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Specialization: Somatic Psychology

"The 'Mind-Body Question' is being answered in the Somatic Psychology Program at John F. Kennedy University"

• Somatic Psychology and the Future of the Field
  
• Somatic Psychology at JFKU
  
• Our Program Design
  

Somatic Psychology and the Future of the Field

The passing 'decade of the brain' is rapidly giving way to an emerging era of intense interest in The Body. There is a great deal of professional excitement regarding the psychological and therapeutic potency of holistic approaches to the body, somatic experience, and the embodied self.

From a somatic perspective, life experiences are embodied experiences; breath styles, movement patterns, musculature tensions, cognitive style, emotional expression, and relational patterns are shaped by and express past and present whole-body experiences. Our courses explore the body/mind connection and integrate somatic psychology perspectives with contemporary psychological and developmental theories and practices as well as integrating research from the related fields of traumatology, pre and perinatal psychology, psychoneuroimmunology and neurodevelopmental research.

Somatic Psychology incorporates the body into its psychological investigations, considering bodily states of consciousness, postures and gestures, muscular patterns, chronic contractions and tensions, movement range and shapes, ways of breathing, skin and color tones, somatic habits, energetic qualities, use of space, and body pulsations and rhythms as a potential part of the therapy process. Our program is organized around a dynamic systems theory approach which considers the whole person and all of their constituent domains as relevant to psycho-emotional life.

Somatic Psychology is an emerging, dynamic field within academic and professional psychology. The practice of psychotherapy in general is undergoing a profound paradigm shift in response to discoveries within Developmental Neuroscience, research in early child development, and the study of infant-parent interaction. Much of this new research points to the psychological importance of body-based, non-verbal experience across the life span but particularly in the first three years of life. Life experience from a pre-verbal/non-verbal period is recorded differently than a verbalizable, personal narrative. Clinicians working therapeutically with early experience and 'implicit knowing' must be conversant with the non-verbal qualities that mark most human communication, especially in the first years of life. This new understanding of consciousness, communication and the mind-body is changing the current dialogue within the field of psychotherapy.

Enormous psychological, social, cultural and political forces support the splitting and fragmentation of mindbody unity. As we know, these pressures take a considerable toll on the mental, biological, and relational health of each of us. The JFKU Somatic Psychology Program brings together students, researchers, practitioners, and instructors who are interested in the personal and social practices and policy transformations necessary to alleviate these stresses.

The Future of the Field: The Decade of the Body

It is an exciting time to join in the development of this emerging field which now has several national and international organizations and a growing body of literature and journal offerings. With its outstanding and experienced faculty and visiting teachers, the Somatic Psychology Program at JFKU will be at the forefront of this integrative field of study for many years to come.

Somatic Psychologists are continually broadening and deepening the areas of application within the field. This growth is bringing the body, body processes and body experience into the foreground of theory and practice in the areas of: psychotherpy practice, trauma treatment, child development, infant-parent mental health and attachment theory based practices, neuro-developmental inquiry, health and wellness, pre and peri-natal psychology, evolutionary psychology, psycho-anthropology, and many other arenas.

Somatic Psychology at JFKU

The JFKU Somatic Psychology Program in the School of Holistic Studies has been providing clinical training for MFT candidates in this arena for 20 years. In the JFKU Somatic Psychology program, the unitary relationship of mind to body is the working model and starting point for therapeutic change. It is our core concept in understanding human development and human problems.

Students receive a strong foundation in counseling psychology theory and practice. Practical clinical training includes diagnosis, assessment, treatment planning and the application of psychotherapy practice to adults, couples, groups, families and children. Students balance classroom learning with experientially oriented workshops and they complete a year long supervised clinical training at the school's Center for Holistic Counseling or at an approved external field placement site.

The Master of Arts program in Counseling Psychology offered at JFK University represents a state-of-the-art training in the theory and practice of psychotherapy from a Somatic Psychology perspective. This state accredited program meets the educational requirements for licensure as a California Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT).

Our Program Design

The Somatic Psychology Program has five interwoven areas of instruction and learning.

1. Self Development and Self Awareness
2. Theory and Practice of Psychotherapy from a Somatic Psychology Perspective
3. Professional Development
4. Personal and Technical Clinical Skills
5. Supervised Fieldwork Experience

Our Curriculum: In addition to our core curriculum which integrates mainstream and somatic perspectives on clinical practice, development, movement, and diagnosis, we are the only program with courses dedicated to the Principles of Somatic Psychology, Stress and Psychobioimmunology, Body Oriented Psychotherapies, Trauma and PTSD, and the Cultural Body (Society, Body Image and the Self) which focuses on eating disorders.

Our Faculty: A unique feature of the JFKU Somatic Psychology Program is that our faculty is made up entirely of experienced and committed Somatic Psychotherapists who work in the field and bring their clinical experience alive in the classroom

Our Students: By and large, somatic psychology students are energetic and curious individuals who have personally discovered the value of an integrative, mindbody model through such activities as somatic psychotherapy, yoga and mindfulness practices, wilderness therapy and eco-psychology, participation in sports or dance and movement, as well as through personal encounters with disability and illness.

Our Alumni: Students graduating from our program find careers in the following areas: public agencies and other counseling and therapy providers; school based programs; private practice; teaching; Somatic Psychology centers; wilderness and eco-psychology programs; dance and movement centers; early intervention work with babies and caregivers; consultation and coaching; medical and mental health facilities; health, wellness, fitness and other integrative health care programs; substance abuse treatment centers; elder programs; human resources and corporate offices; and many other self-created and innovative projects.