Relational Implicit & Somatic Psychotherapy

Albert Pesso, co-founder with his wife, Diane Boyden-Pesso, of PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor and President of the Psychomotor Institute, Inc. was formerly Associate Professor and Director of the Dance Division at Emerson College, Supervisor of Psychomotor Therapy at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and Consultant in Psychiatric Research at the Boston VA Hospital.  He has conducted training programs in PBSP in the US, Brazil, Israel and in many countries in Europe . He and his work with PBSP for the German GTZ Mission in The Democratic Republic of Congo have been featured in a documentary film, “State of Mind” distributed by Icarus Films.  He is the author of many books and articles on PBSP, and a frequent lecturer at universities, hospitals and clinics in the US and Europe. At present, he continues his intensive training schedule in Europe, and also leads programs and sees individuals in Boston, Massachusetts. Al is the recipient of the USABP’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. See: PBSP.com.

March 2012. See: Printable PDF transcript. See also Part 2 of the conversation with Al Pesso and chapter about what sustains him.

Dr. Johnson is the Director of the Institute for Embodiment Studies, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary scholarship in embodiment studies. She is the former Chair of the Somatic Psychology Department at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, former Director of the Body Psychotherapy Program in the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University and the founding Coordinator of Student Crisis Response Programs at the University of Toronto. Her research and clinical interests include the somatic impact of oppression, embodied critical pedagogy, and feminist somatic research methods.

Laury Rappaport, Ph.D., REAT, ATR-BC, is the Founder/Director of the Focusing and Expressive Arts Institute, a Certifying Coordinator and Trainer with The Focusing Institute in NY.  Based on over thirty years of clinical application, Laury pioneered the development of the integration of Focusing with the expressive arts, known as Focusing-Oriented Arts Therapy (FOAT).  She is the author of Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy: Accessing the Body’s Wisdom and Creative Intelligence, and numerous articles.  Laury has been an Associate Professor at Notre Dame de Namur University, the Academic Coordinator of International Expressive Arts at Lesley University where she has been teaching for over 30 years, and conducts trainings internationally at the University of Hong Kong and in Japan.

January 2012. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Babette Rothschild, MSW, LCSW, is the author of five books, all published by WW Norton:

– The Body Remembers–The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment (2000) (bestseller)

– The Body Remembers CASEBOOK–Unifying Methods and Models in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD (2003)

– Help for the Helper–The Psychophysiology of Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma (2006)

– 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery (2010)  (bestseller)

– Trauma Essentials: The Go-To Guide. (2011)

She has been a psychotherapist and body psychotherapist since 1976 and a teacher and trainer since 1992. After living and working for 9 years in Copenhagen, Denmark, she returned to her native Los Angeles. There she is writing her next books while she continues to lecture, train, and supervise psychotherapists, body psychotherapists, and psychologists worldwide. See: SomaticTraumaTherapy.com.

December 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript. For other conversation with Babette Rothschild, see Alphabetical List.

Anthony “Twig” Wheeler is a Cultural Animator and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner/Consultant from Washington state. His background includes extensive study in human ecology, social change theory and the healing arts. Twig has assisted extensively in the SE trainings helping graduate hundreds of SE practitioners. He offers sessions and consultations at all levels of the SE training.

Twig focuses on the translation and outreach of SE principles and guidelines worldwide. He has consulted in war affected communities in DR Congo, crisis clinics and violence prevention programs in the US and with helping professionals on four continents. In 2011 Twig produced an autobiographical “One-Man Show” titled Stories of Completion detailing his personal transformation out of PTSD with the aid of Somatic Experiencing. His website LiberationIsPossible.org showcases his various projects including his SE Reflections blog specifically designed for SE oriented practitioners. Twig is dedicated to wholeness and liberation: his, yours and others’.

Published November 2011.

“I live and work on the west coast of Vancouver Island where I have had a private trauma psychotherapy practice for 10 years. Much of my current clinical work is with early developmental trauma and attachment and I work as a counselor educator with both the SE Trauma Institute and the University of Victoria.

“I have been blessed to work in a number of First Nations communities and have been taught how communities survive multi-generational trauma, the importance of spirituality in healing, and the overlap between SE and some traditional ways of healing. This experience informs and affects my work with both First Nations and non-First Nations people.

“I work from a body-oriented perspective, incorporating SE, movement, touch and touch awareness.

“I also work and play with a fabulous team of SE-affiliated people, surf, build parts of my house with my husband and play, play, play with my young son.”

Published October 2011.

Garet Bedrosian says: “My life’s path has been motivated by curiosity and a desire to know the world around me at a deeper level.  I sensed energy and knew there was more which was evidenced in always wanting to know the “why” of things; therefore I’ve dedicated much of my life to self-exploration and following my wonder about people, relationships, and diverse cultures. I believe the mind and body are inextricably linked.  in more than 30 years of psychotherapy experience I have trained in Bioenergetic Analysis, Expressive Arts Therapy, Imago Couples Therapy, EMDR, and Addictions.  I am currently the Executive Director of the Southern California Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis as well as a faculty in the Certification Program. I am also a member of a Playback Improvisational theater group, I dance and practice yoga, so being alive and energetic is a personal commitment for me.” See: GaretBedrosian.com.

Published October 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Dr. Mary Giuffra has been a therapist for over 35 years. She received her doctorate from New York University and is a New York State Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric Mental Health, and a New York State Registered Professional Nurse.

Dr. Giuffra has also been recognized for her pioneering efforts as an educator and specialist in curriculum development.  She has served as a tenured member of the faculty at New York University and the College of Mount Saint Vincent. She has been the recipient of several major grants from the federal government and is the author of countless articles in peer reviewed journals, and book chapters.

For many years, Mary has been an SE  Senior Assistant  and approved at all levels for sessions, consults  and group consultations in SE and SE Touch.  She has assisted in Canada, Hong Kong and both US Coasts. See website.

Published September 2011. See other conversation with Mary Giuffra. 

In this conversation, Dr Scaer gives an overview of how the thinking brain and the emotional brain interact, and what happens in stress and trauma.

Robert Scaer, M.D., is Board Certified in Neurology, and has been in practice for 36 years, 20 of those as Medical Director at the Mapleton Rehabilitation Center in Boulder, CO.   More recently he has pursued the study of traumatic stress and its role in emotional and physical syndromes and diseases. Now retired from clinical medical practice, he writes and lectures in the field of traumatology.

He has published two books for professionals: The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation and Disease (2001 & 2007), and The Trauma Spectrum: Hidden Wounds and Human Resiliency (2005).  He also wrote a book for the general public, 8 Keys to Brain-Body Balance, published by Norton in 2012. See: traumasoma.com

Published August 2011. See other conversation with Robert Scaer.

Lidy Evertsen, originally a professional classical singer and voice teacher, was trained as a Unitive Body Psychotherapist in the early nineties. Soon she became involved in the Bodynamic System. Now she is a certified Bodynamic Therapist, Bodynamic Shock Trauma Therapist and a trainer in the Foundation and Shock Trauma Training. Lidy has a private practice in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She runs international Bodynamic Trainings in cooperation with Lisbeth and Ditte Marcher, also in Amsterdam. Since October 2010 Lidy has been the president of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP).

Lidy’s special interest is working with dissociation and working with clients who endured long term trauma. See: Bodynamic.nl.

August 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.

Robert Lewis, M.D., in private practice in New York, is a senior trainer on the International institute of Bioenergetic Analysis faculty, and a member of the clinical faculty of the NYU/Mount Sinai Medical Center. He has published extensively on the integration of early developmental and relational issues into the basic Bioenergetic approach. His elucidation of Cephalic Shock and way of working with the head, voice, and diaphragmatic connections to the pelvis, are beyond words. Bob finds the data of recent neuroscience confirming of his emphasis on an implicit, bodily- based approach to what is healing in the therapeutic relationship.He leads workshops in Europe and the Americas, and residential intensives on Long Island, NY. See: BodyMindCentral.com.

July 2011. See: Printable PDF transcript.