Body Listening Somatic Training

There is growing interest in the field of body psychotherapy and somatic psychology. Body-centred approaches to dealing with psychological problems are now well established. Recent advances in neuroscience explain how the body is involved in our growing sense of self, and how this can be affected during early development. Our bodies hold the key to old problems and new possibilities; Body Psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach which gets to the root of who we are, and what we can become.

Working with the body is a creative process. We develop 'body listening' skills to contact and work directly with the body. This includes greater self-awareness of one’s own body as a channel of wisdom and useful information – an incredibly useful resource, both personally and professionally.

Body Dialogue and Process Work

Body listening means listening to the body and taking its messages seriously. This involves a dialogue – between client and therapist, and a process – of change and growth. We will explore ways in which we make contact with the ‘mind’ of the body and create the conditions for it to relax, release, and move into healing process. The work draws on Process-Oriented Psychology, Gestalt, Embodied-Relational Therapy, Mindfulness… and your own creativity, gut instinct and random inspiration. Topics include:

• Creating and maintaining safety
• Exploring dialogue
• Channels: Image, Movement, Breath, Emotion, Sensation, Thought
• Working with resistance
• The meaning of symptoms
• Somatic countertransference


 

Working with Trauma

Understanding trauma and helping it to release through the body is a fundamental skill. Modern neuroscience research now shows the way in which the body ‘remembers’ past traumas. Painful or difficult experiences can trigger a shock response which remains frozen in the body. Whilst trauma theory often emphasises shocking events, it can also explain long-term chronic developmental difficulties. As therapists, we don’t need to go looking for trauma – it will surface sooner or later. We need to welcome it as an important aid to process, and give the body space and time to tell its story directly. 

In Body Work we will be looking at how early attachment forms a somatic imprint which shows itself in the way we hold ourselves, move, and make contact. It's  a way into therapeutic process which gets straight to the heart of early wounding. Topics include:

• The trauma model as a basis for therapeutic process
• Shock trauma and developmental trauma
• How to spot trauma and work with it
• Mindfulness and tracking sensation
• Hyper- and Hypo-arousal, and self-regulation
• Avoiding retraumatisation
• Dealing with overwhelm 

I trained and have a foundation in Body Listening with Tim Brown over four weekends from Oct 2024 – March 2025
The programme is designed to introduce modern body-centred therapy, with a mixture of theory, demonstration and experiential work. 

Body Listening training with Tim Brown

https://www.bodyworks.org.uk/bodylistening

Useful websites include:

Embodied Relational Therapy Association: http://erthworks.co.uk
Body Psychotherapy Network: www.bodypsychotherapynetwork.co.uk
European Association for Body Psychotherapy: www.eabp.org