitive style, affective expression, and relational patterns are shaped by past and present experiences. The unique integration of Western and non-Western practices, philosophies and wisdom traditions support an integrated understanding and experience of the whole human being including body, mind, spirit and soul.

The Somatic Psychology curriculum emphasizes study and research within fields of biopsychology, and psychoneurobioloby, energy medicine, and prenatal and perinatal psychology providing graduates a unique expertise and specialized role within the psychology field.

The Somatic Psychology programs provide students with an opportunity to develop a basic ground of somatic psychotherapeutic practice and an overview of both somatic and traditional psychotherapeutic approaches. Courses explore the body/mind/spirit connection and integrate somatic-oriented material with contemporary psychological and developmental theories and practices including attachment and neurobiology. Students study elements of breath, touch, movement, somatic awareness and sensing from such somatic approaches as Focusing, body/mind movement, process-oriented psychology, Gestalt practices, Hakomi, Somatic Experience, relational somatics, and the various branches of Reichian psychotherapy. The programs interweave these understandings with psychodynamic, cognitive and post-modern perspectives. They cultivate those capacities needed to become an effective therapist, educator or health practitioner.

The goal is for Somatic Psychology students to graduate with the skills, training and experience necessary to become competent somatic psychotherapists, and to bring this innovative and important perspective to the profession of psychotherapy. Rather than training students to become certified in one of the various specific somatic practices, this program offers students opportunities, stimulation and resources in which to explore and experiment, develop and discover their own unique directions. The program encourages students in the discovery of their personal integration of body/mind/spirit and assists them in finding their expression and becoming creative, professional clinicians in their own right.

This program offers education from the inside out. An organic process, it encourages students to work from their centers, to develop their own unique synthesis of their studies. Coming from their personal depths, students meet the outside world, its requirements and challenges, in a more integrated, skillful and effective manner.

The Somatic Psychology program prepares students to do effective psychotherapy both in conventional clinic settings and private practice. The program gives a broad experiential and theoretical understanding of working with clients. It teaches a psychodynamic and family systems-based approach to body oriented psychotherapy that covers issues such as transference, countertransference, resistance, projection and interventions that can be widely applied.

Admission to the Program
Successful somatic psychology students come from many parts of the world and have a wide variety of academic backgrounds, including psychology, the humanities, and the arts. They generally have experience with somatic modalities including dance and movement, martial arts, yoga, and/or specific somatic therapies. Some of our graduates complete the requirements for the Marriage, Family Therapy license in the State of California, and many go on to earn the Ph.D. and integrate somatics work into healing, education, research or arts-related professions.

The program seeks highly motivated, creative, mature students who have already demonstrated a strong interest in body-inclusive work. While this includes work in literature, humanities, and the social sciences, it is useful for prospective students to have some experience with such somatics methods as: Feldenkrais, Alexander, bioenergetics, Rolfing, Rosen work, massage, shiatsu, acupuncture, martial arts, dance, yoga, and/or meditation. Because of the experiential dimension of the program, it is necessary to be emotionally well-grounded in order to cope with the strong feelings that can emerge at the same time one is required to sustain serious intellectual work.

Program Objectives

The doctoral programs in Somatic Psychology seek to:

• Explore, develop and implement the principles of synergistic education.

• Prepare students to integrate and utilize the principles of psychology and basic somatics to develop a viable practice in somatic psychology as educators, clinicians, researchers and health care professionals.

• Prepare students for leadership in the emerging field of somatic psychology.