Somatic Transactional Analysis
Certificate in Somatic TA
6 day course over 3 weekends, Edinburgh
Somatic Psychotherapy is a gateway to working with unconscious process and a powerful tool for encouraging change.
Particularly helpful when working with more complex presentations, stuckness, overwhelm, anxiety and when other issues in the therapeutic work are difficult to verbalise or access.
This course is for practitioners who are looking to develop and deepen their understanding of the body in psychotherapy and include it in their practice. This course is for you if you are a counsellor, psychotherapist, coach, or mental health worker.
Click here to download the course brochure.
To apply - please complete the online application form https://forms.gle/wxKV8BDrMur3sdB49
Learning Outcomes
The key learning outcomes from this course will enable you to:
- Develop awareness of your own body process and defences
- Understand ‘bodymind’ in the therapeutic relationship and therapeutic interventions.
- Develop your knowledge of somatic orientated psychotherapy and trauma process
- Develop your own style of working
About The Course
The Certificate in Somatic TA is a dynamic and experiential course with plenty of space for play and process. We will practice techniques through group work, observation and supervision to give attendees the confidence to use the somatic within their work.
Somatic work is not limited by modality and integrates with a range of theoretical approaches including Transactional Analysis, psychoanalysis, body psychotherapy & trauma-informed work.
Style and Course Structure
My teaching style combines short didactic pieces of theory combined with plenty of experiential exercises to stimulate the unconscious and creative process using movement, symbolism and play. There is also space for small group and large group discussion and process along with skills practice and supervision.
The course is delivered in person in Edinburgh. The training will be taught over 3 modules over three weekends each covering a foundational part of the somatic framework:
Module 1: Mapping the Territory - Getting to know your bodymind, establishing contact, space and pace
Weekend content includes;
- Overview of course and group contracting
- Exploring motivations and identifying your learning edges
- Communicating safety in somatic context - experimenting with grounding,rhythmic attunement and proxemics
- Unearthing trauma and adverse childhood experiences
- Listening with the body - experimenting with script protocol, body armour, social pain
- Understanding the role of somatic process in unconscious process
- Emerging ethical dilemmas
- Skills practice and supervision
Module 2: Expanding the Frame - Moving through new territories, deepening contact, stretching beyond your comfort.
Weekend content includes:
- Conceptualising somatic energy through Freudian, Reichen and Transactional Analysis theory
- Reframing stuckness in somatic and theoretical terms
- Deepening contact - kinestethic responses, unconscious process and parallel process
- Beyond Ego states - revisiting the role of the somatic in mental health
- Linking body structure with personality structure
- Emerging ethical dilemmas
- Skills practice and supervision
Module 3: Standing in Your Boots - Developing your own style, taking space and experimenting with flow.
- Assessments
- Somatic work in systemic context
- Deepening your understanding of unconscious process
- Physis and the erotic
- Exploring resistance to flow
- Revisiting your edge
- Clarifying what you might need from supervision going forward
- Closure and moving away
Entry Criteria
Experience of long term work with at least one client (i.e. 12 months).
Assessment
An assessment that takes place during the April weekend. Students design a short body-orientated activity for an individual, couple or group.
Qualification
The Certificate in Somatic TA gives you an excellent foundation to begin using the somatic in your practice.
Timings and Fee
The dates for 2024/25 are as follows, and will cost £850. (A reduced fee of £800 to those signing up before 1 July 2024)
Weekend 1: 23 - 24 November 2024
Weekend 2: 18 - 19 January 2025
Weekend 3: 5 - 6 April 2025
Start and finish times: 10.00am to 5.00pm. Drinks are provided but you will need to bring a packed lunch or purchase food at nearby cafes.
Location
The course takes place at EH1 Therapies centre, 4b Randolph Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7TQ. It is just a few minutes walk from Charlotte Square, Princess Street and George Street. For more details, including public transport options, click here.