DAY 1 – Foundations of Somatic Trauma Therapy
Module 1: The Neurobiology of Somatic Trauma
- How trauma disrupts adaptive processing (AIP, memory networks, and nervous system dysregulation)
- Sensory, emotional, and cognitive fragmentation
- Body-brain loops: bottom-up & top-down processing
- The roles of the head, heart, and gut in somatic regulation
- The Window of Tolerance (Siegel) and Window of Presence (Chitty): updated models and clinical applications
- Experiential:
- Somatic Micro-Practice #1: Tracking Body Temperature, Texture & Micro-Sensations
- Somatic Micro-Practice #2: Orienting to Safety & Environment
Module 2: Polyvagal Theory in Practice
- The Polyvagal Ladder for clinical use
- Neuroception, cues of safety/danger
- Mapping sympathetic, dorsal, and blended states
- How to work somatically with each state
- Using Polyvagal sequencing to prevent retraumatization
- Experiential:
- Guided Polyvagal Mapping Activity
- “Vagal Glimmers” Embodiment Practice
Module 3: Interoception, Proprioception & Embodied Awareness
- Rebuilding inner connection
- Why interoceptive deficits occur in trauma
- Working with numbness, shutdown, pain, dissociation, and “missing body parts”
- The interoceptive hierarchy: from gross awareness – subtle awareness – emotional awareness
- Experiential:
- Guided Interoceptive Scan
- Hands-on Worksheet: My Body Landscape
Module 4: Somatic Safety, Titration & Pendulation
- Establishing somatic boundaries and consent
- How to titrate safely in complex trauma
- Pendulation as a gentle method of trauma resolution
- Working with overwhelm, collapse, looping, and “too much too fast”
- Experiential:
- Pendulation Practice: Expansion & Contraction
- Container & Anchor Practice
Module 5: The Embodied Therapist
- Embodied countertransference
- Nervous system contagion & co-regulation
- Self-energy through the body
- Ethical boundaries for somatic touch (if used)
- Experiential:
- Sacred Pause Sequence
- Self-to-Therapist Micro-Regulation
DAY 2 – Somatic Interventions for Trauma, Attachment Wounds & Dissociation
Module 6: Working Somatically with Protectors
- How protectors show up somatically (tension, gripping, bracing, numbness, impulses)
- Somatic dialogue with the manager & firefighter parts
- Body-tracking for polarization
- Somatic markers of “not ready”
- Experiential:
- Protector Mapping through Posture
- Somatic Boundary Practice
Module 7: Somatic Approaches for Developmental & Attachment Trauma
- Repairing early relational wounds through the body
- Co-regulation as an intervention
- Somatic reparenting foundations
- Working with collapse, appeasement, and attachment freeze
- Experiential:
- Reparenting Imagery + Somatic Anchor
- Heart-Gut Breath for Co-Regulation
Module 8: Dissociation, Freeze States & Somatic Stabilization
- Somatic signatures of dissociation
- How to safely bring clients “closer to the body” without flooding
- Top-down and bottom-up grounding
- Distinguishing structural dissociation parts through somatic cues
- Experiential:
- Ground-to-Sky Stabilization
- Gentle Re-Entry Practices for Fade-Out Moments
Module 9: Somatic Interweaves & Trauma Resolution
- Using somatic prompts from or within trauma-informed care (EMDR, IFS-inspired parts work, or other modalities)
- Corrective sensorimotor actions
- Incomplete defensive responses (fight/flight/freeze/fawn completion)
- Micro-movements for trauma completion
- Experiential
- Somatic Interweave Practice (pairs or demo)
- Gesture Completion Exercise
Module 10: Clinical Breathwork for Trauma Therapists
- Breathwork neuroscience
- Matching breath to the nervous system state
- Contraindications
- Breathwork library:
- Humming Sigh Breath
- Central Channel Breath
- Sat-Chit-Ananda Kriya
- Oceanic Pacing Breath
- Interoceptive Spiral Breath
- Bilateral Breath
- Flame of Presence Breath
- Root-to-Heart Breath
- Experiential:
- Guided Breath Lab with 3-4 selected practices
DAY 3 – Advanced Integration, Transpersonal Work & Clinical Application
Module 11: Applying Somatic Work in an IFS-inspired Parts Work Framework
- Unblending through sensation
- Somatic Self-energy
- Somatic signatures of protector permission
- Somatic pathways into exile healing
- Body-led unburdening
- Working with legacy burdens in the body
- Experiential:
- Somatic Parts Work Guided Practice: Self-Led Body Dialogue
- Demo: Somatic Unblending Session
Module 12: Integrating Somatic Principles into EMDR Therapy
- When and how to incorporate somatic interweaves
- Somatic assessment before reprocessing
- Working with looping, blocked processing, and protective parts
- State change practices for session prep and closure
- Using bilateral stimulation with somatic anchors
- Experiential:
- Demo
- Practice in structured triads (live version, optional)
- State Change Tool Practice
Module 13: Cultural, Collective & Intergenerational Considerations
- Social nervous system dynamics
- Cultural humility as somatic awareness
- Collective trauma impacts the body
- Working with ancestral patterns and legacy burdens somatically
- Ethics, power, consent, and the somatic experience
- Experiential:
- Collective Body Field Exercise
- Gentle Ancestral Strength Visualization
Module 14: Transpersonal & Energetic Dimensions of Somatic Work
- The body as a site of intuition & wisdom
- Imagery, archetypes, subtle energy, and somatic resonance
- Working with clients’ spiritual or symbolic systems responsibly
- Grounded, evidence-based clinical framing
- Experiential:
- “Inner Sanctuary” Somatic Imagery Practice
- Guided “Central Channel Embodied Presence” Sequence
Module 15: Treatment Planning, Skill Mastery & Integration
- Assessment template for somatic-informed care
- Sequencing somatic interventions across phases of treatment
- Contraindications and precautions
- Case Studies
- Clinical troubleshooting
- Experiential:
- Q&A or case conceptualization/consultation (optional)
- Closing Embodiment Practice: Becoming the Self-Led Somatic Therapist


