Professional Training is now full for 2024 – please apply for 2025

The Institute of Somatic Psychotherapy (IOSP) is delighted to offer mental health practitioners a training program in Somatic Psychotherapy that puts the embodied relationship between client/patient and practitioner at the centre of attention.

This training intends to address those aspects of human experience that are too frequently paid insufficient attention to, or even ignored in other trainings.

The training will be delivered by Guest Lecturers: Gill Westland, Kathryn Stauffer and Slađana Đorđević as well as the founders  Ernst Meyer and Veronik Verkest who are located in Australia. Each module has a particular theoretical focus and is supported by set readings.

Modules

  • Introduction to Body/Somatic Psychotherapy
  • Sense of Self and Embodiment
  • Relational Psychotherapy
  • Trauma-informed Practice
  • How we Make our Work Visible

Students will gain an understanding of:

  • The historical roots and development of the whole field of Somatic Psychotherapy
  • What Somatic Psychotherapy is, and what is not considered to be Somatic Psychotherapy
  • How Somatic Psychotherapy can fit into the current map of the mental health professions
  • How to become more embodied and how to help others become more embodied
  • How trauma affects the body-mind Self and how to address it
  • A deeper understanding of Somatic Psychotherapy and how to incorporate a wide variety of approaches, practices and exercises
  • The somatic connections with and components of meditation and mindfulness practice
  • How to practice Somatic Psychotherapy effectively, even without touching
  • How Somatic Psychotherapy approaches can be used to enhance other specific clinical presentations
  • How to communicate our Somatic Psychotherapy practice and make our work more visible.

 

Program Options

Course students have two distinct options to participate in the IOSP Somatic Psychotherapy Training Program:

1: ‘Full Somatic Psychotherapy Training Program’ consists of, and requires participation in – the following:

  • 15 live online 2-hour fortnightly Seminars
  • Set readings and exercises
  • 12 fortnightly Syndicate meetings
  • Significant Self-study
  • Journaling
  • Course Tutor Contact
  • Project work

Participants can expect a more indepth experiencital training and learning process than for Option 2 through the Syndicate meetings.

Full Somatic Psychotherapy Training Program is for already trained, qualified and practising counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers and other professional mental health practitioners.  All full course applicants will be interviewed.

The 2024 registration has now ended. 

The next Full Somatic Psychotherapy Training Program starts in March 2025

Non-refundable application processing fee: $250

Full fee : $3,300 (Early Bird $330 discount until 15 December 2024)

2: The ‘Seminar Only’ program gives access to and participation in:

  • 15 live online 2-hour fortnightly Seminars
  • Set readings and exercises

Book and pay below for our seminars-only course for 2025.

Total cost $1,980 = $1800 + GST

This option is for already trained and qualified ‘mental health practitioners’ who are looking for continuing education.

Timeline – Download brochure (above) to see dates and times

Pre-Requisites

Open to mental health practitioners with at least 200 hours of relevant training in  so called ‘mental health’ areas (counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, psychiatry, psychiatric nursing, social work) + current experience of working in the field with clients  (on a 1 on 1 and/or group basis) on a frequent long term basis.

Applicants to the Full-Course will be interviewed after applying for the course.

For any initial enquiries, please contact us.