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Action-oriented mindfulness in life & in therapy

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Maia Szalavitz: An inspiring perspective on addiction

Maia Szalavitz blends personal experience and years of investigative research into an inspiring perspective on addiction.

Kirk Schneider: Life-enhancing anxiety

We do our best to avoid anxiety, and in so doing, risk missing out on the best of the depth and mystery of existence. We also risk compounding the very anxiety we hoped to avoid and becoming destructive as a result.

Polyvagal-informed mindfulness: Serge Prengel & Blake O’Connor

How does the Polyvagal Theory affect our understanding of mindfulness? Blake O'Connor, Education Director of the Polyvagal Institute, interviews Serge Prengel.

Elizabeth English: Gentle mindfulness

We talk about freeing meditation from pressures and welcoming every aspect of our inner experience.

Noga Arikha: The embodied mind

Antonio Damasio described Nora Arikha as a poet and a painter with the soul of a scientist.

A mindful take on spirituality & philosophy

We discuss how we make sense of the world and our place in it, i.e. what is usually called spirituality & philosophy.

Bruce Gibbs: Finding the right distance from our experience

We explore a concept that is very important to Bruce Gibbs, finding the right distance from our experience.

Ken Benau: Shame, Pride, and Relational Trauma

This conversation with Ken Benau serves as an introduction to shame and pride-informed psychotherapy with adult survivors of relational trauma

An experiential inquiry into the nature of inquiry

We share with you what we like about the notion of "inquiry," and to do so by giving you a flavor of what we mean by it.

Lawrence Berger: A quest for meaning

We start this conversation from the perspective that human beings are self-interpreting animals, and go on to explore what gives us a sense of meaning.

Jacqui Lewis: Fierce Love

Jacqui Lewis & Serge Prengel talk about bringing a quality of fierce love to our life, as a person and as an agent of change.

Jeffery Smith: How psychotherapy works

Jeffery Smith describes a 5-step pathway to go beyond the fragmentation of the different schools of psychotherapy and define how psychotherapy works.

Salvador Moreno-Lopez: Sensing into life as a musical improvisation

We talk about metaphors that Salvador Moreno-López uses to understand and orient interaction in psychotherapy and daily life.

Embodied spirituality: a felt sense of something larger

Serge Prengel describes an embodied perspective on how we experience a sense of being (part of) something larger.

One-minute mindfulness: Embodied presence

I am going to describe to you a one-minute practice. Now, when I say one minute, it could be 50 seconds or five minutes.

Cherionna Menzam-Sills: Exploring pre- and perinatal experiences

This conversation starts with a guided, experiential exploration. Then we talk about early developmental experiences, with a perspective informed by trauma therapy and mindfulness.

Elliot Jurist on the process of mourning

We talk about the process of mourning and how it relates to the human condition

Jan Winhall: Treating trauma & addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal model

Jan Winhall describes how therapists can respectfully understand addiction and treat trauma responses with deep embodied listening.

Peter Afford: A neuroscience perspective on the felt sense

Peter Afford & Serge Prengel we discuss the felt sense as the experience of living (i.e., interacting) from a neuroscience perspective.

Ron Purser: Beyond McMindfulness

Ron Purser & Serge Prengel talk about the limitations of "McMindfulness" and discuss what it feels like to explore a new sense of self in the context of interaction.

Monica Gomez Galaz & Özlem Mavis: A felt sense of faith

We explore faith as a human experience. That is, it need not be attached to any religious narrative.

Annie Bloch: Focusing as a simple & powerful meditation practice

Annie Bloch has been practicing meditation and Focusing. She talks about Focusing as a direct connection with our inner wisdom. Annie Bloch is a hunter- gatherer-gardener in the fields of systems thinking, cognitive sciences, and psychotherapy. French and half American, on a dual path: Buddhist and Jewish. Published June 2021.

Mark Schenker on addiction, part 1: What is addiction

Mark Schenker defines addiction and talks about his integrative model. Mark Schenker is a licensed psychologist with 40 years of experience working with patients with substance use disorders. Dr. Schenker has written “A Clinician’s Guide to Twelve-Step Recovery” (Norton, 2009) and the chapter “Addiction Treatment Settings” for the APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology (APA, 2016). He has taught and supervised clinicians at universities and treatment programs, and has presented nationally and internationally (well, Toronto). He received the 2017 “Addiction Professional of the Year” award from the Caron Foundation, and a Presidential Citation from APA Division 50 in 2018, where he has served on the Board of Directors. He hosted a monthly Clinical Conference Call on behalf of Division 50, featuring speakers and callers from around the world. He is committed to training clinicians to address the problem of addiction in their practices. Dr. Schenker maintains a practice outside…

Suzanne Noel: What Sustains Me

Suzanne Noel talks about what sustains her: swimming, riding a motorbike, and connecting with others. Suzanne Noel is a Certifying Coordinator for the International Focusing Institute.in New York. She developed Recovery Focusing (the crossing of the 12 Steps for addictive process with Felt Sensing), out of which she developed her H.O.W. We Heal model for groups. She enjoys dabbling in poetry and different kinds of art. Her passion is riding her motorcycle in beautiful Costa Rica. Published May 2021.

Bruce Gibbs reflects on his experience with meditation & Focusing

Bruce Gibbs talks about what his practices of meditation and Focusing have in common, what is different about them, and how they can enhance each other. Bruce Gibbs, Ph.D., has explored consciousness, both academically and experientially, for many decades. He has practiced Yoga, Vipassana, and Zen meditation. He teaches Focusing and meditation, has developed a form of Felt Sense meditation, and is dedicated to experimenting with the crossing of the two. Published April 2021.

Merete Holm Brantbjerg: What Sustains Me

Merete Holm Brantbjerg talks about the deeply satisfying bodily experience of finding what sustains her.

Gregory Kramer about Buddhism & psychotherapy

In this conversation, Gregory Kramer compares the perspectives that psychotherapy and Buddhism have on dealing with human suffering. Gregory Kramer teaches, writes, and is the founding teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community. His primary focuses are sharing a relational understanding of the Dhamma and teaching Insight Dialogue, an interpersonal form of Buddhist insight meditation. He has been teaching worldwide since 1980. In his new book A Whole-Life Path, Gregory invites us to see the noise, complexity, and challenges of today’s world as doorways to fully embodied Dhamma wisdom. Drawing on decades of meditation, study, and teaching, he explores the essence of each factor of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. He looks at modern life and offers to put all the Buddha’s teachings into practice—individually, relationally, and socially. More than 50 experiential practices allow us to test his guidance—right here, right now. See website. Published March 1, 2021

Susan Rudnick: Mindfulness within a broader context

Susan Rudnick talks about mindfulness within the broader context of Buddhism and the Zen tradition. Susan Rudnick LCSW is a Focusing-oriented therapist in private practice in Westchester NY. She has a long-term practice in Zen Buddhism, and recently has been integrating this consciousness with her roots in Judaism. In her seventies, she wrote and published the memoir Edna’s Gift: How My Broken Sister Taught Me To Be Whole. It is the story of how her differently-abled sister was her life’s greatest teacher. As well she is a published haiku poet, one of which appears in the book New York City Haiku, from the Readers of the New York Times. See her website. Published March 2021.

Merete Holm Brantbjerg: A gentle exploration of stress

In this conversation with Merete Holm Brantbjerg, we explore experientially what happens in our body when we get stressed.

Thinking As Movement

Evelyn Fendler-Lee and Serge Prengel have been exploring creative ways to think about thinking in such a way that it opens up new horizons. This process involves sharing some of what comes up as we proceed. We feel that the sharing broadens our exploration as it stimulates further thoughts in you. For a transcript, see my article in Medium: Thinking As Movement Dr. Evelyn Fendler-Lee is an organizational psychologist and person-centered counselor. She developed the online course: “Playfully Engaging Uncertainty to Create Something Original.” See website. Serge Prengel is the editor of Active Pause. Published January 2021

Gregory Kramer: A Whole Life Path

Gregory Kramer talks about integrating Buddhist wisdom with our everyday life. Gregory Kramer teaches, writes, and is the founding teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community. His primary focuses are sharing a relational understanding of the Dhamma and teaching Insight Dialogue, an interpersonal form of Buddhist insight meditation. He has been teaching worldwide since 1980. In his new book A Whole-Life Path, Gregory invites us to see the noise, complexity, and challenges of today’s world as doorways to fully embodied Dhamma wisdom. Drawing on decades of meditation, study, and teaching, he explores the essence of each factor of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. He looks at modern life and offers to put all the Buddha’s teachings into practice—individually, relationally, and socially. More than 50 experiential practices allow us to test his guidance—right here, right now. See website. Published December 2020.

Michael Changaris: The power of mindful touch

In this conversation, Michael Changaris talks about how crucial touch is to our sense of self and our well-being. He refers to research as well as examples in clinical practice and in everyday life. The conversation concludes with an invitation to a simple way to experience this in your life. Michael Changaris, PsyD. is the Chief Clinical Training Officer, health psychology groups program lead & psychopharmacology rotation lead for the Wright Institute, Integrated Health Psychology Training Program (IHPTP) an APA accredited internship in health psychology. He is an adjunct professor with John F. Kennedy University and The Wright Institute. Dr. Changaris is a clinical health psychologist with a specialty in multicultural psychology, stress physiology, and the neuroanatomy of PTSD. Michael Changaris is a 2018 UCSF, California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) Leadership Fellow. He currently serves on the health disparities committee at Contra Costa County Health and along with the t…

Francesca Maximé: Embodied anti-racism

Francesca Maximé talks about how to find mindful, embodied responses to racialization and racism. Francesca Marguerite Maximé is a Haitian-Dominican Italian-American embodied antiracism educator, somatic psychotherapist, award-winning poet/author, certified mindfulness meditation teacher. She also hosts the ReRooted podcast on Ram Dass’s Be Here Now Network focusing on neuroscience, trauma healing, social justice, and the creative arts. Francesca integrates secular mindfulness wisdom practices on gratitude, forgiveness and compassion with Buddhist psychology, attachment theory, modern neuroscience, psychoeducation, positive neuroplasticity, Nonviolent Communication, Focusing, narrative expression and somatic “bottom-up” approaches. She’s certified in Relational Life Therapy for couples, Somatic Experiencing, Focusing-Oriented Therapy, Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy, mindfulness, and has also completed Brainspotting 1 & 2 and several Coherence Therapy trainings. She pr…

Brent Glass: About prisons & a fair society

We discuss how the past of Sing Sing prison gives us perspective on building a fairer society. Brent Glass is the Executive Director of the Sing Sing Prison Museum.

Jan Winhall: Making meaning

Jan Winhall and Serge Prengel talk about making meaning. Or, rather, feeling it, sensing into it. Jan Winhall, M.S.W., R.S.W., F.O.T., is a psychotherapist in Private Practice and Director of Focusing On Borden, a centre for teaching Focusing and Focusing Oriented Therapy. Jan is the author of “Addiction From The Bottom Up: A Felt Sense Polyvagal Model To Treat Addiction” to be published by Routledge in June 2021. Jan teaches internationally and is a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. See website. See website. Published October 2020.

David Allen: The implicit pressures that shape our clients

To be effective, therapy has to address the implicit pressures that shaped our clients and continue to shape them. This includes the implicit messages people derived from their upbringing (e.g. parent implicitly encouraging child to act out while explicitly not doing so). This also includes the social milieu which exerts implicit pressure for them to keep conforming. David M. Allen, MD, is professor emeritus of psychiatry and former director of psychiatric residency training at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. He has carried out research on personality disorders, is a psychotherapy theorist, and is the former associate editor of the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. He is the author of “Coping with Critical, Demanding, and Dysfunctional Parents: Powerful Strategies to Help Adult Children Maintain Boundaries and Stay Sane“, “How Dysfunctional Families Spur Mental Disorders” and other books, as well as numerous journal articles and book chapt…

Richard Gillett: The high cost of divisiveness and how to deal with it

Richard Gillett is the author of It’s A Freakin Mess: How to thrive in divisive times. Here, we talk about how personal and social divisiveness manifests and its huge costs to our physical and mental well-being. We talk about how to change the pain of polarization, and how we feel so much better and become so much more effective when we do so. Physician, psychiatrist, keynote speaker, and author Richard Gillett received his medical degree from Cambridge University, England, and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. His work is based on a lifelong personal and professional quest—what does it take for a human being to lead the best possible life, even if circumstances are rough? This quest took him all over the world—he has lived on four continents—and led him to settle in New York State in 1991, where he was granted residency as a “professional of extraordinary ability” before he naturalized as a U.S. citizen. He came to the understanding that much of our suffe…

How to depolarize political conversations

Political conversations tend to bring out activation and polarization. This is not a reason to avoid them. To avoid falling into the pitfalls of polarization, use a mindful approach that fosters curiosity. Instead of defending a position, make it your goal to know more about each other through the discussion. This talk describes a format that helps you make this a more satisfying experience: * Explicitly commit to building safety and trust* Put the issue into a personal context* Ask a meaningful question* Discuss lessons learned You can download a printable PDF transcript of this article. Reprint of the article on Medium: How to depolarize political conversations. This approach was inspired by the structured process developed by Kirk Schneider, President of the Existential Humanist Institute, author of “The Depolarization of America.” Published September 2020. See also related article: Understanding social myth: Why it’s so hard to find common ground & how to do it.

Understanding social myth: Why it’s so hard to find common ground & how to do it

The other day, I saw a poster. It’s the iconic picture of Rambo with bulging muscles and a bazooka. But, instead of the head of Sylvester Stallone, it has the head of Donald Trump. The caption goes, “Trump. No Man. No Woman. No Commie Can Stump Him.” My first reaction was to think of it as satire, making fun of Trump’s exaggerated opinion of himself. But, no, given the context, this was meant as a prideful statement by one of his followers. Do his followers not know that he is obese and averse to exercise? Is it possible that they don’t know that he avoided the draft? How could they believe in something that is so far from the truth? Pausing for inner experience I pause a moment as I’m pondering these questions. I pay attention to my inner experience. I notice that what this brings up for me is some mixture of outrage and smugness. Outrage: how dare they represent something that is so far from the truth? Smugness: the sense that I am more in touch with reality than thes…

Harbert Rice: How a felt sense functions in a group

In this conversation, you will learn how a felt sense functions in a Quaker Meeting’s gathering circle. Harbert describes how his work with Gendlin’s philosophy and Quaker practice came about in a Quaker meditation as a felt sense to map Quaker language into Gendlin’s language. He looks at the underlying commonality between Focusing and Quaker meditation. He also explores the key differences between Focusing and Quaker meetings. As members rise to speak out of the meeting’s silence you can experience the flow of the meeting as a whole. The speaking may rise to a point where the whole meeting experiences a felt shift. Quakers call this experience a ”gathered meeting.” In their monthly meetings for business, Quakers make decisions by arriving at a “sense of the meeting.” Reaching a decision in this way rests on forming a felt sense of a shared meaning, leading meeting members to reach unity in their decisions. Harbert Rice is a Quaker. His home meeting is the Reno Frien…

Victoria Ramos: Dance with the Divinity which is you (a guided meditation)

“In this guided meditation, I will share with you how you can experience each breath as a gift from the Divine. The tradition is Shaivism Tantric Yoga, and just my own yoga physical practice. But yes the origins are Yogic. But the awareness of smell etc can be credited to SE. Or Shakti. Maybe it is Shakti, the essence of life embodied.” Victoria Ramos is an explorer of the human psyche. Professionally Victoria is a psychotherapist trained in a multitude of alternative approaches which are targeted at the revelation of one’s divine nature. Her trainings range from Somatic Experiencing to Yoga teaching to shamanism. She is also an artist. Her work is focused on midwifing the buried truth of our being-ness as a divine expression of existence, so we can realign with all that is. See website. Published July, 2020.

Deb Dana: How the nervous system affects our daily life

The nervous system is where our experience begins. In this conversation, Deb Dana describes how it works and how it affects our daily life.

Bruce Nayowith explores experiences of connection

In these two short conversations, Bruce Nayowith explores his inner experience in 2 situations: (1) making contact with others while connecting with a young part of himself; (2) a situation in which an energetic connection was felt at a distance. Since 1987, Bruce Nayowith has been Focusing and exploring other processes that encourage the unfolding of individual and systemic potential. These include neurobiology, depth, and developmental psychology, whole-brain education, NVC, and emergent group processes such as Dynamic Facilitation, Open Dialogue, Family Constellations, The Pocket Project, and Stephen Busby’s work. Some earlier explorations can be found here serviceoflife.info And some of his more recent ones at everydaymystery.com/emergence Published July 2020

Judyth Weaver: What Sustains Me (2020)

Five years after the original conversation we had about what sustains her, Judyth Weaver follows in 2020. Judyth O. Weaver was awarded the USABP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. As a modern dancer she went to Japan in 1965 to study Kabuki and Noh and then entered a Zen Buddhist monastery. Back in the U.S. in 1968 she studied T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Sensory Awareness, becoming certified to teach both. She earned her Ph.D. in Reichian Therapy in 1979. She is also certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, and in Prenatal and Birth Therapy. She is a Rosen Method practitioner and senior teacher. Judyth was a professor at the California Institute for Integral Studies for 25 years; she is co-founder of Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and creator of its Somatic Psychology doctoral program; she has developed her own integrated manner of working which she calls ‘Somatic Reclaiming.’ She has a private practice in Seattle, Washington, and t…

Judyth Weaver: What Sustains Me (2015)

Judyth Weaver talks about her life force (2015). See also 2020 follow-up conversation. Judyth O. Weaver was awarded the USABP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. As a modern dancer she went to Japan in 1965 to study Kabuki and Noh and then entered a Zen Buddhist monastery. Back in the U.S. in 1968 she studied T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Sensory Awareness, becoming certified to teach both. She earned her Ph.D. in Reichian Therapy in 1979. She is also certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, and in Prenatal and Birth Therapy. She is a Rosen Method practitioner and senior teacher. Judyth was a professor at the California Institute for Integral Studies for 25 years; she is co-founder of Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and creator of its Somatic Psychology doctoral program; she has developed her own integrated manner of working which she calls ‘Somatic Reclaiming.’ She has a private practice in Seattle, Washington, and teaches internationally.…

Merete Holm Brantbjerg: A gentle, resource-oriented approach to stress & trauma

Merete Holm Brantbjerg talks about working with low energy states and our "invisible parts" in the context of Relational Trauma Therapy.

Eric Wolterstorff: Society under sustained stress

In this conversation, Eric Wolterstorff draws on a systems approach to describe how the pandemic has elicited a “stress chain reaction.” He sees a parallel with the model mapped by Murray Bowen in the context of family dynamics. He also talks about how to dampen the chain reaction each time it passes through you. See also PDF transcript. Dr. Eric Wolterstorff works at the intersection of psychology, trauma, culture, and group behavior (“A Speculative Model of How Groups Respond to Threats,” 2003). In the 1990s, Wolterstorff helped formalize Peter Levine’s work and placed it in the context of a memory-systems approach to healing trauma. He studied the work of Murray Bowen and Arnold Mindel, and created an approach to working with trauma and transference (Wolterstorff and Grassmann, “The Scene of the Crime,” 2014). With Glen Strathy, he is writing Better Parents, Better Children (2021) based on the work of Lloyd DeMause. He leads Sovereignty First, a social-impact LLC that…

Faith as a human experience

Here, I am not talking about faith in God or in religious beliefs. I am talking about the human capacity for the experience of faith.

Dave Berger & Joshua Sylvae: How COVID-19 is affecting our work as therapists

In this conversation, we talk about how the coronavirus and social distancing are affecting our work as therapists. We discuss practical details, such as how we use video-conferencing, as well as putting things in a larger context. Dave Berger, MFT, PT, LCMHC, MA, SEP is a senior faculty member of the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute and on Dr. Peter Levine’s legacy faculty with Ergos Institute. He teaches SE and his own BASE work, Relational Bodywork and Somatic Education for trauma practitioners, internationally. As a somatic psychotherapist, physical therapist and bodyworker he understands the broad range of knowledge and skills required of a trauma practitioner. See website. Joshua Sylvae, PhD, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Oregon City, OR. His therapeutic focus is on trauma healing and somatics, and he is a faculty member at the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute as well as Peter Levine’s Ergos Institute of Somatic Education. He is also the Exe…

Stephen Porges: Finding meaning in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis

In this 3-minute video, Stephen Porges talks about finding meaning in these difficult times: “Perhaps this challenging period is directing us to what our real goal in life is. And that is to relate to others, to connect.” See PDF transcript – See also 日本語のPDF. Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D., is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he directs the Trauma Research Center within the Kinsey Institute. He holds the position of Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of both the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. See also: Stephen Porges on why and how to connect. For therapists: See conversations with Stephen Porges on the Relational Impli…

Connecting during COVID-19 : Reach In & Reach Out

During these difficult times, you can help other people, and help yourself, by reaching out. In this 4-minute video, Stephen Porges talks about listening and connecting. See also PDF transcript and 日本語のPDF. How you can do it See the short video describing Active Listening. Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D., is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he directs the Trauma Research Center within the Kinsey Institute. He holds the position of Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of both the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. For therapists: See conversations with Stephen Porges on the Relational Implicit podcast. Published April 2020

Volunteer to help people support each during the COVID-19 crisis

With the pandemic, people have to avoid unnecessary contact. Social distancing dramatically affects people’s ability to find comfort in connection. We cannot directly give emotional support to all who need it. But we can teach people simple tools they can use to support each other. See what you can do about it below the video. In this video, Stephen Porges eloquently makes the case of why this makes sense. You can also get a PDF transcript as well as a 日本語のPDF. As therapists, what can we do to help? Active Listening is a very simple and effective way to help people hear themselves think and feel. Not to mention communicate better with each other. This is a tool that works in these times of social distancing. People need not be physically together to do it. They can use the phone, Skype, or any other form of videoconferencing. We do not need to be physically present with people to let them know about it. We can let them know through electronic media, social media, whateve…

Greg Cootsona: Finding Grace, Finding Space

In this conversation, we explore the notion of grace. We talk about it from a spiritual perspective: the Christian spiritual tradition which is Greg’s anchor, as well as other spiritual traditions. We also explore down-to-earth experiences, such as being a drummer, interacting with other people, structuring one’s day… In so doing, we map out a sense of grace as a human experience that people can relate to independently from a specific belief system. Greg Cootsona is a Lecturer in Comparative Religion and Humanities at Chico State University. The conversation with Serge emerged from two key sources: his article in the Huffington Post, “The Unforced Rhythms of Grace,” and his book, Say Yes to No: Using the Power of No to Create the Best in Life, Work, and Love. He wrote the latter out of an experience of being stretched too thin as a Christian minister and young father in New York City. Now in Chico, California, Greg blogs weekly at http://cootsona.blogspot.com. Greg loves dr…

Stephen Porges: Countering the effects of social distancing

To counter the effects of social distancing and separation, we need to be sensitive to our nervous system's need to socially engage and connect.

Active Listening: How to compensate for social distancing

With the pandemic, we have to avoid unnecessary contact. So we need to make the most of what little contact we have: When you can’t go broad, go deep. This is the spirit in which I describe an approach called Active Listening, in the 7′ 30″ video below. See the transcript below the video. See also PDF of transcript. See the bottom of this page for more ways to do this. Edited transcript: In times of crisis, we usually find comfort in the connection we have with others. Unfortunately, in this crisis, we must maintain the discipline to practice social distancing. That is, avoid any unnecessary gathering. In all likelihood, most of our connections over the next few weeks will be happening electronically. We must do all that we can to heighten the quality of communication. Active Listening For close relationships, we need to use the phone, Skype, Zoom. That is, we need to make an effort to hear each other’s voices and, if possible, to also see each other, to further enhance t…

Karyne Wilner: The plastic body

This conversation is part of exploring the Somatic Implicit. Karyne Wilner talks about how cell life and neuroplasticity of the brain and body can be enhanced through work with the bioenergetic field. Dr. Karyne Wilner is a licensed, clinical psychologist who practices in Connecticut and Rhode Island. She is director of the Core Energetics Academy, a training center for professionals who wish to add a bodymind and energy focus to their work. She worked closely with John Pierrakos, MD, the founder of Core Energetics. An adjunct instructor at Salve Regina University, she teaches energy psychology to graduate students in the holistic counseling department. In the past, she was Assistant Director of The Institute of Core Energetics, Associate Director of Core Energetics Australia, and Senior Director of Core Energetics in Brazil. Her current interest is in writing about what the body communicates and its connection to sexuality and love. See her website. Published March 2020.

Marcella Calabi: Enjoying a mindful conversation

We start talking about language. As we speak from the felt sense, it becomes a conversation about incorporating a mindful attitude into a conversation. And an invitation to enrich our lives with mindful conversations. Marcella Calabi helps people find their voice and live from it. She is an outside-the-box thinker with training in music, negotiation/mediation and teaching/guiding, and a Certified Focusing Professional. She is inspired by the several meanings of voice: our physical voice and the self it expresses, the voice of our personhood manifested in our choices of word and action, and inner voices accessed with Focusing. See her website. Photo credit Bjorn Bolinder Published March 2020

Polarized Mind & Relational Implicit

There is an audio version of this article at the bottom of the page. What happens when we get polarized? How can we avoid polarization to engage in more enriching discussions? I would like to share some thoughts based on an experiential exploration of polarization. The experience I am drawing upon was not a polarized discussion. It was a collaborative endeavor: Remembering experiences of polarization to better understand them. I will be bringing up a contrast between this collaborative atmosphere and the circumstances under which we get more polarized. The initial shift The conversation started as an interview. The roles were clear. I was the interviewer, and Kirk Schneider was the person interviewed. We were going to talk about a topic he has thought about a lot and written a book about: “The Polarized Mind.” We didn’t go very far with the conventional interview portion. Soon after the beginning, we shifted the format of the conversation. It started with my suggestion that…

Kirk Schneider: Exploring the polarized mind

We touch upon the personal and embodied impact of the polarized mind (or fixation on a single point of view to the utter exclusion of competing points of view).

Leslie Ellis: The creative power of dreamwork

In this conversation, Leslie Ellis talks about how working with dreams engages client and therapist in a co-creative process from which much can emerge. Dr. Leslie Ellis is a teacher, author and psychotherapist. She is currently offering online dreamwork instruction based on her book, A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy (publication date: August 2019). She also offers individual dreamwork sessions and training in somatic approaches to psychotherapy. Leslie has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Masters from Pacific Graduate Institute. She is vice president and a Certifying Coordinator with The International Focusing Institute. See her website. Published January 2020.

Sharon Stanley: Conversation about climate change

In this conversation, which is part of a series on society issues, we explore Climate Change from a perspective informed by somatic psychotherapy. Dr. Sharon Stanley has educated thousands of psychotherapists in Canada, the USA and Israel in the principles and practices of somatic psychotherapy. Sharon has served on graduate level faculties including the University of Victoria and the Foundation for Human Enrichment, developing curriculum and teaching mental health professionals. Building on her doctoral research on empathy with traumatized youth, Sharon founded Somatic Transformation, a trauma model and educational curriculum guiding practitioners in treating physiological, psychological and spiritual dynamics of relational trauma. Sharon’s work with indigenous people, the study of Afro-Brazilian healing practices and phenomenological research has led to a convergence of neuroscience, somatic therapy and cross cultural wisdom to heal “soul wounds”. Sharon has a privat…

Loch Kelly: Effortless Mindfulness

Loch Kelly talks about effortless mindfulness, and how he sees access to awakening as the next natural stage of human development. Loch Kelly, M.Div., LCSW, is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the 501c3 non-profit, Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch teaches in a non-sectarian human being lineage using an adult education style based in the earliest non-dual wisdom traditions, modern science and psychotherapy. He has collaborated with neuroscientists at Yale, UPenn and NYU in the study of how awareness training can enhance compassion and wellbeing. As a licensed psychotherapist, Loch has been teaching seminars, supervising clinicians and practicing awareness psychotherapy in NYC for 30 years. Loch is a graduate of Columbia University and Union Theological. He has studied with teachers from around the world. He served on the New York Insight Teachers Council, studied extensively with Mingyur Rinpoche, and was invited to teach direct realization by Adyash…

David Mars: AEDP for couples

In this conversation, David Mars Ph.D. gives us an experiential sense of AEDP for Couples. Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy for Couples is a cutting edge approach that combines affective neuroscience and attachment research into a love-inspiring way for couples and the therapists who treat them to find refreshing, healing and restorative ways to bring about lasting and naturally satisfying change. David Mars, Ph.D., is the developer of AEDP For Couples. He has specialized in the somatically focused treatment of couples and groups for four decades, as an innovator in developing process-oriented, somatically focused couple treatment. David has trained, supervised and consulted with Dr. Diana Fosha, the originator of Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy since 2005. David develops and presents training seminars and workshops nationally and internationally that focus on the AEDP for Couples model. He is the lead supervisor of AEDP for Couples Core Trainings. He…

Edgardo Riveros Aedo: The emergence of the new

In this talk, Edgardo Riveros Aedo gives a spontaneous demonstration of the kind of inner dialogue that makes it possible for something new to emerge. The video is in Spanish. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, I suggest you look at it (at least part of it): It is a beautiful demonstration of the process of connecting to a bodily felt sense and learning from it. Notice the cadences of Edgardo’s speech and his connection to his body. While words are used and reflected upon, much of the process is nonverbal. There are several options to make this accessible to people who don’t speak Spanish very well, or who don’t speak Spanish at all: – If you understand some Spanish, and want to follow the original video in Spanish, there is a transcript that includes both the Spanish and an English translation. See: bilingual transcript. – If you don’t understand Spanish and want to hear it in English, there is an audio recording in English (see below the video). – There is also a…

Sharon Stanley: What sustains me

Sharon Stanley talks about what sustains her: the delight of just being alive, and how she gets in touch with that. Dr. Sharon Stanley is a psychotherapist, educator and writer living on Bainbridge Island, Washington. As a long time student of Dr. Allan Schore, Sharon has integrated a number of somatic practices for healing trauma into an elegant, cohesive, relational and phenomenological model of psychotherapy called Somatic Transformation. At the core of Somatic Transformation is the practice of feeling into another’s inner world; a bodily based attunement, connectivity and inquiry that animates the intersubjective field and guides the use of somatic interventions and reflection. Grounded in relational research on trauma, guided by the Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges, inspired by the soul work of Donald Kalsched, Sharon has taught this model to thousands of practitioners over the past 20 years. In 2016, Routledge published her book: Relational and Body-Centered Practices…

Stacy Reuille-Dupont: Using Exercise Science to Bridge Understanding in Therapy

In this conversation, we talk about a blending of disciplines – – specifically, using exercise science to bridge understanding in somatic psychology interventions. The goal is to bring together the science of the physical body with the science of the emotional body to go beyond symptom reduction and reconnect the self and body. Stacy Reuille-Dupont, PhD, LAC, CPFT is a licensed clinical psychologist and addiction counselor. Her current integrated care clinical practice blends her training as an exercise scientist and psychologist to create individualized programs that include exercise, diet, and positive coping skills to address a variety of mental and physical health concerns. Stacy is a graduate of the Hakomi Comprehensive Training Program, trained in EMDR, skilled in Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy methods among others. Stacy has worked in a variety of mental health clinical capacities and integrated care settings…

Sharon Salzberg: The process of mindful change

In this conversation, Sharon Salzberg talks about how mindfulness helps us gain clarity on what we want to change, why we do what we do, and other aspects of the process of mindful change. Sharon Salzberg is a pioneer in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a pivotal role bringing meditation and mindfulness into mainstream American culture since 1974. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, MA and has authored 10 books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, her seminal work, Lovingkindness and her 2017 release, Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. Acclaimed for her down-to-earth and relatable teaching style, Sharon offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them instantly accessible. Her writing can be found on Medium, On Being, the Maria Shriver blog, and Huffington Post. Sharon is also the host of her own podcast, The Metta Hour, with 100+ ep…

Gregg Henriques: A framework to integrate objective view & personal view

In this conversation, Dr. Gregg Henriques explains the Tree of Knowledge System and describes how it provides a way to think about the universe from an objective scientific view and a personal lifeworld view. It achieves this by dividing the universe into four different planes of existence, Matter, Life, Mind and Culture, and the discussion shows how the Tree of Knowledge allows for seamlessly transitioning back and forth between these two perspectives. Dr. Gregg Henriques is Professor of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University, and core faculty member in the APA-Accredited Combined-Integrated Doctoral Program in Clinical-School Psychology. Dr. Henriques received his Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont and several years of post-doctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania under Aaron T. Beck. Dr. Henriques teaches courses in personality theory, personality assessment, social psychology, and integrative adult psychotherapy. Dr. Henriques’ primary area of…

Salvador Moreno-Lopez: How to use the bodily felt sense

In this talk, Salvador Moreno-Lopez describes a journey of discoveries and surprises: “How I found that using my bodily felt sense helps me orient in my daily life and my work, with much more certainty and precision than I would using only logic and reason disconnected from bodily feelings. This is a great gift of life, available to all people.” The video is in Spanish. Please note that we have several options to make this accessible to people who don’t speak Spanish very well, or who don’t speak Spanish at all: – If you understand some Spanish, and want to follow the original video in Spanish, there is a transcript that includes both the Spanish and an English translation. See: bilingual transcript. – If you don’t understand Spanish and want to hear it in English, there is an audio recording in English (see below the video). The English text is read by Charles Herr, who translated it. – There is also a PDF of the whole text in English. See English transcript. Aud…

Deb Dana: The Polyvagal Theory in psychotherapy

Deb Dana talks about using the Polyvagal Theory in clinical practice, and how it helps to creatively involve clients in their healing process.

Seth Zuiho Segall: Mindfulness in context

In this conversation, we talk about putting mindfulness and Buddhism in context — the contexts in which they evolved, and in which they are currently practiced in the Western world. Seth Zuiho Segall is a Zen priest in the White Plum Asanga and Zen Peacemaker Order lineages. He is a retired clinical psychologist who served for nearly three decades as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale School of Medicine. He is a former Director of Psychology at Waterbury Hospital, and a former President of the New England Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Seth’s publications include Encountering Buddhism: Western Psychology and Buddhist Teachings (SUNY Press, 2003) as well as articles for Turning Wheel, Tricycle,and the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. He writes a monthly column for Mindfulness Research Monthly, and volunteers as a chaplain associate at White Plains Hospital. Seth’s blog,The Existential Buddhist contains over a hundred essays on Buddhist philosophy…

Alaine Duncan & Kathy Kain: Restoring inner balance

Combining Eastern and Western trauma physiology, Alaine Duncan and Kathy Kain introduce a new map for body-oriented clinicians to help restore balance in their clients. Using concepts from Acupuncture and Asian Medicine (AAM) alongside descriptions of the threat response from Western bio-behavioral science, they describe common physical symptoms, emotional presentations, and paths for healing for five survivor “types”. This approach is further developed in their new book, The Tao of Trauma – A Practitioner’s Guide for Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Healing. Alaine Duncan is an acupuncturist and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Her clinical curiosity, at the interface of the neuro-biology of traumatic stress and ancient healing principles from acupuncture and Asian medicine, inspired the creation of The Tao Trauma: A Practitioner’s Guide for Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Treatment. Her research background includes serving on studies assessing the…

Judith Blackstone: The embodiment of fundamental consciousness

In this conversation, Judith Blackstone describes the experience of living within one’s body and uncovering a fundamental dimension of consciousness pervading one’s body and the environment as a unity. She explains how this experience deepens our sense of intimacy and contact with other people at the same time as it deepens our contact with our own being. The embodiment of fundamental consciousness also enhances and unifies our basic qualities and functions, including our ability to know, feel, sense and perceive. Judith Blackstone, PhD, developed the Realization Process, a method of embodied psychological and relational healing and nondual spiritual awakening. She offers workshops and teacher certification trainings world-wide. She recently retired from forty years as a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. She is the author of Trauma and the Unbound Body: the Healing Power of Fundamental Consciousness, Belonging Here, The Enlightenment Process, The Intim…

Andy Fisher: Ecopsychology

This conversation is a wide-ranging exploration of the new field of ecopsychology. It includes discussions of how the lived body and Buddhist psychology figure in this field, as well as the radical implications of reconnecting our minds to nature. Andy Fisher, PhD, is a major figure in ecopsychology, having tracked and reflected on the development of the field for the last two decades. Author of one of the field’s primary texts, Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life(2nd Ed.), he is best known for his critical scholarship and holistic vision of the ecopsychological project. Andy keeps up an active schedule of writing and teaching, including a year-long training in ecopsychology that he offers near his home in eastern Ontario, Canada. A psychotherapist in private practice and wilderness rites of passage guide, he also teaches courses in such related topics as Buddhist psychology, elderhood, and dream-work. For more about Andy, visit his website. Published in Marc…

Terry Marks-Tarlow: Embodied creativity & the courage to face uncertainty

Terry Marks-Tarlow, PhD, has been a practicing clinician since 1985 and a practicing yogini since 1979. She specializes in deep transformation and issues surrounding creative production and believes that all effective psychotherapy is inherently creative. In this conversation, she and Serge Prengel discuss how the embodied creativity and meditative aspects of everyday life dovetail with the courage to face uncertainty and search for novelty in a fully relational clinical practice. Terry Marks-Tarlow, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica, California. She is Adjunct Faculty at Pacifica Graduate School, Teaching Faulty at the Insight Center, Los Angeles, and Visiting Professor at Italian Universita Niccolo Cusano, London. She presents workshops and seminars internationally and nationally on clinical intuition, creativity, play, and nonlinear dynamics. As an Executive Board Member of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, she co-created and cura…

Janina Fisher: Integrating somatic approaches to trauma with ‘parts’ language

Trauma often inculcates fears of body awareness and incapacitating shame that complicate the use of somatic approaches

Shinzen Young about embodiment, mindfulness, and the future of science

In this conversation, Shinzen Young talks about embodiment, mindfulness, and the future of science… and the natural connection between these. Hope you enjoy. Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Vermont in the burgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. Shinzen’s interest in Asia began at the age of 14 when he decided to attend Japanese ethnic school in his native city of Los Angeles. After majoring in Asian languages at UCLA, he entered a PhD program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin. As a part of his thesis research, he lived as a Shingon (Japanese Vajrayana) monk for three years at Mount Koya, Japan. It was then that he received the name Shinzen. He is the author of The Science of Enlightenment, Na…

Nancy Eichhorn: Somatic Psychotherapy Today

Nancy Eichhorn talks about the magazine she founded 8 years ago, Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Who is Nancy Eichhorn? “I am a writer, editor, and teacher. Writing has always been my way to be me, to voice my experiences, my perspectives, my dreams, and my desires. Sitting with a blank white page, sensing the expanse before me draws forth creativity, feeds my need to play as possibilities spontaneously arise. One of my greatest joys comes by helping others discover their voice on the page and know they have something of value to say and the right to be heard. As the Founding Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Somatic Psychotherapy Today, I am blessed to write with our contributors and share in their self-discoveries as they express themselves, personally and professionally. Along with teaching writing and editing client work, my resume includes over 5,000 newspaper and magazine articles, and chapters in professional anthologies, including, When Hurt Remains: Relational Perspectives on…

Steven Hayes: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

In this conversation, we talk about Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) within the broader context of the human condition. Steven C. Hayes is Nevada Foundation Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, his career has focused on an analysis of the nature of human language and cognition and their application to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering. He is the developer of Relational Frame Theory, an account of human higher cognition, and has guided its extension to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a popular evidence-based form of psychotherapy that uses mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based methods. Dr. Hayes has been President of Division 25 of the APA, of the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Google Scholar…

Jeff Warren: Being Human Takes Practice

Jeff Warren talks about exploring consciousness from the perspective of how to live a more fulfilled life… approaching this exploration with a spirit of adventure. Jeff Warren is a writer and meditation instructor. His primary subject is practice – meditation practice, movement practice, life practice – made relevant and exciting and (sometimes) ridiculous. He is the co-author of The New York Times bestselling Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, a road-trip-slash-how-to-mediate manual, and author of The Head Trip, a travel guide to sleeping, dreaming and waking. In 2011 Jeff founded The Consciousness Explorers Club (CEC), a nonprofit meditation adventure group based in Toronto. The CEC’s motto is “being human takes practice.” Their ambition – and Jeff’s – is to empower and support new forms of shoddily-executed community practice. See website. Published January 2019.

Jeffrey Morrison: What it is like to be Focusing

Focusing is a mindful process of inner exploration. In this conversation, Jeffrey Morrison shares what it is like to be Focusing based on a recent Focusing session. This is of interest to Focusers, but also to non-Focusers who are curious about the process of Focusing. As Jeffrey is experienced in both mindfulness meditation and Focusing, we touch upon the similarities and differences between these two practices during the conversation. A Focusing-Oriented psychotherapist and Focusing Coordinator, Jeffrey Morrison practices in Seattle and Vashon Island, Washington, USA. He specializes in working with complex trauma and teaching Focusing to therapists and other healing professionals. He has developed a FOT training program, which blends Focusing, mindfulness and other embodied practices for unwinding trauma and restoring wellbeing. He lives on Vashon Island with his wife, who is a teacher. They enjoy time with their son and daughter when they are home from college, gardening, walking,…

Alice Ladas: Early coping strategies: another kind of addiction

In this conversation, Alice Ladas describes a workshop focused on identifying coping strategies in a way that respects people’s humanity instead of pathologizing them. While there is no transcript for this talk, there is a write-up by Alice Ladas on the same topic, as well as the 2 lists mentioned in the talk. See: – Workshop on coping mechanisms, – List of the questions, – List of ways of dealing with anxiety. Alice K. Ladas, Ed. D., is a pioneer for body psychotherapy, educated childbirth, breastfeeding, and sexuality education. The research she and her husband did (Women and Bioenergetic Analysis) led to meeting her co-authors on the NY Times best seller The G Spot and Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality. Alice was chair of the research committee of the US Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) for many years. In 2008, the USABP honored Alice by naming its research award The Alice Kahn Ladas Research Award to honor her for her tireless efforts to fur…

Alice K. Ladas: What Sustains Me

Alice’s creativity and vitality have always been amazing. As a pioneering therapist, researcher and feminist, she put the G Spot on the map of public consciousness. At 97, she maintains a private practice as a psychologist in New Mexico. I reconnected with her in early November at the USABP conference in sunny Santa Barbara. This conversation takes place a few weeks later, on a snowy New York day, where she is visiting family for Thanksgiving. So, what sustains her? At some point in the interview, Alice talks about the benefits of living in a small community. Reviewing the video, she adds: “The other side of that, if you live in a small community, is that the beliefs of that community can impose very strict limits on what you can believe or do.”. At the end of this conversation, Alice Ladas asks people to support the Cloudbuster project led by Dr James DeMeo. Here is where you can donate if you wish to do so. Alice K. Ladas, Ed. D., is a pioneer for body psychotherapy, educate…

Eva Gold on Buddhist psychology & Gestalt psychotherapy

In this conversation we talk about the convergences of Buddhist psychology/mindfulness with Gestalt therapy as well as how they are different in their emphasis and ultimate aims. This creates the ground for discussing the benefits of an approach that integrates the two—a Buddhist psychology informed Gestalt therapy (BPGT). This conversation is also available in video as a PDF transcript. Eva Gold, PsyD is a psychologist in private practice, founding co-director of Gestalt Therapy Training Center—Northwest in Portland, OR, and senior faculty for the program she developed integrating Buddhist psychology and mindfulness in Gestalt therapy training. Dr. Gold is co-author with Steve Zahm, PhD of the new book Buddhist Psychology and Gestalt Therapy Integrated: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century. She taught Gestalt therapy for fifteen years as an adjunct assistant professor at Pacific University School of Professional Psychology, and has also authored and co-authored a number of articles…

Michael Soth on the therapeutic relationship

Conversation with Michael Soth about the therapeutic relationship as a body-mind process between two people who are both wounded and whole.

Rob Foxcroft on listening

In this conversation, we uncover some of the many layers of listening, inspired on Rob’s new book. In addition to the video below, there is also a printable PDF transcript. What about listening? Here are three ways to think about it. First: How any religion has a boundary. There is an ‘us’and a ‘them’. And listening is a bigger thing than religion. Listening has no boundary. Whoever we meet shows us a new world. Second: How listening makes it possible not to be missionary. I don’t have to say, ‘Here I am. You can learn from me.’ I feel squeamish when I say that. I feel fine when I say, ‘Here you are. I can learn from you.’ Finally: How I want two things. I want to follow the natural line, the line of your thoughts and feelings. I say: We have to approach the natural line with respect always, even with reverence. And I want to be meditative, to approach the hidden, the place where silence falls; to come close to the gates of dawn, where new light may break o…

Stefan Deutsch: A theory of love as foundation for therapeutic intervention

In this conversation, Stefan Deutsch talks about his theory of love as nourishment, the evidence for it, and how it applies to clinical practice. After escaping communist Hungary with his parents, Holocaust survivors, Stefan Deutsch grew up in NYC, graduated Hunter, CUNY, then NYU for Movement Therapy. He is a certified Gestalt psychotherapist with a thriving Private Practice, and a philosopher of human development, dedicated to the prevention of any Holocausts. He originated The Continuum Theory of Human Development (see PDF on his website). Here is what else he’d like you to know about him: 1. His organization, The Human Development Company. 2. His book – “Love Decoded”. 3. His article on Thrive Global– “Why people Marry”? 4. He organized The First Symposium Toward A Unified Science of Love, 2016. 5. His theory as used in “Love2Caretrial” a clinical trial at Danbury Hospital, preventing stress and burnout among physicians, nurses, and residents, with promising resu…

Harville Hendrix & Helen LaKelly Hunt explore “the space between”

In this conversation, we talk about the “space between”, i.e. the space of relationship, and how Imago therapy helps clients make sense of it and change their relationship. There is also a partial transcript as a printable PDF. Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D believe that how we interact with each other, in all our contexts—family, workplace, schools, etc.—is the key to our emotional, physical and economic well-being and to the well-being of our children and society. Harville and Helen co-initiated Imago Relationships International as a training institute for couples therapists, Relationships First® as a collaborative mission to change the cultural value system, and Safe Conversations® as an experiment to raise the joy index of a whole city. Their professional partnership has produced 10 books including three NYT best sellers (Getting the Love You Want, Keeping the Love You Find, and Giving the Love that Heals). Their latest book is The Space Between (20…

Evelyn Fendler-Lee on intuitive thinking & the creative process

In this conversation, we explore a creative thinking process known as Thinking At the Edge (TAE). However, there is no need to actually know this process, or to know Focusing, in order to follow the conversation. This is because this conversation is a reflection on the nature of intuitive thinking and how the creative process can be helped by having somebody accompany the process. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only. Dr. Evelyn Fendler-Lee is an organizational psychologist, certified as a person-centered counselor as well as a Focusing trainer. She brings 20 years of experience in teamwork, leadership and project management while working as material scientist in well-respected research institutes and in the automotive and chemical industry. Evelyn works as a self-employed trainer and coach, facilitating innovation, professional and personal development. As team facilitator she enables trust, respectful interactions, productive conflicts, co-creation and…

Pat Ogden: How body posture and movement can influence well-being

In this conversation, Pat Ogden talks about how we can use our own movement and body to enhance our psychological health. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only. Pat Ogden, PhD, is a pioneer in somatic psychology and the Founder of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI), an internationally recognized school specializing in somatic–cognitive approaches for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and attachment disturbances. SPI trainers conduct Sensorimotor Psychotherapy trainings of over 400 hours for mental health professionals throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. She is co-founder of the Hakomi Institute, past faculty of Naropa University (1985-2005), a clinician, consultant, and sought after international lecturer. Dr. Ogden is the first author of two groundbreaking books: Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment (2015) both publi…

Kathrin Stauffer reflects on sex & power

This discussion takes place in the context of the current (late 2017 and early 2018) sexual harassment scandals going around many professions. Kathrin Stauffer starts her reflections on these developments by some thoughts about the nature of power and her own relationship with it. Kathrin Stauffer PhD, Body and Integrative Psychotherapist (UKCP), was born and educated in Switzerland. Originally a research biochemist, she retrained at the Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy in London. She is the author of the book ‘Anatomy & Physiology for Psychotherapists: Connecting Body & Soul’ (W.W. Norton 2010). She works in private practice in Cambridge, England, as a body psychotherapist, EMDR therapist and supervisor. She is currently the Chair of the EABP Council of National Associations and a Board member of EABP. She has presented workshops on questions of self-confidence in the psychotherapy profession, and also on a panel of women’s issues at the 2016 EABP Congress in Athens, Greece…

Monica Gomez Galaz: Being human, today, moment by moment

In this brief conversation with Monica Gomez Galaz, we touch upon what it’s like to be human, in a down-to-earth way, moment by moment, as we are in touch with our vulnerabilities. Monica is a Focusing coordinator in Mexico City. She says: I have been Focusing for the last eight years and became a Certified Coordinartor on 2012. I did a big shift in My life in 2008 after working in the financial arena for 15 years and opened my own Coaching firm that gave me the opportunity to help people during important transitions in their lives. A writer, a passionate and curious person, that brought me to be interested on de biology of the body and family systems. I integrated Whole Body Focusing with Biodecoding, so we can be more gentle to our symptoms. I am thrilled and exited to welcome all you to the 28th Focusing International Conference in Mexico in Merida, Yucatan. In memory of Eugene Gendlin and his desire to return to the principle of being human to understand life, the theme of the c…

Rae Johnson on Embodied Activism

In this conversation, Rae Johnson talks about how the body is implicated in social justice work, and how to engage our bodies in the process of activism. Rae’s approach incorporates key ideas from many social justice theorists and somatic practitioners, and distills them into three key areas: (1) doing your own work, (2) working for others, and (3) working with others. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only. There is also a printable PDF handout with additional information on the topic. Rae Johnson, PhD, RSMT is a somatic scholar/practitioner working at the intersection of embodiment studies and social justice. Key themes in her work include the embodied experience of oppression, somatic approaches to research, and the poetic body. Rae is the author of the recently published book Embodied Social Justice and chair of the Somatic Studies in Depth Psychology doctoral program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Links to Rae’s work can be found on her website. P…

Hilary Bradbury & Bill Torbert: Eros/Power

In this conversation, we explore how people deal with power, and the goal of mutuality in relationships. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Hilary Bradbury is a scholar-practitioner focused on the human and organizational dimensions of creating healthy communities. A professor of organization studies since 1998 (Case Western, USC and OHSU), she is editor-in-chief of the international peer reviewed Action Research Journal (Sage Publications). She was named 2018 Jubilee Professor at Chalmers Institute of Technology, Sweden. Hilary was born and bred in Dublin, Ireland and educated at Trinity College after which she attended the Divinity Schools at Harvard and University of Chicago. Her PhD from Boston College focused on organizational change and transformation toward a more sustainable world. Her latest books include Eros/Power: Love in the Spirit of Inquiry (Integral Publishers, 2016, with Bill Torbert) and Cooking with…

Susan Rudnick about sexual abuse, the need for connection & power

Susan Rudnick’s comments about the sexual abuse of women by powerful men derive from Karen Horney’s formulation of the Real Self, as she articulated it in Neurosis and Human Growth. Even if we are severely alienated from that Real Self, it is still there, and we do continue to have human need for authentic connection to ourselves and others. The abuse or assault becomes a severely distorted expression of that need. And because the need is never really fulfilled, it becomes an endless hunger that needs to be repeated over and over. Power over another human being becomes a substitute for authentic relationship. This brief conversation (5 minutes) is available as a recording (below) and a printable PDF transcript. The recording, unfortunately, picked up the background noise, which may be a bit distracting. Susan Rudnick,LCSW is a longtime psychotherapist in private practice in Manhattan. The three disciplines that inform her work are her Psychoananalytic Training at the Karen…

Rae Johnson about sexual harassment as abuse of power

This conversation with Rae Johnson was inspired by the recent spate of accusations of sexual harassment. We talk about it as not about sex and gender, but about power. The conversation is also available as a printable PDF transcript. Rae Johnson, PhD, RSMT is a somatic scholar/practitioner working at the intersection of embodiment studies and social justice. Key themes in her work include the embodied experience of oppression, somatic approaches to research, and the poetic body. Rae is the author of the recently published book Embodied Social Justice and chair of the Somatic Studies in Depth Psychology doctoral program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Links to Rae’s work can be found on her website. Published December 2017. See other conversations with Rae Johnson on this site and on what sustains her.

Barnaby Barratt about male sexuality

Is biology destiny? Freud asked this question in the context of discussing women’s abilities and roles. Now, in the wake of a seemingly endless streak of abuse scandals involving prominent men, it may be legitimate to ask whether male sexuality is inherently aggressive. This is the starting point for this conversation with Barnaby B. Barratt. Dr Barnaby B Barratt is a radical psychoanalyst, somatic psychologist, sexuality consultant and practitioner of tantric meditation. He has published widely on in the areas of psychodynamics, bodymind healing, sexuality, human rights and related philosophical issues. Having lived in Europe, the USA and Asia, he currently maintains a private practice in South Africa, where he is Senior Research Associate at the University of Witwatersrand. Dr Barratt is Director of Studies at the Parkmore Institute, which is developing high‑quality, non‑residential doctoral programs in cutting‑edge fields such as bodymind healing, human sexuality, psychoana…

Jennifer Tantia on embodied research methodology

In therapy, we deal with embodied experience. Shouldn’t research also have an embodied approach? This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Jennifer Frank Tantia, PhD, MS, BC-DMT, LCAT is a somatic psychologist and dance/movement psychotherapist, specializing in trauma and medically unexplained symptoms. She teaches research and evaluation in the Expressive Therapies graduate program at Lesley University and specializes in embodied research. Dr. Tantia is former chair of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy research committee and currently serves on the board of the American Dance Therapy Association as chair of Research and Practice. She is a peer-reviewer for several academic journals and is an associate editor of the international journal, Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy. Dr. Tantia presents and teaches internationally and has authored several publications in both dance/movement therapy and somat…

Stephen Batchelor about his journey & Buddhism

This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only (below video). Stephen Batchelor” width=”150″ height=”150″ />Stephen Batchelor is a writer, translator, teacher and artist. Born in 1953, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of twenty and spent ten years training in the Tibetan Geluk and Korean Sŏn orders. In 2015 he co-founded Bodhi College, a European educational project dedicated to the understanding and application of early Buddhism. He is the author of the bestselling Buddhism without Beliefs (Riverhead). His most recent publications are After Buddhism and Secular Buddhism (Yale University Press). He travels worldwide to lecture and lead retreats and lives in south-west France with his wife Martine. See website. Published November 2017

Sarah Peyton talks about transforming the way we relate to ourselves

In this conversation, Sarah Peyton shares practical advice on how we can improve the way we relate to ourselves, grounded in an understanding of the underlying brain functions. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only (see below). Sarah Peyton, Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication, teaches people how language changes relationship and the brain. She works with audiences internationally to create a compassionate understanding of the effects of relational trauma on the brain, and writes about and teaches people how words change and heal us. Her special interest is the way that difficult events impact our automatic brain patterning, and how to transform our tendencies toward self-criticism into self-warmth. Her first book, “Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing,” was published by Norton Publishing internationally in autumn 2017. See website. Published October 2017.

Marjorie Schuman: Inquiring deeply, finding wisdom in problems

Marjorie Schuman is a psychoanalyst who has practiced Buddhist mindfulness meditation and relational psychotherapy for over three decades. She says: “Early on in my practice, I realized the profound truth that this very moment is the perfect teacher, as Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron famously said. I knew intuitively that there was wisdom in problems and opportunities for growth contained within them. My recent book, “Inquiring Deeply” grew out of my compelling personal desire to understand more deeply how the two practices could best be blended into an integrated approach to working with psychological problems.” In this conversation, we explore how this is reflected in her work. At some points in the recording, there are some distracting noises from outside. We apologize for that, but we elected to keep the recording, as opposed to redoing it, to keep its spontaneous character. Marjorie Schuman, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise both in relational ps…

Linda Ciotola about the Mindful Witness role

Linda Ciotola talks about a mindfulness approach the she practices and teaches: the Mindful Witness role. This conversation is available as a podcast and as a printable PDF transcript. Linda Ciotola is a Certified TEP: trainer-educator-practitioner of psychodrama, group psychotherapy, and sociometry; and an accredited Certified Trainer in the Therapeutic Spiral Model ™ of psychodrama used specifically for working with trauma survivors. She is Co-Leader and Developer of the Therapeutic Spiral Bodyworkshop specifically designed for healing body-based trauma issues and a Certified Health Education Specialist (Ret.) with 45 years experience in education, group facilitation, and lifestyle counseling. Linda holds ACE (American Council on Exercise) certifications as a Personal Trainer, Fitness and Yoga Instructor, Health Coach and MINDBODY Specialist. She was honored in 2008 with the Zerka Moreno Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Psychodrama. She is co-author with Karen…

Kristen Ulmer: Extreme skier tells us to shift into fear

Once hailed as the best extreme skier in the world, Kristen Ulmer has come to value fear. She has learned that fear is not here to cause us problems.

Kathy McGuire: How to listen in a deeper way

Originally, I had contacted Kathy McGuire to interview her on the topic of empathy. As we talked about what this might entail, we decided to practice what we preach: We did not rush into doing the interview, and we took time to process what we wanted to accomplish through this project. As a result, the project evolved into a series of short videos illustrating various kinds of listening and empathy. We structured this demo into a sequence of videos. Through them, we would like you to notice that: – 1) Even simple listening, “passive listening” without interruptions, allow speakers to naturally begin entering into direct reference to felt experience and explication from there. – 2) Active empathic listening takes this natural felt sensing a step further, as the speaker checks the listeners words against their felt reference and articulates anew. – 3) When the speaker knows Focusing, then empathic listening helps the Focuser stay with, check, resonate and articulate their f…

Dirk Marivoet: Ethics and embodiment

In this conversation, we explore ethics and embodiment. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Dirk Marivoet is the director of the Institute for Bodymind Integration in Ghent (Belgium). He studied Core-Energetics under John C. Pierrakos, MD; Postural Integration®, Energetic Integration and Pelvic-Heart Integration under Jack Painter, PhD (and has been a certified trainer/supervisor since 1999). He has also worked extensively with native shamanism both in Europe and North America. Earlier in the 80s and 90s he was adjunct faculty Psychomotor Therapy at Leuven University, where he still teaches. Published May 2017. See also conversation with Dirk Marivoet about Bodymind Integration and about what sustains him.

Russell Delman: Beginner’s Mind

In this conversation, we explore the concept of “Beginner’s Mind” in a down-to-earth way. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Russell Delman’s dedication to the study of awareness and human potential began in 1969 as a college undergraduate. The main influences on his teaching are over 40 years of Zen meditation, his close relationship and training with Moshe Feldenkrais (he has helped to train over 2500 Feldenkrais teachers worldwide), a deep study of somatic psychology including Focusing, and his rich family life. Over the last seven years, his friendship with Gene Gendlin has illuminated his understanding of life and had a strong influence on his teaching. See his website. See other conversation with Russell Delman Published May 2017

Donna Varnau: The Practice of Embodied Presence

This recording is about the “Practice of Embodied Presence”, guidelines for connecting directly with the personal and sacred wisdom of your body. If you are caught up in the thoughts and feelings of the fight, flight, freeze body, you are already recycling the past. If you learn how to tune into your presencing body, you gain access to a vast reservoir of wisdom and a fresh experience of life. See also self-coach-tool for this practice (and its printable PDF): The Practice of Embodied Presence. At a young age I felt connected to a calm, loving presence within me. Yet, as I grew older and had to interact more with others, I became increasingly anxious. Personal suffering propelled me to explore psycho-spiritual practices that would ground me in a sense of embodied Presence, no matter what I was doing. This has been life-changing for me. My body is now one of my most important allies. Born into an intellectual family, I was conditioned to go to my head to find solutions to my life…

Jan Winhall: Creating intentional communities

In this conversation, we explore both the underlying reasons for needing to gather in community; and how that harkens back to our family of origin and the many issues that challenge our capacity to sustain connection. We specifically refer to Focusing-oriented communities, but the conversation is meant to be of interest to all people interested in intentional communities, whether or not they know anything about Focusing. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Jan Winhall, M.S.W. R.S.W. is a psychotherapist in Private Practice and Director of Focusing On Borden, a centre for teaching Focusing and Focusing Oriented Therapy. Jan is the author of “Understanding and Treating Addiction with the Felt Sense Experience Model” In Emerging Practice in FOT”. Jan teaches internationally and is a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. See website. Published March 2017

Manju (Peter Gill): What Sustains Me

This conversation with Manju (Peter Gill) is about his experience of what happens when he takes time to pause and notice how it feels to be in the world. Manju (Peter Gill) is one of the UK’s foremost Focusing trainers – teaching since 2004, and leading retreats, workshops and classes for more than twenty years. He is qualified with the British Focusing Association and the Focusing Institute in New York to teach Focusing to individuals, groups. He also offers teacher training. He is also qualified in Somatic Experiencing (SE), a related practice involving a short-term, body-based approach to healing and easing the effects of trauma. Currently he is exploring how Focusing can be used as a way of meeting the challenges of the these turbulent and pivotal times in the world. See website. See also Manju’s video on this topic. Published February 2017

Tobias von Schulthess: Improvisation as a way of life

Improvisation means that there is something, which we can’t see because we are so occupied with our plans. To improvise means be aware of the moment and its resources. The resources are mainly nonverbal. The room, our body, the sound of the voices, the rhythm of our dialog and our environment and our imagination are the sources to listen to. They are always there and they feed our play on stage or in real life. So improvisation means to listen to life and then let it unfold. This principle is so similar to Focusing! Improvised theatre is a wonderful practice for life. On stage and in life we want to carry forward our stories. We listen and add what seams useful and matching. Improvisation and its principles might be seen as a different way to get in touch with the powerful and also magical process of Focusing. In Focusing and in improvisation, we know these magic moments when we get surprised by something unexpected, that is beyond our intellectual imagination. This is something th…

Linda Ciotola: Mindful Eating

Linda Ciotola talks about how she practices and teaches mindful eating. This conversation is available as a podcast and as a printable PDF transcript. Linda Ciotola is a Certified TEP: trainer-educator-practitioner of psychodrama, group psychotherapy, and sociometry; and an accredited Certified Trainer in the Therapeutic Spiral Model ™ of psychodrama used specifically for working with trauma survivors. She is Co-Leader and Developer of the Therapeutic Spiral Bodyworkshop specifically designed for healing body-based trauma issues and a Certified Health Education Specialist (Ret.) with 45 years experience in education, group facilitation, and lifestyle counseling. Linda holds ACE (American Council on Exercise) certifications as a Personal Trainer, Fitness and Yoga Instructor, Health Coach and MINDBODY Specialist. She was honored in 2008 with the Zerka Moreno Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Psychodrama. She is co-author with Karen Carnabucci of Healing Eating Diso…

Richard Schwartz: Dealing with our inner conflicts

Richard Schwartz describes how we can understand ourselves better if we think of our inner conflicts as arguments between parts of ourselves. He outlines the kind of mindful interaction through which we can assume effective leadership of these conflicting parts: We learn to compassionately listen to their deep needs underneath the bluster. There is a short demo of the process. This conversation is available as a printable PDF transcript. Richard Schwartz co-authored, with Michael Nichols, Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, the most widely used family therapy text in the U.S. Dr. Schwartz was Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Juvenile Research and later at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. He developed Internal Family SystemsSM in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. IFS is a nonpathologizing, hopeful framework within which to practice psychotherapy. In 20…

Peter Levine: Understanding memory

This conversation with Peter Levine is about different types of memory. We talk about trauma, but also about the fluid notion of self that goes together with this understanding of memory. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Peter A Levine, PhD – is a forerunner in body-oriented approaches to trauma. He is the developer of Somatic Experiencing® a naturalistic, approach to healing trauma which he has developed during the past 45 years. He has received the Lifetime Achievement award from the US Association for Body Psychotherapy, and an honorary award as the Reiss-Davis Chair for his lifetime contribution to infant and child psychiatry. Dr. Levine served as a Stress consultant for NASA in the early space shuttle development and has served on the APA task force for responding to large scale disasters and ethno-political warfare. He is currently a Senior Fellow and consultant at The Meadows Addiction and Trauma Treatmen…

Russell Delman: Thanksgiving & gratitude

In this 6-minute video, Russell Delman shares his perspective on how we can find gratitude within ourselves, even under difficult circumstances. Russell Delman’s dedication to the study of awareness and human potential began in 1969 as a college undergraduate. The main influences on his teaching are over 40 years of Zen meditation, his close relationship and training with Moshe Feldenkrais (he has helped to train over 2500 Feldenkrais teachers worldwide), a deep study of somatic psychology including Focusing, and his rich family life. Over the last seven years, his friendship with Gene Gendlin has illuminated his understanding of life and had a strong influence on his teaching. See his website. See other conversation with Russell Delman Published November 2016

Karen Liebenguth: Mindfulness in nature

Karen Liebenguth talks about how she practices mindfulness in nature. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. There is also a PDF summarizing the process described in this conversation. Karen is a qualified coach, a Focusing practitioner and an accredited mindfulness teacher. She works with individuals and organisations to foster personal development and specialises in working with clients outdoors in London’s parks and green space where she believes insight, change and creativity can happen most naturally. Karen regularly runs mindfulness courses, workshops and walks. Her joys in life are being in nature, Buddhist practice, living simply and communally and friendships. Karen is German and has lived in London for 15 years. If you have a question or would like to talk more with Karen about her approach, feel free to contact her: www.greenspacecoaching.com Published November 2016

Barbara Dickinson: Creative interaction & listening

We think of mindfulness as a solitary or inner pursuit. What about what happens in interaction? In this conversation we are talking about how to approach human interaction as a form of mindfulness where we are noticing our innate reactivity and gaining access to a more evolved part of ourselves, and how in doing so we are transforming our sense of self and our relationships with others. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript. Barbara Dickinson finished a long career at the US Federal Reserve in 2010, and now consults on strategic organizational improvement. She has earned, among other credentials, certification as a Strengths Performance Coach from the Gallup Organization. In 2006, she learned the practice called Focusing, completing her certification as a Focusing Professional in 2009, and is now an enthusiastic learner and teacher of the many facets of focusing and the related practice, “Thinking at the Edge.” After v…

Stephen Porges: Mindfulness & co-regulation

We explore a paradigm shift: The whole history of the study of mental and psychological processes has been so focused on the individual’s responses, yet the individual’s responses are being framed and interacting through connectedness with others.

A gentle sense of resilience: Caterina Carta reflects on what sustains her

In this video, we spend a mindful moment with Caterina Carta as she reflects on flowing with life and dealing with life’s challenges, her illness and chemo, what we mean by meaning, and what it’s like to feel a sense of connection to something larger. Caterina Carta works as High School teacher and Focusing-oriented counselor and trainer in Sardinia, Italy. After different occupations in sustainable tourism as trainer and consultant, she decided to come back to her first job as school teacher. She builds relationships with her students in a deep and authentic way supporting them to discover and follow their own dreams. “Teaching in a playful way” is her motto. Since 1996, she has been committed to personal growth, conflict resolution and meditation. As she met Focusing, she recognized something precious which changed her relationship with herself. She especially appreciated it during some challenges in her life where Focusing accompanied her in a gentle way, helping her to see…

John Christopher: About well-being

In this conversation, we explore the notion of well-being and explore dimensions of well-being that have been neglected by mainstream psychology. In particular we consider the role of embodiment and spiritual surrender in well-being and try to link this to mindfulness, stress physiology, social inequalities in health. See also printable PDF transcript. Dr. John Christopher is a psychotherapist, consultant, coach, and scholar who is an internationally recognized expert in well-being. John is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and former President of the Society of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (Division 24 of the APA). He has received numerous awards including a Fulbright Scholar Award and the Sigmund Koch Early Career Award by the APA. John is also a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute. Before going into private practice full-time, John was a Professor for 23 years at Dartmouth, the University of Washington, Montana State University, and the University of…

Kjell Rudestam: Constructivism, modern physics, & psychotherapy

In this conversation, we explore constructivism, modern physics, and the conceptualization and process of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy can be viewed as a “destabilizing dance” between a therapy and patient who are part of an unstable interactional system. It seems to operate within a constructed world of “meaning making” and focuses on “stories” or “attributes” of “things” rather than “things” from a Newtonian or medical model perspective. Constructivism, as a meta-theory, as well as 20th century physics, have significant implications for how to define problems, conceptualize psychotherapy, and intervene with clients who experience the limitations of their own models of reality. Kjell Erik Rudestam is a teacher, researcher, consultant, and practicing clinical psychologist. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a Ph.D. in psychology he served as an Associate Professor at Miami of Ohio and a Professor of Psychology at York University in Toronto. C…

Eric Zimmer: Mindful choices

In this conversation, Eric Zimmer talks about mindful choices, and the parable that inspires him: A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other. One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear. The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?” The grandfather quietly replies: The one you feed. Eric Zimmer is the host of The One You Feed podcast. The show was named a Best of 2014 Podcast by iTunes and one of the best health podcasts of all time by The Huffington Post. The show is about creating a life worth living and can be found at http://oneyoufeed.net. At the age of 24 Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin and facing looming jail sentences. In the years since he has found a way to recover from addict…

Mary Charlson: Expectancy, mindfulness and chronic illness

In this interview, Dr Charlson talks about her work with mindfulness interventions to improve outcome in chronic illness. While these situations are obviously more extreme than the situations many of us are faced with in everyday life, her work suggests that some mindful practices may improve our ability to make the difficult changes we need, or to deal with extremely difficult situations in our own lives: – For cardiovascular patients, a daily practice of paying attention to what feels good in their life is associated with an increased and sustained ability to make the lifestyle changes they need, and hence an ability to stay healthy. When we try to make difficult changes, we usually focus on the drama of fighting bad habits. It might help to spend some time taking stock of the potential we have to take care of ourselves and to enjoy whatever good there is in our life. – The ability of cancer patients to make peace with their condition is improved by a combination of basic mindf…

Steven Hoskinson on Organic Intelligence & trauma

Steven Hoskinson, MA, MAT, is the Founder and Chief Compassion Officer (CCO) of Organic Intelligence® and the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Organic Intelligence Outreach Institute. Steve created the Human Empowerment And Resiliency Training (OI HEARTraining®) based on Organic Intelligence, which is a positive psychology, fractal method known for its implicit exposure approach to trauma. Since 1999, Steve has trained thousands of professionals in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in the art of the compassionate treatment of trauma. As Professional Training Faculty for the SE™ Trauma Institute, he has mentored and trained teachers across the globe and is also Adjunct Faculty for JFK University’s Somatic Psychology program. Steve is a founding member of the Northern California Society for Integrative Mental Health and the International Transformational Resilience Coalition. He also served on the Global Training and Education Council for the SE™ Trauma Institute. See OrganicIn…

David Rome: Conversation about contemplative thinking

In this conversation, we talk about ‘Contemplative Thinking’: How it differs from what we usually describe as ‘thinking’, and how it fosters creativity. In case you want to come back to specific explanations of this process after listening to the podcast as a whole, see: – Description of the 3 phases: From 18’45” to 20’50” – How this is not just a shift in intentionality, it is a different body experience that allows fresh thinking: From 21’00” to 25’30” – How this applies to real life, in real-time: From 25’30” to 34’00” By the way, this recorded conversation is an instance of creative thinking fostered by an environment that is safe and stimulating. David’s presence and his way of holding the space made it possible for me (Serge) to go further into the concepts than I had before, with a sense of effortlessness, as if I was observing their unfolding and describing it, David I. Rome is the developer of Mindful Focusing, an integration of Eu…

Beatrice Blake: Mindful Listening Partnership

In this video conversation with Beatrice Blake, we talk about how to think out of the box: Instead of just relying on linear logic, how we can use all of our resources in a mindful way. We hope you are inspired by this conversation to experiment with a Mindful Listening Partnership. In addition to the above video, you may find it helpful to: – watch 5-minute video on Mindful Listening Partnerships, – read Mindful Listening Partnership FAQ. This Creative Listening Partnership is based on the principles of Focusing and Thinking At the Edge (TAE). Once you experience how naturally this process works, you may want to find out more. Originally trained as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Beatrice Blake has been a Certified Focusing trainer since 2000. She offers individual and small group classes for people who want to learn how to think from their own lived experience. Beatrice offers free half-hour introductory sessions online. She also teaches “Generating a Culture of Peace…

Leslie Becker-Phelps: What we know and do in therapy

The starting point for this conversation was an article about a situation where therapy had unintended consequences. This led us to find a moment to discuss what it is that we know, and how we can act on it, not just as therapists, but also as human beings. Leslie Becker-Phelps, PhD is a licensed psychologist who treats individuals and couples in her private practice in Basking Ridge, NJ and presents nationally to lay and professional audiences on relationship problems and self-criticism. She is the relationships expert on WebMD’s Relationships and Coping Community; writes for WebMD’s “Relationships” blog; and writes another blog called “Making Change” for Psychology Today. She is the author of Insecure in Love: How Anxious Attachment Can Make You Feel Jealous, Needy, and Worried and What You Can Do About It (New Harbinger Publications), which was released in May 2014. She was also the consulting psychologist for the book Love: The Psychology of Attachment (DK Publishing,…

Andrew Cook: Embodiment and dissociation

In this conversation, we explore dissociation and embodiment. It helps to think of dissociation as a natural “skill” that is necessary for us to be able to multitask – e.g. in such simple things as walking whilst not paying attention to our legs. In order for that dissociation to not become semi-permanent, we should naturally cultivate a positive relationship to the health in our bodies. Constant attention to problem solving and only focussing on what is “wrong” sets us up to be more likely to lose coherence. This has important implications for both psychological and physiological/physical health. Andrew Cook: I originally trained as a mining engineer – and then re-trained as a hydrogeologist. After some time in a research post, I worked in rural water development projects in deserts (including 2 years on the fringes of the Kalahari), and eventually specialised in the hydrology of wetland nature reserves. Parallel to this, from about 1987, I became interested in complemen…

Neal Brodsky: Embodied expressive therapy with children

Neal H. Brodsky, LMFT uses expressive therapies to help adults, young people, and families create lives they love. He is licensed in Marriage & Family Therapy and certified in both Core Energetics and Embodied Couples Work (Exceptional Marriage Approach.) Neal was originally trained in Film and Television and is particularly adept in helping clients visualize and create profound and lasting change in life. He is one of 10 therapists from around the world contributing a chapter to the 2015 book “Deep Play: Exploring the Use of Depth in Psychotherapy with Children” and his work supports the “inner children” of adult clients to resolve past family difficulty and allow the flourishing of life tasks and relationships. Neal’s U.S. offices are in New York City and Connecticut and he works with expat couples and families around the world through video-assisted online sessions along with his wife Judy Gotlieb, LMFT. See LoveLifeCounseling.com. Published: March 2016. See printable PDF…

Greg Madison on Focusing & existential therapy

Greg Madison, PhD, is an existential psychologist and psychotherapist active in various academic and professional communities across Europe and internationally. He has written the books, The End of Belonging and Existential Migration and co-edited three books on Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy and Existential Therapy. He continues to write articles on contemporary topics related to experiential-existential psychotherapy, participatory democracy, psychology and society. He founded The London Focusing Institute and is co-editor of Existential Analysis. See: www.gregmadison.net and www.londonfocusing.com Published: January 2016. See printable PDF transcript.

George Makari: The dilemmas of the embodied mind

Modernity has been structured around fracture lines, like the mind-body problem, the nature nurture problem, free will versus determinism, and secularism or faith. We explore these issues with George Makari. Historian and psychiatrist George Makari is the author of the widely acclaimed Revolution in Mind: the Creation of Psychoanalysis, which received the Gradiva Prize and was called the best history of its kind by Harold Bloom. The book has received over eighty reviews worldwide and has been the focus of numerous international conferences. His second book, Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind, was just published in November and was called “brilliant, compendious…essential reading” in the Wall Street Journal. Director of the DeWitt Wallace Institute for the History of Psychiatry, Dr. Makari is Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and Adjunct Professor at Rockefeller University and the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Res…

Sonia Sequeira: Mindfulness & sound meditation

Sonia Sequeira talks about mindfulness, with a special focus on sound meditation.

Suzanne Noel: Humanizing alien feelings

In this conversation, we explore Suzanne’s experience in dealing with difficult feelings and transforming them. This is a short conversation (7 minutes), also available as PDF transcript illustrated with drawings by Suzanne. Get printable PDF transcript. See also: I realized what I wanted to kill was my feelings, not myself, by Suzanne Noel. Suzanne Noel is a Certifying Focusing Coordinator. She developed Recovery Focusing and the H.O.W. We Heal model for group work. She lives in the central valley of Costa Rica. Her favorite quote is “I met what came, left behind my sorrows, and am traveling still.” (Movie, Restoration). Her websites are www.RecoveryFocusing.com and suzannelnoel.com Published December 2015

Linda Carlson: The healing power of expectancy

Dr. Linda Carlson holds the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology and is Full Professor in Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She has published over 150 research papers and book chapters in the area of psycho-oncology. In 2010, she published a patient manual with Michael Speca, Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery. She received the Kawano New Investigator Award from the International Psycho-Oncology Society in 2006; the William E. Rawls Prize in cancer control from the National Cancer Institute of Canada/Canadian Cancer Society in 2007; a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Psychological Association Health Section in 2009, the inaugural Research Excellence award from the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology in 2010, the Arete Award for Research Excellence from the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary in 2012. See also: Harnessing the power of the placebo effect Published De…

Ifat Eckstein’s chapter for What Sustains Me

Feeling At Home, by Ifat Eckstein A chapter from the upcoming book, What Sustains Me. Free download. Note: The PDF takes a moment to come up. Read this PDF on your computer, phone, or tablet. Here’s how to read it on your iPad. With more than 20 years experience of working as a couple & family therapist, for the last 10 years I enjoy bringing the world of FOT to the therapeutic space, giving workshops, teaching various courses and coordinating workshops. My desire is to bring an awareness of our interconnectedness through the felt sense, to bring back our sense of Oneness, our shared journey in this life. This process involves writing as a channel of expression. Through it I explore and try to find ways to bring this expanded perspective to daily life, to bring us back to our natural roots. To all these endeavors I bring experience and insight from couple and family therapy, group leading and teaching, my meetings with patients and colleagues. Inspired by the worlds of Judais…

Dirk Marivoet: Bodymind Integration

Dirk Marivoet is the director of the Institute for Bodymind Integration in Ghent (Belgium). He studied Core-Energetics under John C. Pierrakos, MD; Postural Integration®, Energetic Integration and Pelvic-Heart Integration under Jack Painter, PhD (and has been a certified trainer/supervisor since 1999). He has also worked extensively with native shamanism both in Europe and North America. Earlier in the 80s and 90s he was adjunct faculty Psychomotor Therapy at Leuven University, where he still teaches. Published November 2015. See printable PDF transcript. See also conversation with Dirk Marivoet about ethics and about what sustains him.

Bruce Nayowith: An introduction to Subtle Activism

In this conversation, Bruce Nayowith talks about Subtle Activism at an experiential level. As Dr David Nicol describes it, Subtle Activism is applying the wisdom of our inner work to the collective dimension, for collective transformation, rather than the personal domain. Another of his quotes: “Subtle activism can be understood as a set of practices that allow us to connect, in the depths of our being, with our love for the world and our longing for it to reflect the highest potentials of human nature.” Anytime one engages in a personal growth or healing process, it benefits others around them. What distinguishes Subtle Activism is that one is intentionally working with a larger realm than the personal – the collective is the subject of our attention and care, rather than simply a byproduct of it. If you are interested in Subtle Activism, here are links you may want to explore: * The Gaiafield Project. Quoting from their website: The Gaiafield Project promotes the study a…

Expressing the ineffable quality of the shared implicit

How can we capture the shared implicit? Certainly not by analyzing it to death. Poetry and music can help us transmit the experience of the ineffable. We let ourselves experience whatever resonance the melody and words have for us. It touches something in us, and the experience we have of it is very personal. At a conference, several of us presented a panel. We wanted to communicate experientially what we called “Shared Field”. So we started with a song – Suzanne, by Leonard Cohen. Now, it is on this web page you’re reading (recording by Bruce Nayowith). As you listen to it, you may remember that we put it there to give you a sense of what we mean by “shared field”. Or you may be carried away by your own associations with the music and the words. Or… In other words, what happens here is not perfectly clear communication, in the sense that copying a digital file is a way to perfectly transfer information from one support to another. The implicit field where this communi…

Dirk Marivoet: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (September 2015), Dirk Marivoet talks about getting an embodied experience of life…a sense of your own rhythm and pulsation….a sense of your orientation in the universe you live in… and an understanding and integration of the lessons that lie in the encounter…thus dreaming and weaving yourself into a life while being dreamt and being the web yourself… Dirk Marivoet is the director of the Institute for Bodymind Integration in Ghent (Belgium). He studied Core-Energetics under John C. Pierrakos, MD; Postural Integration®, Energetic Integration and Pelvic-Heart Integration under Jack Painter, PhD (and has been a certified trainer/supervisor since 1999). He has also worked extensively with native shamanism both in Europe and North America. Earlier in the 80s and 90s he was adjunct faculty Psychomotor Therapy at Leuven University, where he still teaches. Published September 2015

Aline LaPierre: Integrating the intelligence of the body

Aline LaPierre, PSYD, MFT, is the coauthor of Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship, and she has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed somatic journals. She was on the faculty of the somatic doctoral program at Santa Barbara Graduate Institute for 10 years. A graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute, she also trained as a psychoanalyst at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. She is the creator of NeuroAffective Touch™ and Experiential Psychobiology™ workshops supporting the development of embodied awareness for psychotherapists and bodyworkers. In private practice in West Los Angeles, she specializes in the integration of relational psychodynamic and somatic approaches. Published September 2015. See printable PDF transcript.

The Revolutionary Pause: Mary Hendricks Gendlin

This recording is very different from the rest of this series. Instead of an actual, spontaneous conversation, this 7-minute recording is a staged reading of the beginning of an article that Mary Hendricks Gendlin wrote. We did this as a memorial to Mary. In the article, she was explaining what she meant by “The Revolutionary Pause,” using a personal situation that many people can relate to in order to make this concept come to life. This brings out in a very dramatic way how pausing makes it possible for us to notice the dynamics of power and control, and find our own way. Five of us did this recording, Bruce Gibbs, Jocelyn Jacks Khan, Susan Rudnick, Catherine Torpey and Serge Prengel. We hope it inspires you to “pause for peace” – – inner peace as well as interpersonal and societal peace. Mary Hendricks Gendlin was the Executive Director of the Focusing Institute. She was in so many ways the heart and soul of the Institute, alongside her husband Gene. The followin…

Keren Ohayon: Taking my place in the world

This conversation is about sustaining as much as it is about emerging. It reflects an ongoing internal conversation about declaring my place in the world and negotiating, how much space I have within to take this world in, to live in it, to dip and swim in the river of life. It invited several years of exploration of that place of the in-between, the “threshold point”. Between an inhale and an exhale, between two cycles of breath, between one thought and the one that follows it, in that place where one thing has ended and the next thing has yet to begin. Keren Ohayon is a somatic oriented speech language therapist living and working in NYC. Born and raised in Jerusalem Israel, NYC has been home for her for almost 20 years. She completed her BA in Behavioral Sciences in Ben Gurion University, Israel and her MA in Speech Pathology at Lehman College, The City University of New York. Keren has extensive experience working with young children and families in a variety of set…

Marti Glenn on making time and space for healing

Marti Glenn, PhD, Co-Director, Quest Institute, offering intensive retreats for healing early trauma. She is founding President of Santa Barbara Graduate Institute with graduate degrees in somatic psychology, prenatal-perinatal psychology and clinical psychology. A pioneering psychotherapist and trainer for three decades, she was also professor of clinical psychology, integrating body psychotherapy with affective neuroscience, attachment, and trauma. Dr. Glenn serves on several non-profit boards and has chaired numerous professional conferences, including APPPAH and Neurons to Neighborhoods: Preventing and Healing Trauma. She co-produced the broadcast quality documentary, Trauma, Brain, and Relationship and has appeared in such documentary films as What Babies Want; What Babies Know; Reducing Infant Mortality and Improving the Health of Babies. She continues to train mental health professionals with a focus on relationship and the experienced body, weaving neuroscience, polyvagal theor…

Exploring the Shared Field

Bruce Gibbs, Andrew McDonald, Bruce Nayowith and I have been meeting regularly to explore the Shared Field. In this conversation, we discuss some of our findings. Bruce Gibbs, Ph.D, has been doing Focusing for 35+ years. His years doing management consulting were heavily influenced by his Focusing practice. He is also a long-time meditator and has integrated felt-sensing into his spiritual practice. Andrew MacDonald, a Focusing trainer since 1995, is a personal coach who works primarily with Systemic Constellations (Hellinger) to help clients find their next developmental step. Bruce Nayowith, MD: Since 1987, Bruce Nayowith has been using Focusing as a personal practice, and also as a way to explore diverse disciplines that encourage unfolding of individual and systemic potential. Serge Prengel is the editor of the Active Pause project. Published June 2015.

Tor Wager on understanding the Placebo effect

Dr. Wager is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and a faculty member in the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in cognitive psychology in 2003, and served as an Assistant and Associate Professor at Columbia University from 2004-2009. Since 2010, he has directed Boulder’s Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience laboratory. He has a deep interest in how thinking influences affective experiences, affective learning, and brain-body communication. His laboratory also focuses on the development and deployment of analytic methods, and has developed several publicly available software toolboxes for fMRI analysis. Unfortunately, the quality of the recording is not very good. You may want to read the transcript (below) as you listen to the audio. Published May 2015. See printable PDF transcript. See also: Harnessing the power of the placebo effect

Erica Goodstone: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (April 2015), Erica Goodstone talks about rising to a challenge, and knowing when to let go. See published chapter that evolved from this conversation. Dr. Erica Goodstone helps men and women heal their relationships through love. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Marriage Counselor, Sex Therapist, Body Oriented Psychotherapist and Personal Life and Health/Wellness Coach, Dr. Erica’s life’s work is about revealing the simple secret to healing and creating love that endures. Her popular book, Love Me, Touch Me, Heal Me and her novel, Love in the Blizzard of Life, as well as her Kindle and Smashwords books, all delve deeply into the heart of love – what interferes, suppresses or helps love to grow and thrive. Hint – it all begins with self-love. Dr. Erica’s virtual courses guide you to heal your life and get ready for love. Check out her Healing Through Love Seminars, her Love Me Touch Me, Heal Me Relationship System, and the new 30 Day Love Challeng…

Flavia Cymbalista: Uncertainty, making decisions and investing

Dr. Flavia Cymbalista is an Uncertainty Specialist. Uncertainty is the thread that runs through her academic work in Finance, her practical work with decision-making and her lifelong interest in how we know what we know. In the last 12 years, Flavia has taught hundreds of finance professionals and business people around the world how to access their gut intelligence and use it systematically in decision-making. She has also worked with investors, entrepreneurs, artists, multi-billion dollar hedge fund managers and Fortune 500 executives, coaching them through long-term multifaceted strategic decisions and major transitions. Flavia earned a doctorate in Economic Sciences from the FU Berlin and was a post-doc research fellow at the Psychology Dept at UC Berkeley. Led by her curiosity about the body-mind connection, she has studied many different approaches from other cultures and traditions, from Amazonian-Shamanism to Zen-Buddhism. She’s recently become strongly interested in cryptocu…

Rae Johnson: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (March 2015), Rae Johnson talks about the embodied experience of oppression, what she does to understand it and express her understanding of it in ways that can transform this experience. Rae Johnson, PhD, RSW, RSMT is the Associate Chair of the Somatic Studies specialization in the Depth Psychology program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and the director of the Institute for Embodiment Studies, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary scholarship on the lived experience of the body. Dr. Johnson presents internationally on the embodied experience of oppression and somatic research methods, and has held leadership roles in somatic psychology at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, Naropa University, Meridian University and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Published March 2015

Lorena Monda on Hakomi and Oriental Medicine

Lorena Monda, MS, DOM, LPCC, is a practicing psychotherapist (since 1979), a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, and a certified qigong teacher. She is a trainer for the Hakomi Institute and on the faculty of the AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas, where she teaches courses in clinical communication integrating Hakomi skills. Lorena is the author of The Practice of Wholeness: Spiritual Transformation in Everyday Life and a coeditor of I Have Arrived, I Am Home: Celebrating 20 Years of Plum Village Life and Hakomi Mindfulness Centered Somatic Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice (Norton, May 2015). She is currently working on a book called Mindfulness, Qi, and Transformation. Lorena is in private practice in New Mexico and teaches in the US and internationally. Published March 2015. See printable PDF transcript.

Sandy Kinnee: What Sustains Me

In this conversation, Sandy Kinnee talks about being drawn to looking in a different way. Sandy Kinnee is an artist whose work figures in the collections of many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He lives in Colorado Springs. See website. The painting with the red drip on the back is Arabesque, Number 13A, 1948. The one that deposited the red drip, indicating 13A was already a finished painting, is Number 2, 1949. I knew the numbers, but did not know the year. So, Number 13A naturally comes before Number 2, as the former was painted at the end of 1948 and the latter in 1949. Published February 2015

Paul Linden: Body awareness & emotional self-regulation

Paul Linden is a specialist in body awareness education, a martial artist, and an author. He is the developer of Being In Movement® mindbody training, and co-founder of Aikido of Columbus / Columbus Center for Movement Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Education, a sixth degree black belt in Aikido and a first degree black belt in Karate, and he is an instructor of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. He has extensive experience teaching people such as musicians, athletes, pregnant women, computer users, and children with attention disorders. He wrote several books, including: – Embodied Peacemaking: Body Awareness, Self-Regulation and Conflict Resolution – Teaching Children Embodied Peacemaking: Body Awareness, Self-Regulation and Conflict Resolution – Comfort at Your Computer: Body Awareness Training for Pain-Free Computer Use – Feeling Aikido: Body Awareness Training as a Foundation for Aikido Practice – Winning is Healing: Body Awareness and Empowermen…

Al Pesso: What Sustains Me #2

In this conversation (January 2015), Al Pesso talks about what moves him, and has provided sustenance in his personal and professional life. See also printable PDF of unedited transcript of this conversation. See also: published chapter that evolved from this conversation. Albert Pesso, co-founder with his wife, Diane Boyden-Pesso, of PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor and President of the Psychomotor Institute, Inc. was formerly Associate Professor and Director of the Dance Division at Emerson College, Supervisor of Psychomotor Therapy at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and Consultant in Psychiatric Research at the Boston VA Hospital. He has conducted training programs in PBSP in the US, Brazil, Israel and in many countries in Europe . He and his work with PBSP for the German GTZ Mission in The Democratic Republic of Congo have been featured in a documentary film, “State of Mind” distributed by Icarus Films. He is the author of many books and articles on PBSP, and a frequen…

Gregory Hickok: The myth of mirror neurons

Gregory Hickok, Ph.D. is Professor of Cognitive Sciences at UC Irvine, Founder, Director Emeritus, and current Fellow of the UCI Center for Cognitive Neuroscience & Engineering, Founder and Director of the Center for Language Science, Fellow of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory and the Center for Hearing Research, and past Chair of the Research Imaging Center’s Imaging Steering Committee. Beyond UCI he is the founding President of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language, Editor-in-Chief of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, and author of The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition. Published January 2015. See printable PDF transcript.

Ilene Serlin: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (November 2014), Ilene Serlin talks about her experience of spirituality. Ilene A. Serlin, Ph.D, BC-DMT is a psychologist and registered dance/movement therapist in San Francisco and Marin. Past-president San Francisco Psychological Association, FellowAPA, past-president Division of Humanistic Psychology, she taught at Saybrook University, Lesley University, UCLA, the NY Gestalt Institute and the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. Editor of Whole Person Healthcare (2007, 3 vol., Praeger) over 100 chapters and articles on body, art and psychotherapy, she is on the editorial boards of PsycCritiques, American Dance Therapy Journal, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Arts & Health: An International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice, Journal of Applied Arts and Health, and The Humanistic Psychologist. Published November 2014

David Rome: Mindful Focusing

David I. Rome is a teacher, writer and editor focusing on applications of contemplative methods in personal and social change. He has directed development of the Garrison Institute’s Transforming Trauma initiative as well as programs applying contemplative methods in K-12 education and environmental change work. Earlier, he was senior vice president for planning and development at Greyston Foundation, the pioneering Buddhist-inspired inner-city community development group, and before that president of Schocken Books in New York City. David is the developer of Mindful Focusing, a contemplative technique integrating Focusing and Buddhist mindfulness-awareness practices, a Certifying Coordinator with the Focusing Institute, and a meditation instruction trainer for Shambhala International. He is the author of the newly-published book Your Body Knows the Answer; Using Your Felt Sense to Solve Problems, Effect Change and Liberate Creativity (Shambhala Publications, 2014). See his website…

Michael Picucci: Focalizing

Dr. Michael Picucci, PhD, MAC, SEP, brings decades of investigation and experience to his practice of Psychotherapy, Focalizing and Consulting. His professional expertise spans a wide-range of disciplines as a Psychologist, Licensed Psychotherapist, Master Addictions Counselor, Sexologist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Organizational Consultant. Recipient of the National Institutes on Health “Outstanding Leadership in Research Award,” the last 30 years of Dr. Picucci’s exploration in Social Sciences, Organizational Development and Energy Psychology has focused on addictions, trauma healing, sexuality, and interpersonal and group dynamics. During this time he has been observing and creating rituals for sane, healthy living for individual clients, couples, groups and organizations. The story of this journey and his discoveries is told in Dr. Picucci’s books which can be found at http://www.theinstitute.org/books/ as well as in all his other published works on healing an…

Ifat Eckstein: What Sustains Me #2

In this conversation (October 2014), Ifat Eckstein talks about her deep sense of connection. See published chapter that evolved from this conversation. With more than 20 years experience of working as a couple & family therapist, for the last 10 years I enjoy bringing the world of FOT to the therapeutic space, giving workshops, teaching various courses and coordinating workshops. My desire is to bring an awareness of our interconnectedness through the felt sense, to bring back our sense of Oneness, our shared journey in this life. This process involves writing as a channel of expression. Through it I explore and try to find ways to bring this expanded perspective to daily life, to bring us back to our natural roots. To all these endeavors I bring experience and insight from couple and family therapy, group leading and teaching, my meetings with patients and colleagues. Inspired by the worlds of Judaism, Buddhism, the philosophy behind Focusing, Indigenous traditions and more, my pe…

Pierre Morin: Health, Sickness & Process Work

Pierre Morin, MD, PhD, is president of the International Association of Process Oriented Psychology (IAPOP) and a founding faculty member at the Process Work Institute Graduate School in Portland, OR. He was a clinical director of Switzerland’s leading rehabilitation clinic for brain and spinal injuries. After moving to Portland, OR, he studied health psychology and rehabilitation psychology. He currently works as a clinical director and supervisor in an outpatient mental health program and in private practice. Dr. Morin is a co-author of Inside Coma and author of Health in Sickness – Sickness in Health. He has written several articles on mind-body medicine and community health. See website. Published September 2014. See printable PDF transcript.

Simona Aronow: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (August 2014), Simona Aronow talks about her spiritual practice and how it relates to movement and body mindfulness. Simona Aronow, MEd, BC-ADTR, CMA, NCTMB, NCC, KMP facilitates movement for self awareness, expression and transformation. She brings to her healing work 35 years of experience as therapist, supervisor and educator. Simona is a Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist specializing in Authentic Movement, and is certified in Laban Movement Analysis and Kestenberg Movement Profiles. In addition, she is a hands on somatic practitioner and a long time student of Kabbalah. Her current passion is working with Authentic Movement and Embodied Spirituality as vehicles for enlivening others on their spiritual journeys. She teaches this work privately and at retreat centers, including The National Havurah Summer Institute, Isabella Freedman Retreat Center, Aleph Kallah, and University of Virginia Mindfulness Center. She is on faculty for the Laban/Bartennieff Mo…

Ifat Eckstein: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (July 2014), Ifat Eckstein talks about “asking”, connection, and clarity. See published chapter that evolved from this conversation. With more than 20 years experience of working as a couple & family therapist, for the last 10 years I enjoy bringing the world of FOT to the therapeutic space, giving workshops, teaching various courses and coordinating workshops. My desire is to bring an awareness of our interconnectedness through the felt sense, to bring back our sense of Oneness, our shared journey in this life. This process involves writing as a channel of expression. Through it I explore and try to find ways to bring this expanded perspective to daily life, to bring us back to our natural roots. To all these endeavors I bring experience and insight from couple and family therapy, group leading and teaching, my meetings with patients and colleagues. Inspired by the worlds of Judaism, Buddhism, the philosophy behind Focusing, Indigenous traditions and more,…

Raja Selvam: Integral Somatic Psychotherapy

Raja Selvam, PhD, is a senior trainer in Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing (SE) professional trauma training programs and the developer of Integral Somatic Psychotherapy (ISP), an advanced approach for integrating body, energy, and consciousness into any psychological process, designed for experienced clinicians. Raja’s eclectic approach draws from bodywork systems of Postural Integration, Biodynamic Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Polarity Therapy, body-psychotherapy systems of Reichian Therapy, Bioenergetics, and Bodynamic Analysis, Jungian and Archetypal psychologies, psychoanalytic schools of Object Relations and Inter-Subjectivity, Somatic Experiencing (SE), Affective Neuroscience, and Advaita Vedanta, a spiritual tradition from India. Raja’s article on treating trauma symptoms among Indian tsunami survivors was published in Traumatology (September 2008). Jung and Consciousness was published in analytical psychology journal Spring (Fall 2013). Raja teaches in the United States,…

Inge Sengelmann: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (June 2014), Inge Sengelmann talks about spiritual practice as a lived experience beyond concepts and theories. See published chapter that evolved from this conversation. Inge Sengelmann is a clinical psychotherapist licensed in Florida and Colorado, a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, and a registered yoga teacher focusing her practice on the treatment of traumatic stress and eating disorders. She considers herself a mind-body-spirit specialist who believes in the power of creative choice and conscious embodiment. Weaving ancient and modern wisdom, Inge integrates the latest developments in the field of neuroscience with yoga practices to help people embody their lives in a fulfilling way. She was a founding member of Miami’s first intensively-trained Dialectical Behavior Therapy consultation team. Inge has completed a ParaYoga Master Training and has been initiated into the Himalayan Tantric lineage of Sri Vidya. She has taught workshops locally, nationall…

Lisa Dale Miller on Mindfulness & Somatic Experiencing

Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP is a private practice psychotherapist in Los Gatos, CA and author. She specializes in mindfulness psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing therapy for the treatment of depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma, emotion dysregulation, chronic pain, and relationship distress. Lisa has authored a highly regarded new textbook on Buddhist psychology for mental health professionals, Effortless Mindfulness: Genuine mental health through awakened presence. Lisa is an outpatient clinician for the Veterans Administration San Jose and a teacher of Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) for addiction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for depression relapse prevention, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Lisa also presents at conferences on the clinical applications of mindfulness and Buddhist psychology. She has been a yogic and Buddhist meditation practitioner for forty years. For more info: on her practice, and on the book. Published June 2…

Robert Moss: Clinical Biopsychology

Dr. Moss is currently working with the Bon Secours Health System in Greenville, SC. He will be joining the Washington Medical Group in Washington, DC, this fall. He is board certified in clinical psychology (ABPP) and neuropsychology (ABN). He had over 20 years in private practice in addition to academic positions, the last of which was as an Associate Professor. He has published 49 professional articles and presented at a number of papers at local, national, and international conferences. He is the joint editor-in-chief of the new AIMS Neuroscience journal. He is ranked in the top 5% of all scientists on Research Gate. Copies of recent articles are available at ResearchGate.net, Academia.edu, and on his website Emotionalrestructuring.com. Published: May 2014. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Al Pesso: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (March 2014), Al Pesso talks about his sense of fitting within the natural order of things. and the felt sense of harmony that comes from that. See published chapter that evolved from this conversation. Albert Pesso, co-founder with his wife, Diane Boyden-Pesso, of PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor and President of the Psychomotor Institute, Inc. was formerly Associate Professor and Director of the Dance Division at Emerson College, Supervisor of Psychomotor Therapy at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and Consultant in Psychiatric Research at the Boston VA Hospital. He has conducted training programs in PBSP in the US, Brazil, Israel and in many countries in Europe . He and his work with PBSP for the German GTZ Mission in The Democratic Republic of Congo have been featured in a documentary film, “State of Mind” distributed by Icarus Films. He is the author of many books and articles on PBSP, and a frequent lecturer at universities, hospitals and clinics i…

Robert J. Hedaya, M.D.: Whole Psychiatry

Robert J. Hedaya, M.D., A.B.P.N., D.F.A.P.A., developed the Whole Psychiatry methodology, which offers a comprehensive physiological and psychosocial approach to mental health and chronic physical illness. He evaluates and treats mind and body dysfunction by focusing on the detailed evaluation and bi-directional interactions between and among a person’s hormonal system, immune system, gastrointestinal system, nutrition, environment, socio-spiritual status, genetics, detoxification, cell signaling, life circumstance, age and gender. As a result, Whole Psychiatry notably improves outcomes and the potential for avoiding or reducing medication. Dr. Hedaya is recipient of the Physician’s Recognition Award from the American Medical Association and has been voted Outstanding Teacher of the Year multiple times by the Georgetown University Medical Center Department of Psychiatry. He is author of Understanding Biological Psychiatry (1996), The Antidepressant Survival Program: How to Bea…

Robin Kappy: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (February 2014), Robin Kappy talks about seeing beauty in art, in the world at large, and in people. Robin Kappy, LCSW is a certified Focusing Oriented Psychotherapist and supervisor. A skillful and empathic psychotherapist with years of professional experience, her specialties include the treatment of recent and early-childhood trauma, issues of creativity, depression, anxiety, relationships and sleep-related problems. She is a certified EMDR practitioner and faculty member and supervisor for the Focusing Oriented Relational Psychotherapy Program. She and Susan Rudnick, LCSW cofounded Flatiron Psychotherapy Associates and offer “Rest Well Tonight,” a focusing-oriented approach to assisting people who experience difficulties falling or staying asleep, or wake feeling un-rested. In addition to a passionate engagement with her work as a psychotherapist, Robin loves to draw and paint. Her drawings and paintings have appeared in a number of venues. She writes abou…

Susan Rudnick: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (February 2014), Susan Rudnick begins with a childhood memory of being exposed to nature, and how from then on, nature has sustained her, thinking that will be the topic. But then the conversation moves to the way she uses embodied presence to bring herself back into a memory, reflect, deepen understanding, connect it to the rich tapestry of her life, and perhaps express in writing. This is a specific use of the mindfulness that she tries to cultivate all the time. Susan Rudnick LCSW has been in private practice for over thirty years in Manhattan and Westchester. Her special interests include questions of spiritual direction, infertility and adoption, and relationship intimacy issues. She trained analytically at the Karen Horney Institute. Twelve years ago she discovered and fell in love with Focusing. She is a certified Focusing Trainer, and has completed a Focusing based trauma program, led by Shirley Turcotte. She also is part of an ongoing Self Psychology stud…

Pawan Bareja: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (January 2014), Pawan Bareja talks about the power of myth to inspire us. Pawan Bareja has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2001. She is a Spirit Rock Ritual Minister and Community Dharma Leader. In her private practice as Trauma Resolution Practitioner, she works with a diverse population of clients and includes mindfulness meditation. As a senior assistant in Somatic Experiencing trainings, Pawan has offered personal sessions and case consults at all levels for the past 10 years. She now teaches mindfulness and trauma classes and daylongs in San Francisco and at Spirit Rock. Published January 2014

Iain McGilchrist: The Divided Brain

Dr Iain McGilchrist began his academic career as a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, teaching and writing about English literature. In Against Criticism, he expressed his misgivings about the academic study of literature, especially its neglect of how individual, embodied beings encounter the unique, incarnate work of art. He studied philosophy, trained in medicine, and became a psychiatrist. He has since twice been re-elected to Fellowships at All Souls, has been a Research Fellow in Neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins, and a Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at the Bethlem & Maudsley Hospital. He works privately as a psychiatrist in London. His latest book, The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, explores the different versions of the world which are made available to us by the cerebral hemispheres, and their influence on the history of ideas and of philosophy in the West. Published: January 2014. See Printable PDF transcript.

Bruce Ecker: Coherence therapy & memory reconsolidation

Bruce Ecker has driven the clinical field's recognition of memory reconsolidation research

Pawan Bareja on Mindfulness and Somatic Experiencing

Pawan Bareja has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2001. She is a Spirit Rock Ritual Minister and Community Dharma Leader. In her private practice as Trauma Resolution Practitioner, she works with a diverse population of clients and includes mindfulness meditation. As a senior assistant in Somatic Experiencing trainings, Pawan has offered personal sessions and case consults at all levels for the past 10 years. She now teaches mindfulness and trauma classes and daylongs in San Francisco and at Spirit Rock. Published October 2013. See also conversation with Pawan Bareja about what sustains her.

Ruella Frank: A somatic and developmental approach to psychotherapy

Ruella Frank, Ph.D., is founder and director of the Center for Somatic Studies, faculty at the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy, adjunct faculty at Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy and also teaches throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and Canada. Ruella has authored chapters in various publications as well as the book Body of Awareness: A Somatic and Developmental Approach to Psychotherapy, in four languages (GestaltPress 2001), and co-authored the book The First Year and The Rest of Your Life: Movement, Development and Psychotherapeutic Change (Routledge Press 2010), in three languages. She also wrote and produced the video course Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy: An Introduction (2013). See: SomaticStudies.com. Published: September 2013. See: Printable PDF transcript.

David Wallin on Attachment

David Wallin, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Albany and Mill Valley, California. A graduate of Harvard who received his doctorate from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, he has been practicing, teaching, and writing about psychotherapy for nearly three decades. Attachment in Psychotherapy, his most recent book, is presently being translated into nine languages. He is also the co-author (with Stephen Goldbart) of Mapping the Terrain of the Heart: Passion, Tenderness, and the Capacity to Love. A lively and engaging speaker who combines a scholarly perspective with unusual candor about his own experience as a therapist, he has lectured on attachment and psychotherapy in Australia, Europe, Canada, and throughout the United States. For further information, please visit AttachmentInPsychotherapy.com. Published: July 2013. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Maci Daye: A mindfulness-based sexual enrichment process for couples

Maci Daye is the creator of Passion and Presence®, a mindfulness-based sexual enrichment process for couples. Maci is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Hakomi Trainer, Certified Master Career Counselor and Life Coach who lives in Atlanta, GA and Mallorca, Spain. Maci has graduate degrees in Education and Counseling from Harvard and Georgia State Universities, and completed the Somatic Experiencing training through the intermediate level. Maci has been practicing Hakomi for 25 years and teaches in the US, Europe and Australia. See: PassionAndPresence.com. Published May 2013. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Rick Hanson on Buddha’s Brain and therapy

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and author of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (in 22 languages) and Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (in 9 languages). Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and Affiliate of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, he’s been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. His work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, FoxBusiness, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and O Magazine and he has several audio programs with Sounds True. His weekly e-newsletter – Just One Thing – has nearly 70,000 subscribers, and also appears on Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites. See RickHanson.net. Published March 2013. See printable PDF transcript.

Serge Prengel: Creative integration of experience

Serge Prengel is a therapist in private practice, co-editor of Defining Moments For Therapists, and author of Bedtime Stories For Your Inner Child.

Patti Lentz on Physical Therapy and Somatic Experiencing

Patti Lentz is a physical therapist, yoga therapist and SEP in Albuquerque, NM. She also teaches physical therapists and yoga teachers internationally to recognize trauma symptoms in their clients and how to skillfully adapt treatment for them. She is insatiably curious….. about how things work, and what happens when they aren’t working so well. This curiosity is stimulated by the understanding of trauma in the SE model, and she invites this curiosity to her private clients and yoga students. Patti was part of the first SE team sent by the Foundation to Thailand after the tsunami, and to New Orleans and Baton Rouge after Katrina. Working with individuals soon after these two events helped Patti see the benefits of helping clients to understand their own nervous systems so they are better prepared when stressful/potentially traumatic events occur. She has adapted this experience to working with clients prior to stressful situations. See her website. Published February 20…

Michael Heller: How I use body psychotherapy with my patients

Michael C. Heller (born in 1949) is a psychologist who works on clinical and experimental research issues related to body and mind. His knowledge on this field has been summarized in his books: The Flesh of the Soul (2001, Peter Lang), Les Psychothérapies Corporelles (2008, De Boeck) and Body Psychotherapy (2012, W.W. Norton). He has participated in the creation of several journals in the field of body psychotherapy, and has occupied key posts in the European Association of Body psychotherapy (Vice President, Chair of the Ethics Committee and Scientific Committee). He publishes and teaches internationally. He is now practicing psychotherapy in Lausanne (Switzerland). See: Aqualide.ch. Published January 2013. See printable PDF transcript.

Tanya Slattery on Mindfulness & Somatic Experiencing

Tanya Slattery is a structural body worker and SEP in Philadelphia. She has always been drawn to working with her hands—she had started adult life as a ceramic artist. She shifted to bodywork more than 20 years ago, and credits inspiring teachers to give her a sense of working at the cutting edge of her profession. Beyond pure technique, she values intentionality, and a focus on being in the moment, working as an artist, being open to what is new. Eight years after becoming a structural body worker, she took a ten-day Vipassana meditation retreat which reinforced her interest in mindfulness. Through this training, she realized that one need not have to be seated to meditate, and she sees her work as a meditation practice, now further deepened by her training in Somatic Experiencing. Published December 2012.

Judyth Weaver: Sensory Awareness

Judyth O. Weaver, Ph.D. in Reichian Psychology, began studying with Charlotte Selver in 1968, after returning from three years in Asia, most of them spent in a Zen Buddhist monastery. She is also certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and in Prenatal and Birth Therapy. She is a Rosen Method practitioner and senior teacher; and a master teacher in T’ai Chi Ch’uan, which she has been practicing since 1968. Judyth taught at the California Institute for Integral Studies and other S.F. Bay Area graduate schools for 25 years. She co-founded Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and created its Somatic Psychology doctoral program. She has developed her own integrated manner of working with people which she calls ‘Somatic Reclaiming.’ She maintains a private practice in Seattle, Washington, and on Cortes Island, B.C., Canada in the summers, as well as teaches internationally. See: JudythWeaver.com. December 2012. See: Printabl…

Tina Stromsted: Jungian Analysis & Authentic Movement

Tina Stromsted, Ph.D., MFT, BC-DMT is a Jungian analyst, Somatic psychotherapist, and Board Certified Dance therapist. Past co-founder and faculty of the Authentic Movement Institute in Berkeley and a founding member of the Women’s Spirituality program at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she currently teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, the Depth Psychology/ Somatics Doctoral program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, in Marion Woodman’s BodySoul Rhythms® Leadership Trainings, ZIST, and numerous universities and healing centers internationally. Founding director of the AuthenticMovement-BodySoul Center, her Soul’s Body approach integrates Jungian Depth Work, Somatics & Expressive Arts. Ongoing Dreamdancing® groups engage the healing power of working with dreams in the body. With roots in theater and dance and over 35 years of clinical experience, her publications explore the integration of body, brain, psyche, soul and nature in healing and transfo…

Frances Sommer Anderson on Using Somatic Experiencing in Psychoanalytic Practice

Frances Sommer Anderson, PhD, is a psychoanalyst and licensed psychologist in private practice in New York City. The body–disabled, disfigured, and in pain–has been the focus of her clinical work, beginning with a clinical psychology internship in physical rehabilitation medicine at Rusk Institute-NYU Langone Medical Center in 1974. Specializing in treating pain and other mindbody disorders since 1979, she integrates relational psychoanalytic theory, research in the neuroscience of emotional and cognitive processing, and the neurobiology of attachment, trauma and pain. She has been recognized internationally for her experiential teaching style and for leading edge publications regarding the body in psychoanalytic theory and practice: Relational Pespectives on the Body and Bodies in Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension. Her forthcoming book, Pathways to Pain Relief, is co-authored with Eric Sherman, PsyD. See website. Published October 2012. See other conversation with Franc…

Katy Swafford: Eidetic Imagery

Katy Swafford, PhD has worked in Eidetic Imagery for 20 Years. She has trained with the founder, Akhter Ahsen, PhD intensively and her practice is focused on developing applications for this comprehensive method. Dr. Swafford conducts training in Eidetic Imagery and is working to introduce this somatically based theory into academic environments as well. Eidetic Imagery is a comprehensive model of consciousness in which images of nature, development, and mythology come together in the body. The somatic or “S” factor of an Eidetic Image, (Image – Somatic Response- Meaning) makes Eidetic Imagery a Body Psychotherapy with the image as the sensory entry point. Through the Eidetic Image, universal qualities of mind become a thick, rich, physical experience – mythic mind and physical body are together. Akhter Ahsen (recipient of USABP’s Pioneer Award) is truly a Pioneer in the field of consciousness, never leaving the body in the universal fullness of mind. See: EideticInstitute.co…

Lynn Somerstein: Yoga & Psychoanalysis

Lynn Somerstein, PhD, NCPsyA, LP, RYT, licensed psychoanalyst in private practice, is Executive Director of the Institute for Expressive Analysis. Dr. Somerstein is on the editorial board of the Psychoanalytic Review and the author of numerous articles about yoga, anxiety, attachment issues and psychotherapy. Dr. Somerstein is also an international speaker, and has presented her work in India, Turkey, China, and in the United States. She uses the wisdom she has gained as a yoga teacher, psychologist and student of Ayurveda, or Indian life knowledge, to help people reach their innermost goals. See: LynnSomerstein.com. September 2012. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Cedar Barstow: The Right Use of Power

Cedar Barstow, M.Ed., Certified Hakomi Therapist and International Trainer is the author of “Right Use of Power: The Heart of Ethics.” The ideas and examples in this talk are taken from this book and Cedar’s training programs in right use of power. The goal of right use of power, as the largest container for ethics, is for people to increase their skill, sensitivity, and effectiveness in the use of both their personal and their professional power. The program has four aspects: Be Informed, Be Compassionate, Be Connected, Be Skillful. By focusing on learning ethics from the inside out rather than from the rule side in, the program engages people in studying and refining their impact and on cultivating right relationship and repairing harm. She lives in Boulder Colorado. See: RightUseOfPower.com. August 2012. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Jack Rosenberg & Beverly Kitaen-Morse: Integrative Body Psychotherapy

Dr. Jack Lee Rosenberg has an innovative approach to body psychotherapy, human sexuality, and couples counseling

Pat Ogden: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Pat Ogden, Ph.D. is the founder and director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, an internationally recognized school that specializes in training psychotherapists in somatic/cognitive approaches for the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder and attachment disturbances. She is a clinician, consultant, international lecturer and trainer, co-founder of the Hakomi Institute, and has been a faculty member of The Naropa University since 1985. Dr. Ogden is trained in a wide variety of somatic and psychotherapeutic approaches and has over 40 years of experience working with individuals and groups. She is the first author of the groundbreaking book, Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy, which was published in 2006 in the Interpersonal Neurobiology series of W.W. Norton, as well as numerous articles and chapters, and is currently working on two books: The Body as Resource: Sensorimotor Interventions for the Treatment of Trauma and Sensorimotor Psych…

Robert Hilton: Relational Somatic Psychotherapy

Robert Hilton, Ph.D has been in private practice in Orange County, California for 45 years and has taught courses at the University of California at Irvine and San Diego, and the United States International University in La Jolla. In 1972 he co-founded the Southern California Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis where he continues to be a senior trainer. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the California Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis where as a senior faculty member emeritus he lectures at their International conferences as well as teaching throughout Europe, the United States and South America. In addition to his many publications he is the author of Relational Somatic Psychotherapy: Collected Essays of Robert M. Hilton, Michael Sieck, editor. May 2012. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Bodyfulness: Body awareness & embodied presence

In the video below, you can see somebody using the body as a resource in the process of making sense of things. Please keep in mind that the person in this video, Carol “Tandava” Henning, is an actor and dancer who sees belly dancing as a way to embody the sacred feminine. She has developed a higher ability to be aware of her body and to listen to inner movement.

Jean-Jacques Joris: Equine-assisted psychotherapy

A native of Geneva, Switzerland, Jean-Jacques Joris founded Twin Oaks Farm with his wife Isabelle, a center for equine-assisted psychotherapy, near Boulder, Colorado. Jean-Jacques holds a Law degree from Geneva University and an MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder. In offering mindfulness-based psychotherapy with horses to his clients, Jean-Jacques brings together his three lifelong passions: the human body-mind, contemplative practice, and the healing power of the human-horses relationship. For fifteen years, Jean-Jacques was a diplomat with the Swiss foreign service, and worked in conflict and post-conflict environments around the world, as well as in the field of war crimes and international justice, gaining first-hand experience of individual and collective trauma. Jean-Jacques speaks several languages and is currently learning the wordless language of his 13 equine co-therapists. See: TwinOaksFarm.com. April 2012: See: Printable PDF trans…

Stephen Terrell on Developmental Trauma & Attachment Disorders

Stephen J. Terrell, MS, LPC, RPT, SEP is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in Austin, Texas. He specializes in Developmental Trauma, Medical Trauma, and Attachment Disorders including Reactive Attachment Disorder. Stephen is a single parent and knows firsthand the affects of trauma on the family system. After adopting his son with Reactive Attachment Disorder, he felt overwhelmed with his experience and went searching for trauma/attachment treatments. He has completed the TST program with Kathy Kain and has incorporated the touch work as a crucial component in working with regulation and early developmental trauma because of the non-verbal approach. Stephen works both with the parent and child during sessions. Stephen is the founder of Austin Attachment and Counseling Center and is a Registered Play Therapist, certified in EMDR, and trained in working with First Responders. He is often called upon to speak at national and international conferences on children and trauma. See W…

Part 2 of the conversation with Albert Pesso

Albert Pesso, co-founder with his wife, Diane Boyden-Pesso, of PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor and President of the Psychomotor Institute, Inc. was formerly Associate Professor and Director of the Dance Division at Emerson College, Supervisor of Psychomotor Therapy at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and Consultant in Psychiatric Research at the Boston VA Hospital. He has conducted training programs in PBSP in the US, Brazil, Israel and in many countries in Europe . He and his work with PBSP for the German GTZ Mission in The Democratic Republic of Congo have been featured in a documentary film, “State of Mind” distributed by Icarus Films. He is the author of many books and articles on PBSP, and a frequent lecturer at universities, hospitals and clinics in the US and Europe. At present, he continues his intensive training schedule in Europe, and also leads programs and sees individuals in Boston, Massachusetts. Al is the recipient of the USABP’s 2012 Lifetime Achievem…

Albert Pesso: PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor

Albert Pesso, co-founder with his wife, Diane Boyden-Pesso, of PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor and President of the Psychomotor Institute, Inc. was formerly Associate Professor and Director of the Dance Division at Emerson College, Supervisor of Psychomotor Therapy at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and Consultant in Psychiatric Research at the Boston VA Hospital. He has conducted training programs in PBSP in the US, Brazil, Israel and in many countries in Europe . He and his work with PBSP for the German GTZ Mission in The Democratic Republic of Congo have been featured in a documentary film, “State of Mind” distributed by Icarus Films. He is the author of many books and articles on PBSP, and a frequent lecturer at universities, hospitals and clinics in the US and Europe. At present, he continues his intensive training schedule in Europe, and also leads programs and sees individuals in Boston, Massachusetts. Al is the recipient of the USABP’s 2012 Lifetime Achieveme…

Astrid Schillings: What Sustains Me

In this conversation (February 2012), Astrid Schillings talks about “The-Whole-Body-Focusing”, the place of grounded Being, Spirituality, Mindfulness, pathways of embodiment in her life. Astrid Schillings’ bio: Focusing came into my life in 1981 when studying psychology. It resonated deeply with my wondering what it is to be human, why we are here. I have been exploring, teaching extensively on the interfaces of Sensitive Body-Awareness, Mindfulness, Meditative enquiry, Inner-Directed-Movement and Focusing. It took years to let it slowly carry forward in my heart into one taste of The-Whole-Body-Focusing. Thank you Kevin McEvenue for your warm support! I teach WBF/Focusing-Oriented-Therapy internationally in accredited trainings for counsellors/psychotherapists like in my Cologne-Centre and to everybody interested. I experience The-Whole-Body-Focusing as a way of embodied enquiry into living being, a dynamic being aware… person to person, person- environment, the more… every…

Eric Wolterstorff: Social Trauma

Dr . Eric Wolterstorff’s specialty is social trauma, meaning the impacts of threats, disasters, deprivation and violent conflict on the capacity of societies to adapt to the world, regulate and nourish themselves, and develop. His work is based in the intersection of psychology, trauma, culture and group behavior. Wolterstorff studied body -based approaches to healing trauma and added to Peter Levine’s body of work. In his dissertation, he describes relationships between the neuropsychology of memory and trauma in individuals and groups. He has applied his methods to families and organizations impacted by trauma. Dr. Wolterstorff is currently writing a textbook on social trauma for an international relations series, and completing a proposal for a ten-year national healing project for Rwanda. Over the past fifteen years, Wolterstorff has led professional trainings and consulted in the United States and Europe. See: ShiftingCulture.com. February 2012. See: Printable PDF transc…

The Poetic Body, with Rae Johnson & Laury Rappaport

Dr. Johnson is the Director of the Institute for Embodiment Studies, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary scholarship in embodiment studies. She is the former Chair of the Somatic Psychology Department at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, former Director of the Body Psychotherapy Program in the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University and the founding Coordinator of Student Crisis Response Programs at the University of Toronto. Her research and clinical interests include the somatic impact of oppression, embodied critical pedagogy, and feminist somatic research methods. Laury Rappaport, Ph.D., REAT, ATR-BC, is the Founder/Director of the Focusing and Expressive Arts Institute, a Certifying Coordinator and Trainer with The Focusing Institute in NY. Based on over thirty years of clinical application, Laury pioneered the development of the integration of Focusing with the expressive arts, known as Focusing-Oriented Arts…

Alice Ladas: Vitality and Curiosity

In this conversation, Alice Ladas reflects on the drive and energy that has fueled her professional activities and her zest for life. Alice K. Ladas, Ed. D., is a pioneer for body psychotherapy, educated childbirth, breastfeeding, and sexuality education. The research she and her husband did (Women and Bioenergetic Analysis) led to meeting her co-authors on the NY Times best seller The G Spot and Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality. Alice was chair of the research committee of the US Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) for many years. In 2008, the USABP honored Alice by naming its research award The Alice Kahn Ladas Research Award to honor her for her tireless efforts to further research in Somatic Psychotherapy. She is a licensed psychologist in New Mexico. Published December 2011. See other conversation on this site with Alice Ladas and conversation with her about therapy.

Babette Rothschild: Somatic Trauma Therapy

Babette Rothschild, MSW, LCSW, is the author of five books, all published by WW Norton: – The Body Remembers–The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment (2000) (bestseller) – The Body Remembers CASEBOOK–Unifying Methods and Models in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD (2003) – Help for the Helper–The Psychophysiology of Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma (2006) – 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery (2010) (bestseller) – Trauma Essentials: The Go-To Guide. (2011) She has been a psychotherapist and body psychotherapist since 1976 and a teacher and trainer since 1992. After living and working for 9 years in Copenhagen, Denmark, she returned to her native Los Angeles. There she is writing her next books while she continues to lecture, train, and supervise psychotherapists, body psychotherapists, and psychologists worldwide. See: SomaticTraumaTherapy.com. December 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Anthony “Twig” Wheeler: Spreading the word about Somatic Experiencing

Anthony “Twig” Wheeler is a Cultural Animator and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner/Consultant from Washington state. His background includes extensive study in human ecology, social change theory and the healing arts. Twig has assisted extensively in the SE trainings helping graduate hundreds of SE practitioners. He offers sessions and consultations at all levels of the SE training. Twig focuses on the translation and outreach of SE principles and guidelines worldwide. He has consulted in war affected communities in DR Congo, crisis clinics and violence prevention programs in the US and with helping professionals on four continents. In 2011 Twig produced an autobiographical “One-Man Show” titled Stories of Completion detailing his personal transformation out of PTSD with the aid of Somatic Experiencing. His website LiberationIsPossible.org showcases his various projects including his SE Reflections blog specifically designed for SE oriented practitioners. Twig is dedicated to…

Jonathan Foust: Mindfulness & the moment of change

In this conversation, Jonathan Foust talks about the moment of change. Jonathan Foust, MA, CSA is a senior teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, a founder of the Meditation Teacher Training Institute and former President of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. He is a certified trainer in Focusing and incorporates the principles of Focusing and meditation with clients, students and classes. Jonathan has been leading retreats and training teachers for over 25 years. He is based in the Washington DC area. Website: http://www.jonathanfoust.com/ Published November 2011

Stephen Porges: The Polyvagal Theory

Stephen Porges explains the polyvagal theory.

Judyth Weaver: Mindfulness in everyday life

In this conversation, Judyth Weaver talks about how to be in the moment, in a practical, down-to-earth way. Judyth O. Weaver was a modern dancer in NYC and SF when, in 1965, she went to Japan where she studied Kabuki and Noh and other forms of movement and then entered a Zen Buddhist monastery. Upon her return to the U.S. in 1968 she studied T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Sensory Awareness, becoming certified to teach both. She earned her Ph.D. in Reichian Therapy in 1979. She is also certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, and in Prenatal and Birth Therapy. She is a Rosen Method practitioner and senior teacher. Judyth was professor at the California Institute for Integral Studies for 25 years; is co-founder of Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and creator of its Somatic Psychology doctoral program; she has developed her own integrated manner of working which she calls ‘Somatic Reclaiming.’ She has a private practice in Seattle, Washing…

Dea Parsanishi: Working with First Nations, Exploring spirituality as a resource

“I live and work on the west coast of Vancouver Island where I have had a private trauma psychotherapy practice for 10 years. Much of my current clinical work is with early developmental trauma and attachment and I work as a counselor educator with both the SE Trauma Institute and the University of Victoria. “I have been blessed to work in a number of First Nations communities and have been taught how communities survive multi-generational trauma, the importance of spirituality in healing, and the overlap between SE and some traditional ways of healing. This experience informs and affects my work with both First Nations and non-First Nations people. “I work from a body-oriented perspective, incorporating SE, movement, touch and touch awareness. “I also work and play with a fabulous team of SE-affiliated people, surf, build parts of my house with my husband and play, play, play with my young son.” Published October 2011.

Garet Bedrosian: Bioenergetics & Imago couples therapy

Garet Bedrosian says: “My life’s path has been motivated by curiosity and a desire to know the world around me at a deeper level. I sensed energy and knew there was more which was evidenced in always wanting to know the “why” of things; therefore I’ve dedicated much of my life to self-exploration and following my wonder about people, relationships, and diverse cultures. I believe the mind and body are inextricably linked. in more than 30 years of psychotherapy experience I have trained in Bioenergetic Analysis, Expressive Arts Therapy, Imago Couples Therapy, EMDR, and Addictions. I am currently the Executive Director of the Southern California Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis as well as a faculty in the Certification Program. I am also a member of a Playback Improvisational theater group, I dance and practice yoga, so being alive and energetic is a personal commitment for me.” See: GaretBedrosian.com. Published October 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.

David Smith on the creative process: How to enhance creativity

In this conversation, David Smith talks about the creative process, and how to enhance creativity. David Smith is a certified Focusing teacher with a special interest in how Focusing can enhance the creative arts. As a published author and an award-winning playwright, he draws upon his own background in the arts – including creative blocks – to offer creativity coaching to other artists. Additional background includes writing for New York children’s television and winning an award for a video project with Simon and Schuster Publishers. He has developed a self-discovery practice called Experiential Journaling, which is based upon the principles of Focusing. He teaches this practice in workshops and has also produced a CD. See: thewritefocus.com Published September 2011

Mary J Giuffra on Couples Therapy

Dr. Mary Giuffra has been a therapist for over 35 years. She received her doctorate from New York University and is a New York State Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric Mental Health, and a New York State Registered Professional Nurse. Dr. Giuffra has also been recognized for her pioneering efforts as an educator and specialist in curriculum development. She has served as a tenured member of the faculty at New York University and the College of Mount Saint Vincent. She has been the recipient of several major grants from the federal government and is the author of countless articles in peer reviewed journals, and book chapters. For many years, Mary has been an SE Senior Assistant and approved at all levels for sessions, consults and group consultations in SE and SE Touch. She has assisted in Canada, Hong Kong and both US Coasts. See website. Published September 2011. See other conversation with Mary Giuffra.

Diana Fosha: Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

Diana Fosha, Ph.D., is the developer of AEDP, a healing-based, transformation-oriented model of psychotherapy. She is the author of The Transforming Power of Affect: A Model for Accelerated Change (Basic Books, 2000), and of numerous articles and chapters on transformational processes in experiential psychotherapy and trauma treatment. She is the editor, along with Dan Siegel and Marion Solomon, of The Healing Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience, Development, and Clinical Practice (Norton, 2009), part of Norton’s Interpersonal Neurobiology Series. A DVD of her AEDP work with a patient has been released by the American Psychological Association, as part of their Systems of Psychotherapy Video Series (APA, 2006). Throughout her career, she has been exploring different aspects of the change process. Her work on transformational studies has focused on integrating recent developments in attachment theory, affective neuroscience, emotion theory and developmentally-based understandings…

Robert Scaer: Understanding the brain, and what happens in stress and trauma

Dr Scaer gives an overview of how the thinking brain and the emotional brain interact, and what happens in stress and trauma.

Lidy Evertsen: Working with Parts from a Bodynamic perspective

Lidy Evertsen, originally a professional classical singer and voice teacher, was trained as a Unitive Body Psychotherapist in the early nineties. Soon she became involved in the Bodynamic System. Now she is a certified Bodynamic Therapist, Bodynamic Shock Trauma Therapist and a trainer in the Foundation and Shock Trauma Training. Lidy has a private practice in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She runs international Bodynamic Trainings in cooperation with Lisbeth and Ditte Marcher, also in Amsterdam. Since October 2010 Lidy has been the president of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP). Lidy’s special interest is working with dissociation and working with clients who endured long term trauma. See: Bodynamic.nl. August 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Robert Lewis: Bioenergetics & the dyadic experience

Robert Lewis, M.D., in private practice in New York, is a senior trainer on the International institute of Bioenergetic Analysis faculty, and a member of the clinical faculty of the NYU/Mount Sinai Medical Center. He has published extensively on the integration of early developmental and relational issues into the basic Bioenergetic approach. His elucidation of Cephalic Shock and way of working with the head, voice, and diaphragmatic connections to the pelvis, are beyond words. Bob finds the data of recent neuroscience confirming of his emphasis on an implicit, bodily- based approach to what is healing in the therapeutic relationship.He leads workshops in Europe and the Americas, and residential intensives on Long Island, NY. See: BodyMindCentral.com. July 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Roshi Robert Althouse: Living a zen-inspired life

In this conversation, Robert Althouse presents a perspective on Zen that is grounded in Western science and psychology. He describes how mindful awareness impacts on the way we experience our lives. Roshi Robert Althouse is a fully empowered Zen teacher in the White Plum lineage and a fully ordained Zen Buddhist Priest. Roshi Althouse and his wife, Rev. June Ryushin Tanoue, co-founded the Zen Life & Meditation Center in Oak Park, IL. He is the Abbot of the Zen Center and its primary teacher. Roshi Althouse began teaching in Hawaii where he and his wife co-founded the Zen Center of Hawaii in 1993. They moved to California in 2001 to work for the Peacemaker Community with Roshi Bernie Glassman, where Roshi Althouse served as the Director of the Zen Peacemaker Order for two years. He has studied with the following Zen Masters: Roshi Taizan Maezumi, Roshi Robert Aitken, Roshi Bernie Glassman, and his transmission teacher, Roshi Nicolee Jikyo McMahon. He studied with the following Tibeta…

Judyth O. Weaver: Somatic Reclaiming, Pre- & Perinatal Process

Judyth O. Weaver, Ph.D. in Reichian Psychology, began studying with Charlotte Selver in 1968, after returning from three years in Asia, most of them spent in a Zen Buddhist monastery. She is also certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and in Prenatal and Birth Therapy. She is a Rosen Method practitioner and senior teacher; and a master teacher in T’ai Chi Ch’uan, which she has been practicing since 1968. Judyth taught at the California Institute for Integral Studies and other S.F. Bay Area graduate schools for 25 years. She co-founded Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and created its Somatic Psychology doctoral program. She has developed her own integrated manner of working with people which she calls ‘Somatic Reclaiming.’ She maintains a private practice in Seattle, Washington, and on Cortes Island, B.C., Canada in the summers, as well as teaches internationally. See: JudythWeaver.com. June 2011. See: Print…

Chris Frey: You are not alone. How to build a support network

In this conversation, Chris Frey talks about how to find that you are less alone in adversity than you might think. He speaks from his experience as a cancer survivor. Chris Frey, MSW, LCSW is a psychotherapist in St. Louis, MO. For several decades, Chris has been a leading voice and popular workshop leader in men’s issues, addiction recovery, relationships and sexuality. As a Stage IV throat and neck cancer survivor, Chris was the 2009 recipient of an Armour Foundation sabbatical, which assists in funding creative works. From this sabbatical sprung: I’m Sorry, It’s Cancer: A Handbook of Help and Hope for Survivors and Caregivers, an inspirational and practical guide to creating the optimal medical, emotional, social and spiritual care team for the journey through cancer. Frey is the author Men at Work: An Action Guide to Masculine Healing and the co-author of FatherTime: Stories on the Heart and Soul of Fathering. See: chrisfreycounseling.com Published June 2011

Judith Blackstone: The Realization Process

Judith Blackstone, PhD, developed the Realization Process, an integrated method of somatic psychotherapy, embodiment, relational healing, and spiritual awakening. She is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City and offers classes, workshops and teacher trainings in the Realization Process, throughout the United States and Europe. She is the author of The Empathic Ground, The Enlightenment Process, The Subtle Self, Living Intimately (to be republished in Fall, 2011 as The Intimate Life) and the upcoming Belonging Here. She has been a student of Eastern contemplative traditions for thirty-five years. She is founder of Nonduality Institute in New York City. See: JudithBlackstone.com. May 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript

Cheri Maples: Achievement: Doing vs Being

Iin this conversation, Cheri Maples talks about her experience as a high achiever who sacrificed being in favor of doing… and how she came to find balance between both. For 25 years Cheri Maples worked in the criminal justice system, as an Assistant Attorney General in the Wisconsin Department of Justice, head of Probation and Parole for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and as a police officer with the City of Madison Police Department, earning the rank of Captain of Personnel and Training. In 2008 she was ordained a dharma teacher by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, her long-time spiritual teacher. She is now a dharma teacher and organizational consultant and trainer. She works with individuals and organizations in the justice system and the helping professions who must manage the emotional effects of their work, while maintaining an open heart and healthy boundaries. See: mindfulnessandjustice.org. Published: May 2011

David M. Allen: Unified Psychotherapy: Placing Persons in Their Ecosystem

David M. Allen, M.D. is the author of a new book for general audiences, How Dysfunctional Families Spur Mental Disorders: A Balanced Approach to Resolve Problems and Reconcile Relationships, and three books for psychotherapists: A Family Systems Approach to Individual Psychotherapy, Deciphering Motivation in Psychotherapy, and Psychotherapy with Borderline Patients: an Integrated Approach. He is a Professor of Psychiatry and the former Director of Psychiatric Residency Training at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, a position he held for 16 years. Prior to that he was in private practice in Southern California during the advent of managed care. Additionally, he has done research into personality disorders and is a psychotherapy theorist. He is associate editor of the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. See: davidmallenmd.blogspot.com. April 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript

Linda Hartley: Integrative Bodywork & Movement Therapy

Linda Hartley has worked since 1977 in the fields of dance and somatic movement therapy, bodywork, transpersonal and body psychotherapy. She is a teacher of Body-Mind Centering®, a UKCP registered Psychotherapist, senior Dance Movement Psychotherapist, and ISMETA registered Somatic Movement Therapist. Linda has an MA in Somatic Psychology, is author of Wisdom of the Body Moving, Servants of the Sacred Dream, and Somatic Psychology, and editor of Contemporary Body Psychotherapy: The Chiron Approach. As founder of the Institute for Integrative Bodywork & Movement Therapy she has run training programmes in England and Germany since 1990, and also works as a therapist in private practice in the UK. Linda believes that experiences in early life, including pre- and peri-natal life, can profoundly affect us throughout our whole life cycle, and feels passionately about embodied movement practice as a way to address some of the difficulties that may arise. See: LindaHartley.co.uk. March 201…

Sharon Stanley: Somatic Transformation

Dr. Sharon Stanley has educated thousands of psychotherapists in Canada, the USA and Israel in the principles and practices of somatic psychotherapy. Sharon has served on graduate level faculties including the University of Victoria and the Foundation for Human Enrichment, developing curriculum and teaching mental health professionals. Building on her doctoral research on empathy with traumatized youth, Sharon founded Somatic Transformation, a trauma model and educational curriculum guiding practitioners in treating physiological, psychological and spiritual dynamics of relational trauma. Sharon’s work with indigenous people, the study of Afro-Brazilian healing practices and phenomenological research has led to a convergence of neuroscience, somatic therapy and cross cultural wisdom to heal “soul wounds”. Sharon has a private clinical practice on Bainbridge Island, Washington. See: Somatic-Transformation.org. February 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript

Greg Johanson: Hakomi therapy & mindfulness

Greg Johanson, Ph.D. has a background in therapy as well as theology. He is a member of both the American Psychological Association and American Association of Pastoral Counselors. In the field of somatic psychotherapy he is a Founding Trainer of the Hakomi Institute and editor of the Hakomi Forum. He has served on the Board of Directors of the USABP for many years, and on the editorial board of the Journal of the USABP. Greg has been active in writing, publishing over 150 items in the field of pastoral theology and psychotherapy, including (with Ron Kurtz) Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of the Tao-te ching. He has taught adjunct in a number of graduate schools, currently as Research Faculty of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. See: GregJohanson.net. January 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript

Barnaby Barratt: Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy

Barnaby B. Barratt, PhD, DHS, is a radical psychoanalyst, sexuality educator, sex therapist, somatic psychologist and facilitator of tantric meditation. Raised in England and earning his first doctorate from Harvard University, he has taught at universities all over the country and chaired graduate programs in somatic and clinical psychology. For a major portion of his career he was Professor Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University (Detroit). His books include Psychoanalysis and the Postmodern Impulse (1993), Sexual Health and Erotic Freedom (2005), What is Tantric Practice? (2006), Liberating Eros (2009), and The Emergence of Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy (2010). He is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town and has a private practice of psychodynamic bodymind therapy and psychoanalysis in Johannesburg (South Africa). December 2010. See: Printable PDF transcript. See also other conversation with Barnab…

J. Tyler Carpenter: How we communicate with other therapists

J. Tyler Carpenter, Ph.D., FAACP, is a board certified clinical, and research, forensic, and academic psychologist, with over 25-years of experience treating seriously disturbed individuals, and teaching and consulting to the professionals who work with them, in assessment, treatment, institutional, and systems settings. He utilizes the full-spectrum of personal, group, educational, and internet-based tools, to treat and consult regarding both research and applied understanding and specialized knowledge. He has published, presented, served on boards and a commission, with respect to his expertise in the integration of treatment approaches, correctional, and disability populations. He works as a clinician and consultant in the Greater Boston area. Published November 2010. See printable PDF transcript.

Naropa Faculty: Contemplative Body Psychotherapy

Christine Caldwell, Ph.D., LPC, ADTR – Founder and former director of the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she currently teaches. Her work began twenty years ago with studies in anthropology, dance therapy, bodywork and Gestalt therapy, and has developed into innovations in the field of body-centered psychotherapy. She calls her work the Moving Cycle. This system goes beyond the limitations of therapy and emphasizes lifelong personal and social evolution through trusting and following body states. She has authored two books: Getting Our Bodies Back, and Getting In Touch. She offers trainings in somatic psychotherapy (the Moving Cycle), with specializations in addictions, play, movement sequencing, therapist training, scientific inquiry, and birth and death. Ryan Kennedy, LPC, LMFT, RN, CACIII, BC-DMT, CLMA is the Chair of the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University and also serves as the Director of the B…

Janina Fisher: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Janina Fisher, Ph.D. is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Instructor at the Trauma Center, an outpatient clinic and research center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known for her expertise as both a clinician and a presenter, she is also Assistant Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, an EMDR International Association Consultant, past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, and a former Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher is the author of a number of articles on trauma treatment and lectures nationally and internationally on the integration of the neurobiological research and body-oriented psychotherapy into traditional therapeutic modalities. October 2010. See: Printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Janina Fisher.

Bill Bowen: Psycho-Physical Therapy

Bill Bowen, MFA, LMT, is the founder of Psycho-Physical Therapy. His background combines an immersion in the life of the human body with a clinical practice informed by multiple trainings in somatic psychotherapies and bodywork. He is trained in Rolfing and Rolfing Movement work, Hakomi Body Centered Psychotherapy, Bodynamic Analysis, Somatic Experiencing, Biovalent Manual Therapy and numerous other somatic and psychological disciplines. His unique therapeutic method has evolved out of his 40 years of experience working with the creative process, body therapy, somatic psychology, and spirituality. The active integration of the physical and psychological has been the continuing focus of his work. He has been a trainer in the Hakomi method and was co-founder, with Pat Ogden, of Hakomi Integrative Somatics. Bill has taught at colleges in both Europe and the United States and is currently on the faculty of the Somatic Psychology program at JFK University. September 2010. See: Printa…

Courtenay Young: A pillar of the Body Psychotherapy community

Courtenay Young trained in Body-Psychotherapy about 30 years ago, with Gerda Boyesen, David Boadella, John Pierrakos, and later with Stan Grof and Arnold Mindell; he works transpersonally and within the UK NHS. He has been a significant member of the European Association for Body-Psychotherapy for many years and helped establish Body-Psychotherapy as a ‘scientifically-validated’ psychotherapy. He is also a founder member of USABP; compiles the EABP Bibliography of Body-Psychotherapy (on CD-ROM and now on-line); is an editor for the International Journal of Psychotherapy, the Journal of Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy; and is the editor for the forthcoming American edition of the massive and seminal ‘Handbook of Body Psychotherapy’. He has written numerous published journal articles and several chapters in books about Body-Psychotherapy and about psychotherapy in general (all on his website). His first book: “Help Yourself Towards Mental Health” has been recently p…

Wolf Mehling: Hands-on mind-body medicine & the psychosomatics of pain

Wolf E. Mehling is a medical doctor, trained in Germany (D) and the US, board certified in family medicine (D, US), manual medicine (D) and psychotherapy (D). He practiced 12 years in private practice in Germany before he moved with his wife and three children to the US where he completed a second residency. He completed a 2-year clinical research fellowship at the University of California San Francisco and is now on faculty at the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine where he sees patients and conducts NIH-funded research into the psychosomatics of pain and body awareness. Published July 2010. See: Printable PDF transcript

Daniel J. Siegel: Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)

Daniel J. Siegel, MD is the author of the internationally acclaimed academic text, The Developing Mind, and is the Founding Editor for the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. He is also the co-author of Parenting from the Inside Out and author of the professionally-geared text, The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. His first work for a general audience is Mindsight a synthesis of science and story that provides a readily accessible exploration of the practical steps to apply the power of the mind to integrate the brain and promote well-being in everyday life. His latest book, The Mindful Therapist, explores the application of these ideas for the clinician’s own development of mindsight and neural integration. Published June 2010. See printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Dan Siegel.

Maxine Sheets-Johnstone : Dance, philosophy & movement

Maxine Sheets-Johnstone is a philosopher whose research and writing remain grounded in the tactile-kinesthetic body

Peter A. Levine: Trauma healing through Somatic Experiencing

Peter A. Levine received a Ph.D. in medical biophysics from the University of California at Berkeley, and a doctorate in psychology from International University. He is the developer of Somatic Experiencing® and founder of the Foundation for Human Enrichment. He teaches throughout the world. Dr. Levine was a stress consultant for NASA on the development of the space shuttle project. He was a member of the Institute of World Affairs Task Force of “Psychologists for Social Responsibility” and served on the APA “Presidential Initiative on responding to large scale disasters and ethno-political warfare”. Peter wrote: “Waking the Tiger,” “Healing Trauma, A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body,” “Trauma through a Child’s Eyes; Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing,” “Trauma-Proofing your Kids; A Parents Guide for Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience.” Coming up this September: “In an Unspoken Voice, How the Body Releases Trauma a…

Ilene Serlin: Dance, Movement & Humanistic Therapy

Ilene Serlin, Ph.D., ADTR is a licensed psychologist and registered dance/movement therapist in practice in San Francisco and Marin county. She is the president of the San Francisco Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, past-president of the Division of Humanistic Psychology. Ilene Serlin has taught at Saybrook University, Lesley University, UCLA, the NY Gestalt Institute and the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. She is the editor of Whole Person Healthcare (2007, 3 vol., Praeger) over 100 chapters and articles on body, art and psychotherapy, and is on the editorial boards of PsycCritiques, the American Dance Therapy Journal, the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Arts & Health: An International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice, Journal of Applied Arts and Health, and The Humanistic Psychologist. March 2010. See: Printable PDF transcript and conversation about what sustains her.

Richard Schwartz: Internal Family Systems

Richard Schwartz earned his Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University, after which he began a long association with the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and more recently at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. He is coauthor, with Michael Nichols, of Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, the most widely used family therapy text in the United States. Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of experiencing various parts within themselves. He saw these parts as forming an “internal family” within an individual, and started to work with the parts from a systems perspective. He noticed that addressing the parts’ concerns reduced disruptions. This helps the client to accede to the wise leadership of what Dr. Schwartz came to call the “Self.” In 2000, Richard Schwartz founded The Center for Self Leadership in Oak Park, Illinois. Dr. Schwartz has published fou…

Robert Scaer: Traumatic stress & dissociation

Robert Scaer, M.D. received his B.A. in Psychology, and his M.D. degree at the University of Rochester. He is Board Certified in Neurology, and has been in practice for 36 years, twenty of those as Medical Director at the Mapleton Rehabilitation Center in Boulder, CO. More recently he has pursued the study of traumatic stress and its role in emotional and physical syndromes and diseases. He has lectured extensively, and has published several articles on posttraumatic stress disorder, dissociation, the whiplash syndrome and other somatic syndromes of trauma. He has published two books, the first The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation and Disease in 2001, with a second edition released in October, 2007. A second book, The Trauma Spectrum: Hidden Wounds and Human Resiliency was published in 2005. He is retired from clinical medical practice, and continues to write and lecture in the field of traumatology. January 2010. See: Printable PDF transcript. See other conve…

Susan Aposhyan: Body-Mind Psychotherapy

Susan Aposhyan, M.A., L.P.C., maintains a private practice and trains helping professionals internationally in her work, Body-Mind Psychotherapy. Previously, she directed one of the first graduate degree programs in Somatic Psychology at the Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She is the author of Body-Mind Psychotherapy (Norton, 2004) and Natural Intelligence: Body-Mind Integration and Human Development. December 2009. See: Printable PDF transcript

Laurie Schwartz: A personal & professional journey of integration

Laurie Schwartz began her training as a Somatic psychotherapist in 1979 with Ilana Rubenfeld. Her search for the integration of psyche, soma and soul continued. She is certified in the Hakomi Method of Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Jin Shin Jyutsu, and Family Constellations. Laurie has also studied Jungian Dream Analysis and Modern Group Analysis. She has been exploring the integration of pre and peri-natal psychology with a biodynamic cranial sacral approach to healing and wholeness with people in recovery for Co-dependency. Her passion and ability to synthesize integrate different approaches to foster recovery, healing and transformation is ongoing. Laurie is a licensed massage therapist and licensed counseling psychologist in New York City. She has been in private practice since 1982. She facilitates ongoing supervision groups for Hakomi graduates, students of Somatic Experiencing as well as…

Mary J. Giuffra: Biological Couples Therapy

Dr. Mary Giuffra has been a therapist for over 30 years during which time she has worked with individuals, families, and couples using a unique blend of body-mind techniques. Dr. Giuffra received her doctorate from New York University and is a New York State Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric Mental Health, and a New York State Registered Professional Nurse. Dr. Giuffra has also been recognized for her pioneering efforts as an educator and specialist in curriculum development. She has served as a tenured member of the faculty at New York University and the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Dr. Giuffra has been the recipient of several major grants from the federal government and is the author of countless articles in peer reviewed journals, and book chapters. She is the author of the soon-to-be-published 2×2 on the Ark with No Map. October 2009. See: Printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Mary Giuffra.

Judith Hendin: Conscious Body & Voice Dialogue

Judith Hendin, Ph.D., directs the Conscious Body & Voice Dialogue Institute of Easton, PA, and New York City. A beloved teacher and Voice Dialogue facilitator for 20 years (working with the many selves within us), she has taught in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and presented at the U.S. Association for Body Psychotherapy. Drawing on her discoveries of healing the body through inner selves, Judith wrote the book, The Self Behind the Symptom: How Shadow Voices Heal Us. Her work is enriched by her background in psychological energetics, deep bodywork, and sacred choreography. Author and visionary Shakti Gawain calls Hendin, “a wonderful healer whose work I highly recommend.” Published September 2009. See: Printable PDF transcript

Yvonne Agazarian: Systems-Centered Training (SCT)

Yvonne M. Agazarian, EdD, DFAGPA. FAPA, CGP, is Clinical Professor in the Postdoctoral Program in Group Psychotherapy, Adelphi U. She treats, teaches, trains and consults in systems-centered practice. She developed the Theory of Living Human Systems; founded the Systems-centered Training and Research Institute. She has authored and co-authored seven books and many articles. In 1997 she received the Group Psychologist of the Year award from Division 49 of the American Psychological Association “For her involvement in research, publication, teaching and training. She exemplifies the finest in scholarship in the discipline of psychology. As a group psychologist, she has contributed to expanding our knowledge of the boundaries between clinical and social psychology with the investigation of living human systems and systems-centered group and individual therapy. Her considerable body of work illustrates the highest blend of creativity and learning.” Published August 2009. See: Printab…

Mark Solms: Neuropsychoanalysis

Professor Mark Solms is best known for his discovery of the forebrain mechanisms of dreaming, and for his pioneering integration of psychoanalytic theories and methods with those of modern neuroscience. He was born in South Africa and returned there in 2002, but commutes monthly to London and New York. He holds the Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital (Departments of Psychology and Neurology). His other current positions include: Honorary Lecturer in Neurosurgery at St. Bartholomew’s & Royal London School of Medicine, Director of the International Neuro-Psychoanalysis Centre, London, and Director of the Arnold Pfeffer Center for Neuro-Psychoanalysis at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. His book Clinical Studies in Neuro-Psychoanalysis (with Karen Kaplan-Solms) won the NAAP’s Gradiva Award (Best Book, Science Category) in 2001. His latest book (with Oliver Turnbull), The Brain and the Inner World (2002), is a best-seller and has bee…

Stanley Keleman: Formative Psychology & dreams

Stanley Keleman is the founder of Formative Psychology, an approach that views life as an organising and formative process. Stanley Keleman is based in Berkeley, CA, where he directs the Center for Energetic Studies. The Spring 2007 issue of The USA Body Psychotherapy Journal was devoted to Stanley Keleman’s work and its practical applications in psychotherapy, medicine, neurobiology, acupuncture, organizational development, literature, poetry, and personal growth. It includes an article by Stanley Keleman about Dreams & the Body. June 2009. See printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Stanley Keleman.

Frances La Barre: Movement & non-verbal behavior

Dr. Frances LaBarre is a psychologist-psychoanalyst in private practice in NYC where she works with individual adults, children, and couples. Dr. LaBarre is Co-director of the Parent-Infant/Toddler Research Nursery and Adjunct Professor at Pace University, and a supervisor at the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center and the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy. She lectures and teaches both in the United States and in Europe. Her books, On Moving and Being Moved: Nonverbal Behavior in Clinical Practice, The Analytic Press, 2001, and The First Year and the Rest of Your Life: Movement, Development, and Therapeutic Change, (co-author Ruella Frank), The Analytic Press, 2011, and articles are known for her unique application of movement studies to psychotherapy. May 2009. See printable PDF transcript. See also video conversation on movement with Frances LaBarre.

Marjorie Rand: Integrative Body Psychotherapy (IBP) & Yoga

Marjorie L. Rand, Ph.D. has been a psychotherapist and Master Trainer for 33 years. She specializes in Integrative Body Psychotherapy, Dance/Movement therapy, Supported Yoga Therapy and meditation. She is in Private practice in Los Angeles, CA. She has trained psychotherapists throughout Europe, Canada, Israel and the US. She is the co-author of 3 books- Body, Self and Soul with Jack Rosenberg (1985), Getting In Touch, edited by Christine Caldwell (1997), and Helping The Helper with Babette Rothschild (2004) and many published articles. She is a founding member of USABP. April 2009. See: Printable PDF transcript and conversation about what sustains her.

Arny Mindell: Process Work (process oriented psychology)

Dr. Arny Mindell is in private practice in Portland, Oregon. He is known for his development of the “dreambody” and “process work” (process oriented psychology). He is the author of 19 books in 21 languages, including Dreambody, The Shaman’s Body, Quantum Mind, and Quantum Mind and Healing. Arny has an M.S. from M.I.T., was a Jungian training analyst, and has a Ph.D. in psychology. He is also known in the area of conflict management for his Sitting in the Fire and for his integration of psychology and physics, work on dreams, bodywork, relationships, and for interventions in near death situations. Published March 2009. See: Printable PDF transcript

Yoga Breathing: A demonstration by Patricia Sanzone & Andrew Sugerman

Patricia Sanzone and Andrew Sugerman demonstrate their work, the “Art Of Breathing”.

Halko Weiss: Handbook of Somatic Psychotherapy

Halko Weiss, Ph.D., is an accredited psychotherapist and lecturer for medical and psychological therapists in Germany. He is also a founding trainer of the Hakomi Institute who directs the Hakomi Institute of Europe. Halko works internationally as a somatic psychotherapy teacher, couples therapy teacher, and as a management trainer. He is well-published and the co-editor of the Handbook of Somatic Psychotherapy. January 2009. See: Printable PDF transcript

Kathy Kain: Touch Training for Psychotherapists

Kathy Kain, M.Ed. has been practicing and teaching bodywork and trauma recovery skills for nearly 30 years. She teaches in Europe, Australia, Canada, and throughout the U.S., and maintains a private practice in Albany, California. She is a senior trainer in the Somatic Experiencing training program and is currently Director of Training and Education for the Foundation for Human Enrichment. Kathy is also an adjunct faculty member of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and was a senior trainer for 12 years in the Somatic Psychotherapy training program based in Sydney Australia, where she developed the Touch Training for Psychotherapists that she now teaches in the U.S. She co-authored the book Ortho-Bionomy; A Practical Manual (North Atlantic Books). December 2008. See: Printable PDF transcript

Christine Caldwell & Rae Johnson: The Research Mind

Christine Caldwell, Ph.D., LPC, ADTR – Founder and former director of the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She lectures and trains internationally, and has authored two books: Getting Our Bodies Back, and Getting In Touch. She offers trainings in somatic psychotherapy (the Moving Cycle), with specializations in addictions, play, movement sequencing, therapist training, scientific inquiry, and birth and death. Rae Johnson, Ph.D., RSMT, RSW, is Chair of the Somatic Psychology Program at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, former Director of the Body Psychotherapy Program in the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University, and founding Coordinator of the Student Crisis Response Programs at the University of Toronto. She has a particular interest in somatic approaches to interdisciplinary research. November 2008: See: Printable PDF transcript

Stuart Black: Core Energetics

Stuart Black has been Director of the New York Institute of Core Energetics since 1989. He is the author of: A Way of Life: Core Energetics, and A Way of Life With Another: Relationships. He is an instructor in the international training classes and has been leading groups for over 25 years. Stuart has been a teacher of the Pathwork in Mexico and in Phoenicia, NY, where he was both a member of the Board of Directors and spiritual leader of the Pathwork Studies program. He has been an instructor to both faculty and students of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. Currently he is teaching master classes to the faculty in the New York training. October 2008. See printable PDF transcript

Ron Kurtz: Hakomi & the pleasure of self discovery

Ron Kurtz is the originator of the Hakomi Method of Body-Centered Psychotherapy and the method of Mindfulness Based, Assisted Self Study. He is a preeminent influence in progressive psychotherapy. Author or co-author of influential books, published in several Western languages (Body-Centered Psychotherapy, The Body Reveals, and Grace Unfolding) and three books in Japanese. Ron has led hundreds of trainings and workshops around the world over the last quarter of a century. At present he is leading trainings and workshops in the Ashland, OR, Olympia, WA, and Bozeman, MT. He does workshops in several countries around the world. Ron is the recipient of the USABP’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. September 2008. See printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Ron Kurtz.

John Welwood: A Psychology of Awakening

Journey of the Heart was the first book to lay out the path of conscious relationship. Toward a Psychology of Awakening has been widely praised as a fresh and eminently practical integration of the wisdom of East and West. His most recent book, Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships: Healing the Wound of the Heart, is the winner of the Books for a Better Life Award. Published August 2008. See: Printable PDF transcript

Brian & Marcia Gleason: The Exceptional Marriage

Brian Gleason, LCSW, and Marcia Gleason, LCSW are the co-founders of “Exceptional Marriage,” an experience-based methodology for working with committed relationships. Both trained with with relationship expert Dr. John Gray as well as in Core Energetics. Brian is now a senior faculty member of the N.Y. Institute of Core Energetics. Brian wrote a book on transpersonal psychology – Mortal Spirit. Brian and Marcia wrote Going All the Way, The Heart and Soul of the Exceptional Marriage. July 2008. See printable PDF transcript

Frances Sommer Anderson: Psychoanalysis & mindbody disorders

Frances Sommer Anderson, PhD, a psychologist and psychoanalyst in New York City, specializes in treating musculoskeletal pain and other mindbody disorders. She teaches psychotherapists, yoga teachers, physical therapists, and other bodyworkers about pain, trauma, and the patient-therapist relationship. Her teaching appointments include Faculty, National Institute for the Psychotherapies Training Institute and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (part-time), NYU Medical School. She is Editor of Bodies in Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension (2007, The Analytic Press/Taylor & Francis Group) and Co-Editor with Lewis Aron, Relational Perspectives on the Body (1998, The Analytic Press). June 2008. See printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Frances Sommer Anderson.

Laura Steckler: About chronic pain

Laura-Hope Steckler, Ph.D., C.R.S., R.S.M.T. is a Clinical psychologist, body-psychotherapist, somatic movement therapist and dancer. Her body psychotherapy modality is the Rubenfeld Synergy Method®. American born and trained, she now lives and works in the UK. She works in a chronic pain service in the National Health Service and sees clients privately. May 2008. See printable PDF transcript

Ron Kurtz: Hakomi & Mindfulness Based, Assisted Self Study

Ron Kurtz is the originator of the Hakomi Method of Body-Centered Psychotherapy and the method of Mindfulness Based, Assisted Self Study. He is a preeminent influence in progressive psychotherapy. Author or co-author of influential books, published in several Western languages (Body-Centered Psychotherapy, The Body Reveals, and Grace Unfolding) and three books in Japanese. Ron has led hundreds of trainings and workshops around the world over the last quarter of a century. At present he is leading trainings and workshops in the Ashland, Oregon, Olympia, Washington, and Bozeman, Montana. He does workshops in several countries around the world. Ron is the recipient of USABP’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. Published April 2008. See: Printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Ron Kurtz.

Stanley Keleman: Formative Psychology

Stanley Keleman is the founder of Formative Psychology, an approach that views life as an organising and formative process. The Spring 2007 issue of The USA Body Psychotherapy Journal was devoted to Stanley Keleman’s work and its practical applications in psychotherapy, medicine, neurobiology, acupuncture, organizational development, literature, poetry, and personal growth. Stanley Keleman is based in Berkeley, CA, where he directs the Center for Energetic Studies. March 2008. See printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Stanley Keleman.

Ellen Gayda: Bodyword®

Ellen Gayda is the founder of BodyWord®, a creative body psychotherapy. Ellen has an extensive background in the holistic healing arts, Gestalt, and Zen training and various massage and energy therapies. BodyWord® helps clients translate somatic emotional awareness into an embodied language of meaning. February 2008. See printable PDF transcript

Daniel J. Siegel: The Developing Mind & The Mindful Brain

Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. wrote the internationally acclaimed book, The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience (1999). His most recent book is The Mindful Brain. Dr. Siegel is an associate clinical professor psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organization that focuses on how the development of individuals, families, and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes. January 2008. See printable PDF transcript. See also conversation with Dan Siegel on Interpersonal Neurobiology.

Linda Marks: Healing Heart Power

Linda Marks, MSM, is a body-centered psychotherapist, life work counselor, social architect and author. Through her work with individuals, couples, groups, and her personal example, she helps others heal from the soul level up and create new heartfull possibilities for their lives. She is the author of Healing the War Between the Genders: The Power of the Soul-Centered Relationship (HeartPower Press, 2004) and Living with Vision: Reclaiming the Power of the Heart (Knowledge Systems, Inc., 1989). She has appeared on numeral television and radio shows and founded the Institute for Emotional-Kinesthetic Psychotherapy in 1990. December 2007. See printable PDF transcript

Alice K. Ladas: Bioenergetics

Alice K. Ladas, Ed. D., is a pioneer for body psychotherapy, educated childbirth, breastfeeding, and sexuality education. The research she and her husband did (Women and Bioenergetic Analysis) led to meeting her co-authors on the NY Times best seller The G Spot and Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality. Alice was chair of the research committee of the US Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) for many years. In 2008, the USABP honored Alice by naming its research award The Alice Kahn Ladas Research Award to honor her for her tireless efforts to further research in Somatic Psychotherapy. She is a licensed psychologist in New Mexico. November 2007. See printable PDF transcript. See other conversation with Alice Ladas.

Leisha Douglas: About Hakomi & Mindfulness

Leisha Douglas, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist trained in several modalities, including Transactional Analysis/Gestalt, and Hakomi. She has taught in the United States and internationally on topics from mindfulnesss to intuition. Published October 2007. See: Printable PDF transcript

Kevin Frank: Rolfing, Structural Integration

Kevin Frank is an Advanced Certified Rolfer and Rolf Movement Practitioner. His work focuses on articulating and integrating Hubert Godard’s tonic function model of structural integration, and he has authored aritcles on this topic. He and Caryn McHose are the co-authors of How Life Moves: Explorations in Meaning and Body Awareness and are co-founders of Resources in Movement, a center for movement and consciousness inquiry in Holderness, NH. July 2007. See printable PDF transcript

Linda Ciotola: Psychodrama

Linda Ciotola, M.Ed., CHES, CP/PAT is a TEP (trainer-educator-practitioner) of psychodrama, health educator, and fitness & yoga instructor. June 2007. See printable PDF transcript

Why do people dream? Does this affect dream interpretation?

Freud thought of dreams as the manifestation of how we attempt to digest information in our subconscious. From this perspective, deciphering the content of a dream means being able to get in touch with information that is important, but difficult for our conscious mind to access. As neuroscience started exploring dreams from an experimental perspective, some findings suggested that dreams may actually be random (i.e. not be related to meaningful information processing). Then, other studies suggested that they may actually be! So there is currently no consensus as to whether or not dreams are a language that accurately reflects the issues in our minds, as opposed to random images. Does this mean that we cannot benefit from paying attention to our dreams? Not at all. You’re familiar with the Rorschach test: you look at inkblots, and describe what you see, whereby reflecting what’s on your mind. Your dream functions as such a point of departure. It certainly feels more poignant tha…

What is the meaning of your dreams?

This page provides two more examples of creative, embodied dream analysis: One is an audio recording, and the other is a video. The following audio is an on-air interview of Serge Prengel by radio host Larry Flick. Unlike most interviews, where the host essentially asks generic questions, this time the host was so interested in the topic that he was willing to go through the process of exploring the meaning of a recurring dream of his while on the air. He was willing to share this with his audience and allowed me to post the recording on my website as well. The first part of the audio is a discussion about the meaning of dreams in general and is featured on another page. The 19-minute audio on this page is the exploration part. Radio host Larry Flick experiences what it is like to explore his dream from the inside out, to live in it, feel what it’s like, and learn directly from it. The following is a videotaped session. A young woman, Rachel, agreed to be videotaped to show what i…