MA in Somatic Counseling
Psychology

What is Somatic Counseling Psychology?

“Somatic” comes from the Greek word “soma,” meaning body. Somatic Counseling Psychology is the study of human experience as fundamentally embedded within
the structures, processes and capacities of the body.

By attending to this foundation of experience, Somatic Counseling Psychology uses the unique role of the body and its movement to understand and transform human behavior. In this way, somatic psychotherapy, which includes dance/movement therapy and body psychotherapy, is a holistic approach to personal growth and change. The challenge of the somatic psychotherapist is to engage the client in verbal and non-verbal processes that transform embodied experience into knowledge for choice and change.

The MA in Somatic Counseling Psychology offers the student training in traditional psychotherapeutic theory and skills, integrated with a body-based and movement-oriented paradigm for therapeutic work with individuals and groups.

There are two degree concentrations offered within the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department: Body Psychotherapy and Dance/Movement Therapy.

In a setting of collaborative inquiry, students engage in a process that emphasizes the development of intellectual, emotional, somatic, social and spiritual awareness. The course work combines theoretical and experiential learning, and faculty members provide diverse perspectives that allow students to formulate their own points of view.