AUSB is excited to announce a new MACP concentration in Somatic Psychotherapy to meet the growing demand for specialization in specific therapeutic modalities and training in skills that are now considered to be crucial in the treatment of symptoms related to trauma, complex PTSD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and attachment disorders.
This is an applied psychology program with the goal of this concentration aimed at training future practitioners (MFT, LPCC) to immediately use their knowledge and skills as trainees, interns and future licensed professionals in Somatics which is the most cutting-edge aspect of the field of psychology today.
Recent advances in affective, interpersonal neurobiology have shown the importance of somatic based psychotherapeutic approaches for effective, interdisciplinary, and holistic psychological treatment of individuals of all ages. There currently is a shift in emphasis from talking through and about the past predominantly to bodily-based here-and-now methodologies for fully integrated healing and repair, particularly with all forms of trauma.
While specific somatic techniques have been taught in many places, integrating the whole field of somatic psychotherapy with practical skills for clinicians is not yet part of mainstream psychological training. Somatic Psychotherapy combines traditional forms of treatment with bodily awareness and experiential experimentation, expression and exploration with the goal of increasing the interconnection between the body, emotions, cognition and sense of self. It is not merely “the body” added onto traditional psychotherapy, it is a distinct way of looking at the self through an integrated body-mind lens holistically.
As master somatic therapist Peter Levine says, “Any kind of tools that therapists have to be able to help clients reference their body, and particularly to find the ways that their body experiences power and mastery, are going to dramatically inform the type of therapy they’re doing.”
This unique program brings together historical and current theoretical models with state-of-the-art professional experiential training for graduating Masters Students, to provide them with knowledge and practical skills that can be applied immediately with any patient population or theoretical modality.
The concentration is offered over ten weeks and will include 6 courses totaling 15 Units, 13 of which will be offered in person. A weekend course, and 3 units offered online enable students to complete the concentrated study of applied somatics within ten weeks. Students in AUSB’s Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program will enroll in a full quarter beyond their current degree program.
Learn more about the Somatic Psychotherapy concentration. Current MACP students may direct inquiries to Moira Savage at [email protected]. Prospective students not currently enrolled at Antioch, please send inquiries to AUSB admissions at [email protected].
The first cohort will be enrolled in Fall 2017 and the second cohort in Winter 2018 in line with the plan of study for MACP’s two admission points of Fall and Winter. A separate plan is being developed for a Certification track for already licensed professionals (MFT, LPCC, LSCW and Psychologist) to enroll in these courses toward certification.
