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Commonly, we think of the mind and body as two separate things.
We think ‘I’ have a body, rather than I am my body.
As a result, we feel cut off from ourselves; alienated from our true nature.
But is this split-view of ourselves scientifically accurate?
Or might the two be more interconnected than our common sense tells us?
In this online conference, we’ll explore the exciting new field of mind-body psychotherapy.
You’ll learn how the mind affects us biologically, how what happens in the body influences the mind, and how to apply these cutting-edge insights to enhance your therapeutic work.
Fear can be contagious, especially in times of uncertainty or when we’re physically, emotionally, and psychologically activated. Many laments not having a “training manual” on how to live this life when there’s no path already charted out for us. This is where we can draw upon the integration of attachment theory and the ancient wisdom traditions sculpting out an inner path to deal with external reality. A Bodhisattva is someone who deliberately chooses to transform their suffering into compassion. From this perspective, life is the training manual for us. This moment….the “stuff” we’re in, the feelings we’re having, the current circumstances of our lives – that is the training manual. Our task is to learn to take those raw materials, learn the signals we get from inside ourselves, decipher the signals from the outside, exploring the matrix so we can choose who we want to be and how we want to respond to this very moment we are in.
Deirdre Fay, MSW is a thought leader with over 35 years of experience exploring the intersection of wisdom traditions and contemporary psychotherapy as a “Modern Day Bodhisattva (Compassion) Training.” In deliberately choosing to cultivate compassion healing is not an accident but the sure result of consistent and persistent practice as we develop an UnShakeable Heart, Solid, Steady, and Secure in the face of all life circumstances. She’s the author of Becoming Safely Embodied (2021), Attachment-Based Yoga & Meditation (2017) as well as co-author of Attachment Disturbances in Adults (2016). You can check more of her work at www.dfay.com
Body-Mind Psychotherapy facilitates growth, healing, and recovery through the practice of embodiment for both the client and the facilitator. The embodiment allows us to deepen and expand mindfulness of body, mind, emotions, and relationships. Through this increased awareness, we find new options to transform limiting patterns and challenges. Embodiment is our natural birthright as living creatures, but the cultural separation of mind and body has created obstacles to physical and psychological health and healing. Evidence from neuroscience, evolution, biology, physiology, and spiritual traditions will illustrate the theoretical and practical unity of mind and body. Within this presentation, we will help you understand why this is vital for you both personally and professionally, and we will do a bit of experiential work to help you feel how you might go further with yourself and how to cultivate more embodiment in your work with others.
Susan Aposhyan developed Body-Mind Psychotherapy in the 1980s as the field of Somatic Psychology was beginning to coalesce. BMP contributes a unique commitment to embodiment and integrates a detailed understanding of neuroscience, anatomy, and physiology into the field of psychology. Susan is the author of 3 books. The first Natural Intelligence: Body-Mind Integration and Human Development with Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins in 1999 and it has been in continual use since then. Body-Mind Psychotherapy: Principles, Techniques, and Practical Applications was published by W.W. Norton in 2004. Heart Open, Body Awake: Four Steps to Embodied Spirituality (2021, Shambhala Press) extends her work into the realm of spirituality. The BMP training is now available online and Susan consults and leads groups online in both Body-Mind Psychotherapy training and Embodied Spirituality if you go to www.susanaposhyan.com
This session will provide an accessible introduction to this groundbreaking somatic-cognitive approach to PTSD and attachment disturbances treatment.
Dr. Ogden will introduce the core principles of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP), and then explore how a sensorimotor ‘lens’ can provide practitioners with a deeper sensitivity to issues of marginalization, racial injustice, and oppression. You’ll discover how SP can be applied to effectively work with a wide range of issues, including trauma, dissociation, dysregulation, and early attachment injuries. The talk will expand upon the current conception of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, demonstrating its utility as a truly holistic and contextual form of therapy; one that takes both the whole person and broader socio-cultural considerations into account.
Dr. Pat Ogden, PhD, is a pioneer in somatic psychology, the creator of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy method, and the founder of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. Dr. Ogden is a clinician, consultant, international lecturer, and the first author of two groundbreaking books in somatic psychology: Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment (2015). Her third book, The Pocket Guide to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in Context, advocates for an anti-racist perspective in psychotherapy practice. Her current interests include couple therapy, child and family therapy, social justice, diversity, inclusion, consciousness, and the philosophical/spiritual principles that underlie her work. You can learn more about her work if you go to www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org
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