Somatic Therapy Course

Lesson 1 • Core Theoretical Frameworks

Introduces the primary theoretical lenses—psychodynamic, humanistic, and systems—used in psychocorporal work. Builds the conceptual vocabulary students apply throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Scope, Ethics, and Professional Boundaries

Defines the professional scope of psychocorporal therapy and its ethical obligations. Students learn boundary principles essential before any clinical contact.

Lesson 3 • History and Origins of Body-Mind Work

Traces psychocorporal therapy from early somatic pioneers to contemporary models. Provides historical context that anchors all subsequent theoretical study.

Lesson 1 • Trauma, Stress, and the Body

Explains how chronic stress and trauma alter nervous system function and body structure. Links neurobiological dysregulation to observable somatic patterns.

Lesson 2 • Nervous System Fundamentals

Covers autonomic nervous system structure and its role in stress and regulation. Provides the biological foundation for all somatic intervention strategies.

Lesson 3 • Embodied Cognition and Emotion

Explores how emotions are generated and regulated through bodily processes. Grounds affective work in current embodied cognition research.

Lesson 1 • Somatic Intake and Case Formulation

Guides students through a structured somatic intake process and formulation framework. Integrates body data with psychological history for holistic case conceptualisation.

Lesson 2 • Principles of Somatic Observation

Introduces structured methods for observing posture, movement, and breath in clients. Establishes the observational discipline required for reliable somatic assessment.

Lesson 3 • Tracking Change Over Time

Provides tools for documenting and evaluating somatic shifts across sessions. Enables evidence-informed practice and supports clinical decision-making.

Lesson 1 • Breath in Trauma-Informed Practice

Adapts breathwork for trauma-sensitive contexts, prioritising client safety and choice. Equips students to modify protocols when clients show dysregulation signs.

Lesson 2 • Holotropic and Intensive Breathwork

Introduces intensive breathwork modalities that facilitate deep emotional and somatic processing. Covers contraindications, safety protocols, and integration support.

Lesson 3 • Regulating Breathwork Protocols

Teaches evidence-based breathing techniques for activating or calming the nervous system. Students practise and adapt protocols to match client arousal states.

Lesson 1 • Somatic Release Techniques

Teaches methods for facilitating the release of held tension and bound emotional energy. Students apply techniques with appropriate pacing and containment strategies.

Lesson 2 • Sequencing Interventions in a Session

Teaches how to structure a full session arc using movement, touch, and breath interventions. Students design coherent session plans that balance activation and integration.

Lesson 3 • Body-Based Grounding Interventions

Provides a toolkit of grounding techniques that anchor clients in present-moment body experience. Grounds students in the clinical logic of stabilisation before deeper work.

Lesson 4 • Therapeutic Movement Fundamentals

Introduces movement as a primary therapeutic language for expressing and processing emotion. Students learn to guide clients through intentional movement sequences safely.

Lesson 1 • Trauma Types and Somatic Presentations

Differentiates acute, developmental, and complex trauma and their distinct somatic signatures. Enables accurate recognition of trauma presentations before intervention.

Lesson 2 • Vicarious Trauma and Therapist Self-Care

Addresses the somatic impact of trauma work on the therapist's own nervous system. Students develop personal regulation practices to sustain clinical effectiveness.

Lesson 3 • Working with Dissociation Somatically

Provides specific somatic strategies for clients who dissociate during body-based work. Students learn to recognise dissociative states and apply grounding interventions.

Lesson 4 • Somatic Experiencing Principles

Introduces the core principles of Somatic Experiencing for titrated trauma processing. Students practise pendulation, titration, and tracking somatic discharge.

Lesson 1 • Co-Regulation in the Therapeutic Dyad

Examines how therapist and client nervous systems mutually influence each other. Students learn to use their own regulated state as a therapeutic tool.

Lesson 2 • Rupture, Repair, and Relational Healing

Teaches recognition and repair of therapeutic alliance ruptures through somatic and verbal means. Students practise repair sequences that deepen trust and model relational healing.

Lesson 3 • Therapeutic Presence and Attunement

Defines therapeutic presence as an embodied, relational stance that facilitates client safety. Students practise somatic attunement skills that deepen the therapeutic alliance.

Lesson 1 • Integrating Modalities Across Sessions

Teaches flexible integration of breathwork, movement, touch, and verbal processing. Students design multi-modal session sequences responsive to evolving client needs.

Lesson 2 • Working with Specific Populations

Adapts psychocorporal approaches for children, older adults, and culturally diverse clients. Students modify techniques to honour developmental, cultural, and physical differences.

Lesson 3 • Ethical Dilemmas in Advanced Practice

Examines complex ethical scenarios unique to advanced psychocorporal practice. Students apply ethical decision-making frameworks to ambiguous clinical situations.

Lesson 4 • Supervision, Reflection, and Growth

Establishes reflective practice and supervision as cornerstones of ongoing clinical development. Students build a personal framework for continuous professional growth.