Are you looking to expand your trauma healing skills with somatic therapy? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
Somatic Experiencing Therapy (SET) is a highly effective approach for addressing trauma and stress-related conditions. Unlike traditional talk therapies, SET emphasizes the mind-body connection, focusing on the physiological impacts of trauma. Studies suggest that SET can be particularly effective in specific cases, sometimes outperforming cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating trauma by addressing deeper physiological responses rather than just managing symptoms.
By regulating the nervous system and processing traumatic memories in a safe, controlled environment, somatic experiencing therapy not only reduces trauma symptoms but also empowers individuals to regain control over their bodies and lives. For professionals seeking to enhance their practice, there are several comprehensive Somatic Experiencing training programs available. These courses can help deepen your understanding of trauma and equip you with the tools to facilitate meaningful healing in your clients.
While many excellent somatic programs are available, we’ve identified the following recommendations:
Top Pick
Equipped with all the curriculum we look for, this online training program delivers an excellent experience.
Runner-up
Although it has a lower price tag than our top pick, this somatic training program offers a full breadth of topics.
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Top pick
Join Liz Heffernan, a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), E-RYT 500, and Senior Teacher at Soma Yoga Institute, in her Somatic Training course for yoga teachers. The course will focus on effective cues, voice tone, rhythm, and other crucial elements for delivering high-quality somatic movement instruction.
You will participate in a dynamic learning experience through live video sessions and curated prerecorded content, ensuring a full exploration of somatic movement principles (recordings are available if you can’t make the call time). This course enables you to assist students in alleviating pain patterns, regulating the nervous system with yoga, enhancing neuroplasticity, and elevating interoceptive awareness.
Primary elements of Soma’s Somatic Movement Training
- Trauma-sensitive approach: Explore the application of somatic movements as a mindful approach to healing from chronic stress and post-traumatic stress, stimulating the vagus nerve and enhancing parasympathetic activity to counteract the fight-flight-freeze response.
- Therapeutic adaptations and sequences: Learn therapeutic adaptations and sequences designed to address musculoskeletal issues such as back pain, shoulder problems, chronic neck tension, hip and knee discomfort, scoliosis, and trauma.
- Anatomy of trauma: Investigate the anatomy of trauma and develop skills to unravel traumatic reflex patterns within the body, fostering a compassionate and informed approach to somatic teaching and practice.
- 15 Hrs of Yoga Alliance CE
For $347, Liz and her team provide a comprehensive online practice library featuring full-length somatics classes and individual exercise videos with cue sheets for effective self-guided practice. As you hone your teaching skills and learn the nuances of neuroception, interoception, exteroception, and proprioception, expect to rewire your brain.
Runner-up
Welcome to the Somatic Experiencing Certification program by My Vinyasa Practice, a transformative journey for those seeking to deepen their understanding of somatic practices and become certified somatic therapists.
This comprehensive program offers a well-rounded curriculum that explores the principles and techniques of somatic therapy. Whether you are a yoga practitioner, healthcare professional, or anyone passionate about mind-body wellness, this certification program equips you with the knowledge to facilitate healing and promote well-being through somatic approaches.
Key features
- Comprehensive curriculum. The Somatic Therapy Certification program covers somatic principles, embodiment practices, trauma-informed care, and more.
- Expert faculty. Learn from experienced and knowledgeable instructors who are experts in somatic therapy and are committed to guiding you in your learning journey.
- Flexible learning. The program offers a flexible online format, allowing you to study at your own pace and integrate your learning into your schedule.
- Practical training. Gain hands-on experience through practical training and case studies, enabling you to apply somatic therapy techniques in real-world settings.
Somatic healing techniques and practices
- Breath-centric somatic techniques
- Movement-based somatic techniques
- Cognitive, somatic techniques
Who is this for
This certification is designed for people who want a deep understanding of somatic practices and to become certified somatic therapists. The program suits yoga practitioners, massage therapists, coaches, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in wellness and healing.
Why we love it
This program provides the tools and support you need to thrive in the wellness field and the opportunity to facilitate healing and transformation through somatic approaches. Yoga Alliance recognizes this certification as continuing education and IAYT, the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Course length and fee
One hundred hours and $850 one-time payment or four monthly payments of $212.
SomaSensing Somatic Movement Therapist Certification
SomaSensing™ offers an industry-leading Somatic Movement Therapist Certification program. This ISMETA-approved training is grounded in the latest research on fascia, biotensegrity, and nervous system regulation. It provides a hands-on, experiential approach to somatic movement and healing with a trauma-sensitive approach.
The program’s creator, Yasmin Lambat, is a renowned Somatic Movement Therapist (SMT) with a professional background that spans 30 years to include Pilates, yoga, and myofascial release. At the heart of SomaSensing™ is healing through self-regulation, cultivating somatic awareness to access the body’s innate ability to heal through movement and connecting to recovery blueprints like pandiculation and other intuitive movements. The emphasis is on letting go of habitual patterns and returning to our original nature.
This comprehensive 12-month somatic experiencing certification program covers 250 hours of training, fully equipping students to lead somatic movement or body unwinding sessions for both groups and private clients.
- Phase 1 – Awakening to Soma: Starts by learning Somatic Movement Therapy basics, principles, and history and exploring the potential of SomaSensing™ Body Unwinding.
- Phase 2 – Nurturing Body-Mind Awareness: Deepens your understanding of the body-mind connection, including tuning into bodily sensations, mastering SomaSensing Body Unwinding, and addressing and developing client-centered skills.
- Phase 3 – Integrating Body and Emotions: It helps you understand trauma’s impact on the fascial system and apply trauma-sensitive principles, including recognizing trauma’s effects and learning to honor personal boundaries.
- Phase 4 – Guiding Others on the Somatic Path: It equips you to share your knowledge by understanding group therapy dynamics, designing transformative workshops, and developing your unique therapeutic approach.
The SomaSensing™ program ($5000) includes:
- 9 days of lectures and practical sessions, live online (56 hours)
- 12 x 90-minute guided movement sessions, live online (18 hours)
- 8 days of in-person training (located in the Folkestone, England) (56 hours)
- 5 x private mentoring sessions (5 hours)
- Monthly pre-recorded lectures (15 hours)
- Self-Practice (50 hours)
- Guiding others (50 hours)
Upon completion, you’ll become a certified Somatic Movement Therapist. Whether you’re a dedicated yoga or Pilates instructor, movement professional, healthcare practitioner, or bodyworker looking to deepen your therapeutic skills and embrace personal transformation, this somatic experience training offers the necessary tools.
The Aura Institute Somatic Experiencing Certification
The Aura Institute’s Somatic Healing Certification program is a body-based approach that infuses science, spirit, and energetic components. The curriculum comprehensively explains somatic therapy, embodied movement, nervous system regulation, mindfulness, emotional healing, trauma-informed breathwork, and more. The Aura Institute’s Integrative Trauma Practitioner Training provides a holistic approach to trauma healing that recognizes the connection between the body, mind, and spirit to encompass the whole human experience. This training facilitates a deep understanding of somatic and other potent and unique modalities.
Within the Aura Institute’s Level-1, ten-week training, you will be guided through live classes and lectures, break-out rooms, practices, and real-time demonstrations. Learn the most integrative, body-based approaches, including:
- Trauma-informed breathwork
- Somatic therapy
- Body Trauma Liberation™ method
You’ll be inspired to create your relationship with these modalities and embody these teachings to be a living example for your clients.
The program is designed to be interactive and experiential, providing you with the opportunity to practice and apply the techniques you learn. It will deepen your understanding of trauma and its impact on the body and mind so you graduate ready to implement applicable skills, tools, and practices in a client setting. You will develop your skills as a practitioner inside the Aura Institute’s supportive and engaging learning environment and connect with peers to share experiences and perspectives.
Training Length: Level 1 (50 hours). Level 2 (65 hours).
Price: Level One Training Program tuition is $2,450. If you enroll in both Level-1 and Level-2, the total is $4,250 (saving you $1,000).
Great for: Someone who is currently in the wellness/mental health field or looking to start a career in the field. This is excellent training if you’re ready to get your feet wet with powerful, applicable, and practical somatic tools.
The Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI) Somatic Certification
The innovator of SE therapy founded the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI), Dr. Peter Levine. SETI is a recognized organization that offers training in the somatic experiencing (SE) approach to resolving trauma and stress-related conditions. SETI’s training programs aim to provide you with a great depth of knowledge in somatic experiencing as you learn the skills to apply SE principles and techniques in your professional practice or personal life. The Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute has taught over 9,000 professionals worldwide, making it one of the leading somatic schools in the world.
SETI’s somatic certification programs are taught by experienced and qualified trainers who are recognized within the SE community:
- Basic Principles of SE
- SE Professional Training Program (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced)
- Ongoing SE Training & Development
The programs are designed to be:
- Interactive
- Hands-on
- Experiential
- Accessible
This somatic experience training is specifically for practitioners who want to increase their comprehensive understanding of the impact of trauma on the mind and body. It is an incredible choice if you’re committed to becoming a somatic experiencing practitioner and bringing somatic experiencing into the world!
Training Length: 2 ½ year-3 year
Price: The total price for all three levels is $9,130. They do have scholarship options available.
Great for: Someone looking for a comprehensive, reputable training program.
Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate
The Embody Lab’s somatic certification program is focused on the integration of somatic approaches in mental health and wellness practices. The program aims to provide an exacting understanding of the mind and body connection and to equip students with the skills and techniques necessary to incorporate somatic interventions in their work. The curriculum covers mindfulness, movement, body-centered therapies, trauma-informed practices, and more.
This 3-month online program is taught by highly experienced instructors and therapists dedicated to sharing their expertise and helping participants develop their skills in somatic therapy.
Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a certificate in somatic psychotherapy, demonstrating their proficiency in the field. The Embody Lab’s somatic certification program is divided into four main sections:
- Befriending the body
- Trauma reprocessing
- Applications
- Integration
This carefully designed, educational somatic program will provide a thorough grounding in somatic techniques and approaches to support lasting, healing changes.
Training Length: 3 months
Price: Sliding scale pricing structure starting from $947 to $1447. Scholarships are available.
Great for: Someone excited to be around like-minded people, developing somatic therapy skills for personal use or as complementary techniques in an existing health field career.
Somatic Therapy Center Heal Others with Somatic Healing Program
The Somatic Therapy Center presents the Heal Others program. This program provides individuals with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of their own body and mind, and to learn new techniques for managing stress and resolving trauma. Concurrently, they learn to work in somatic healing as a practitioner, coach, or therapist.
The Heal Others program, approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB), covers a range of topics, including:
- Foundations of somatic healing
- Anatomy of trauma
- Techniques for resolving trauma and managing stress
The program is designed to be interactive and hands-on, providing participants with the opportunity to practice and apply these techniques. This is a great complementary program if you’re already working as a counselor, bodyworker, therapist, or coach.
Heal Others with Somatic Healing will guide you. Whether for personal growth, career development or to help others, the program provides a comprehensive and practical understanding by earning a somatic healing certification.
Training Length: 8 months
Price: Level One Membership is $4,400. Level Two Membership is $4,700. Level Three Membership is $4,800.
Great for: Someone looking to enhance their ability to support clients and gain personal healing and career development.
Somatic Psychotherapy Practices Program
Antioch University’s Certificate in Somatic Psychotherapy and Practices program significantly impacts understanding holistic mind and body connection and approaches. You will learn to incorporate somatic intervention tools into your therapeutic work and practical application.
This well-rounded curriculum covers mindfulness, movement, body-centered therapies, trauma-informed practices, and more. The program is designed for mental health professionals, including therapists, counselors, and psychologists, as well as individuals looking to deepen their understanding of somatic psychotherapy. You will learn practical applications for children, adolescents, adults, veterans, and those who have experienced trauma or abuse.
Students also develop practical clinical and consultative skills and learn to effectively collaborate with clients to promote physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Upon completion, students have the knowledge and skills to provide quality, compassionate care to clients.
Training Length: 3 months
Price: $1,950. Financial aid is not available.
Great for: Great for existing mental health professionals looking to deepen their client experience by integrating a holistic scope of body-based practices.
Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)
The Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ based out of Vancouver, Canada, brings a unique flavor to the somatic therapy training options. This soul-based, experiential psychotherapy training program is an online and in-person hybrid program and beautifully blends body-based approaches to support clients in emotional regulation, trauma healing, and managing psychological symptoms. This program welcomes practicing mental health professionals (psychotherapists, psychologists, counselors), healing practitioners (yoga teachers, massage therapists, bodyworkers), and healthcare professionals (nurses and doctors).
Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice offers three levels of training: Level 1 (beginning), Level 2 (intermediate) with a Body Adjunction Program, and Level 3 (advanced). Each training level is 3-6 months long, including topics like mindfulness, embodied resilience, restorative yoga, Bodywork, sound, movement, and breathwork. The program is known for its unique integrative approach, which combines elements of various somatic modalities and draws on a range of theoretical perspectives. ISTP™ aims to provide participants with a flexible and adaptable set of skills and techniques that can be applied in various therapeutic settings.
This intimate somatic experience certification, taught by experienced therapists and instructors with a deep understanding of somatic psychotherapy, limits the group size to 12-20 students. The Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ program infuses ceremony into all that they do, as the body and spirit together are what bring deep healing.
Training Length: 3-6 months (each level)
Price: Level 1 – $497 CAD. Level 2 – $1,700 CAD, with the Bodywork adjunction program – $3,702.15 CAD. Level 3 – $3000 CAD.
Great for: Someone who values intimate spaces and is already practicing as a professional in the mental health field who wants a spiritual approach to somatic therapy.
Which is the best somatic therapy training?
Somatic experiencing therapy (SET) is an innovative psycho-therapeutic, body-centered therapy that aims to help individuals treat and heal trauma and stress-related symptoms. This form of therapy is an evidence-based approach based on the principle that traumatic experiences can become “stuck” in the body, leading to anxiety, depression, and physical pain. The somatic experiencing modality leads you into “somatic learning” – the idea that the body can learn and process experiences to promote healing and well-being, allowing individuals to regulate their nervous system and release these stuck experiences.
When choosing a somatic experiencing (SE) training, several factors must be considered to ensure that you receive high-quality training that meets your expectations. Here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind:
- Credentials & accreditation: It is essential to research the program’s credentials to ensure that the trainers are experienced, qualified, and recognized within the SE community. Look for trainers who have completed an advanced somatic experiencing certification from recognized organizations. It’s also essential to take into account the accreditation of the program. For example, certifying boards like the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB).
- Format of the training: SE training programs are available in a variety of formats, including in-person, online, and hybrid formats. Consider the format best for your learning style, schedule, and location.
- Curriculum: Ensure that the training program covers the fundamentals of SE and provides hands-on training in applying somatic experiencing techniques. A comprehensive curriculum covering the theory, principles, and techniques of somatic experiencing therapy is vital to ensuring a thorough understanding of the approach.
- Length & cost: SE training programs vary in length, from brief weekend workshops to multi-year, $9,000 certification training programs. Consider the amount of time and financial investment you’re willing to commit.
By considering these factors, you can choose a somatic experiencing therapy training program that is a good fit for your needs, goals, and budget.
Concluding the Best Somatic Therapy Training Online
These somatic therapy training programs represent a significant opportunity for personal and professional growth. Their diverse approaches, expert guidance, and commitment to holistic well-being offer a valuable gateway to understanding and harnessing the body-mind connection. Whether you’re a therapist, practitioner, or someone interested in improving your life through somatic practices, these programs provide a solid foundation and a wealth of knowledge. Investing in one of these programs can be a massive step toward a more mindful, connected, and enriched life.
