What is Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP)?

Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) considers every approach to psychotherapy as valuable and understands them all as components of a broad unifying framework built on Eastern and Western psychologies. It offers clinicians from diverse therapeutic modalities the possibility of increasing treatment efficiency through greater embodiment of all the bodies that constitute the psyche.

All human experiences (perceiving, thinking, feeling, remembering, imagining, evaluating, relating, and responding) arise from our individual gross (i.e. physical) and quantum level subtle (i.e. energy) bodies that are in constant interaction with the dynamic collective gross and subtle bodies contained in an absolute collective body of pure awareness. Though valuable, the focus on the brain and to a lesser extent on the individual gross (physical) body as the beginning and end of all of our experiences has severely limited Western psychology’s comprehension of the larger domain in which human experiences originate; and has greatly diminished its ability to help those in need. Regardless of the psychotherapy approach we use in our practice, we can help our clients better with their cognitive, emotional, behavioral, relational, as well as somatic and spiritual difficulties, if we know more of the following:

a) how the three layers of the individual gross body, the five layers of the individual subtle body, the dynamic collective gross and subtle bodies, and the absolute collective body of pure awareness interact with each other to generate our experiences;

b) how the individual gross and subtle bodies can get dysregulated from difficult experiences and become disconnected from each other and from the three collective bodies and become symptomatic in many ways; and

c) how to make the individual gross and subtle bodies more available, regulated, balanced, and in better relationship with each other and with the three collective bodies while we work with our clients psychologically.

The value of ISP will be demonstrated especially through topics of current clinical interest: attachment, affect regulation, stress, and trauma.

Who can benefit the most from this training?

Because it is a professional master training for experienced clinicians, the prerequisites for admission are high:

a) an active professional practice in psychotherapy, bodywork, energywork, or education of individuals or groups, work that involves psychological processing,

and

b) an adequate somatic background such as participation in the Somatic Experiencing (SE) training or equivalent training and personal knowledge of the body (determined on an individual basis).

ISP will prove to be of considerable value to you whether you are trained in a mainstream psychoanalytic or psychotherapy approach, a body-oriented psychotherapy approach (such as Bioenergetics or Sensori-Motor Psychotherapy), or a bodywork modality such as Polarity Therapy or Cranio-Sacral Therapy, or an energywork school, as long as your work also involves psychological processing.

What is taught in the training?

General principles derived from a variety of disciplines including neuroscience and quantum physics for integrating all the bodies into any psychological approach, validated empirically in multiple clinical settings and cultures.

 It offers all those who work psychologically a sophisticated body of knowledge to further increase the embodiment of body, energy, and consciousness dimensions in their work without having to change their prior clinical orientations or adopt interventions outside the norms of their professional practice. The role of body, energy, and consciousness in generating or disrupting psychological experiences in general and facilitating or hampering self and interactive regulation in particular is taught through applications in areas of widespread current clinical interest: affect regulation, attachment, stress, and trauma.

ISP offers considerable flexibility and choice in the tools used, such as awareness, movement, breath, sound, imagery, inter-personal resonance, self touch, and other touch, as appropriate to the clinical setting of the trainee.

ISP Training Outline:

Training Objectives:

1. In depth understanding how different layers of the individual gross (physical) body (in particular the muscular system governed by the somatic nervous system, the viscera governed by the autonomic nervous system, and the central nervous system) are involved in generating as well as defending against different aspects of human experience. This would include presentations on the physiology of stress, trauma, affect, and attachment in each layer.

2. Understanding how different elements (metaphorically described as ether, air, fire, water, and earth) of a quantum level body called the subtle (energy) body generate as well defend against different aspects of human experience as they flow through the different energy centers to form, inform, and regulate the individual subtle body and in turn, the individual gross body.

3. Understanding how the individual gross (physical) and subtle (energy) bodies regulate each other and interact with each other in generating as well as defending against different aspects of human experience.

4. Understanding how to work with different layers of the individual gross (physical) body, different elements of the subtle (energy) body, and with the relationships between these two individual bodies in order to: a) better access, support, tolerate, make sense of, and complete aspects of human experience that underlie an individual’s current difficulties; and b) bring about greater regulation and balance in and between the two bodies to enhance physical, energetic, and psychological health, capacity, and wellbeing in the whole person.

5. Understanding and working with inter-personal resonance and its underpinnings in individual gross (physical) and subtle (energy) bodies and the three collective bodies to increase interactive regulation between therapist and client.

6. Understanding and working with the relationship between the individual gross and subtle bodies and the dynamic collective gross and subtle bodies; and the relationship between these four bodies and the absolute collective body of pure awareness that is immanent and transcendent to all four to facilitate greater healing.

7. Understanding and working with dysfunctional patterns in awareness and attitudes on individual and collective levels that thwart healing and growth in physical, energetic, psychological, and spiritual realms.

How is the ISP training structured?

The ISP professional training is taught in three four-day modules over a one-year period. The training format consists of lectures, demonstrations, practice with fellow participants, questions & answers, and directed readings. At the end, participants will receive a certificate of completion of the Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) Professional Training.

In lieu of an introduction, participants can take the first training module (Module 1) and then decide whether to commit to the two remaining modules.

To download an interview on the theory and practice of ISP in audio or transcript form, please click on: Somatic Perspectives ISP Interview

About Raja Selvam PhD, PhD

Raja Selvam, PhD, is a senior trainer in Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing (SE) professional trauma training programs and the developer of Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP), an advanced approach for integrating body, energy, and consciousness into any psychological process, a master training 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, Quantum Physics, Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta, a philosophical tradition from India. Raja’s article on treating trauma symptoms among Indian tsunami survivors was published in Traumatology (September 2008). Jung and Consciousness, based on his clinical psychology doctoral dissertation on Advaita Vedanta and Jungian Psychology, was published in the analytical psychology journal Spring (Fall 2013). Raja teaches in the United States, England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Russia, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, mainland China, South Africa, and Brazil. He is also currently involved in increasing trauma treatment capacity among counselors working with war victims in Northern Sri Lanka and counselors working with underprivileged communities in Mumbai, India.

Continuing Education Credits (24 credit hours):

Psychologists (APA) – Commonwealth Educational Seminars (CES) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to offer continuing education credit programs. CES maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. Psychologists receive 24 hours of continuing education credit upon completing this program.

Social Workers (ASWB) – Commonwealth Educational Seminars, provider #1117, is approved as a Provider for Social Work Continuing Education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. ASWB approval period: October 15, 2015 through October 15, 2018. CES maintains responsibility for the program. Social Workers should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval. Social Workers participating in this course will receive 24 clinical continuing education clock hours..

Social Workers (NASW) - Raja Selvam is a NASW approved continuing education provider - #886522881.  Social Workers receive 24 (clinical) continuing education hours participating in this course.  Each module has a specific number assigned which will appear on the certificate of completion (i.e. 886522881-xxxx).  

Note: Please visit the following link to determine if your state board endorses the NASW Approval Program - Click here.

Licensed Professional Counselors (NBCC) - Raja Selvam is a NBCC approved continuing education provider - ACEP #6705.

Marriage & Family Therapists (MFT) - Continuing education credit for Marriage & Family Therapists is awarded in the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IN, IA, KS, ME, MD, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NC, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI and WY. CES maintains responsibility for this program. Marriage and Family therapists completing this program will receive 24 CE hours of credit.

Nurses - As an American Psychological Association approved provider CES programs are accepted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Every state Board of Nursing accepts ANCC approved programs except California and Iowa, however CES is also an approved Continuing Education provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider # CEP15567) which is also accepted by the Iowa Board of Nursing.. CES maintains responsibility for this program. Nurses completing this program receive 24 hours of continuing education credit.

Additional CE Credits - Please contact coordinator to determine if a specific CE credit may be possible.

Berkeley ISP Professional Training Dates

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New York City ISP Professional Training Dates