Somatic Psychotherapy Today

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

SPT Magazine Volume 14, Number 2 Winter 2024 is now live

With this issue, Volume 14, Number 2, Winter 2024, SPT Magazine celebrates its homecoming to the USABP. It is fitting that these two publications now reside under one roof. They share the same goals and principles. Both are community-generated and free to read. By bringing both publications, The International Body Psychotherapy Journal and Somatic Psychotherapy Today, together, we can now support a platform that offers a full range of information—from peer-reviewed articles that cover research, case studies, emerging clinical practices, and interviews with community leaders who are charting new paths, and spearheading new theories, to book and film reviews, important online webinars and events, and musings that light up our creativity. We look forward to writing together in 2025.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

YouTube offers informative videos covering a wide range in the fields of Somatic Psychology and Body Psychotherapy. SPT Magazine offers videos our editorial team feels are aligned with our mission.

We invite you to learn more about The School of Unusual Life Learning in this conversation.

BODY MIND SPIRIT

AI From the Body’s Perspective

By Jeanne Denney This year, the conversation about AI has become almost deafening; it arrived on all my devices as a new authority about everything. ...

Somatic-Oriented Therapies: Embodiment, Trauma and Polyvagal Perspectives

SPT Magazine is pleased to share our review of Somatic-Oriented Therapies., Edited by Herbert Grassmann, Maurizio Stupiggia, and Stephen W. Porges. The 32 chapters in Somatic-Oriented Therapies blend Polyvagal Theory principles into body psychotherapy as the contributors discuss research, the science of embodying, and embodied practice.

The Influence of Fear: From Franklin D. Roosevelt to Modern Neuroscience

Fear can paralyze a nation. Franklin D. Roosevelt inherited chaos when he was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States: the banking system had collapsed, unemployment had soared, and the economy had hit rock bottom—it was the Great Depression. Facing a national crisis, Roosevelt sought to reassure a fearful nation by proclaiming, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." His message aimed to shift the national mindset from despair to hope, encouraging Americans to recognize the pervasive power of fear and its ability to stop forward growth and further darken an already bleak situation. The same psychological truths about fear apply today. Thanks to advances in neuroscience, psychology, and the social sciences, we now have a deeper understanding of fear and its effects on the mind and body (Porges, 2011).

The Father Figure in Uncertain Times

Genovino Ferri offers an in-depth consideration of the removal of the Father from his role as the symbol of the West’s patriarchal family. He notes that we are witnessing the erosion of the Family and the consequent removal of the Father. Per Dr Ferri, It is a body psycho-analytical description seeking to clearly articulate the container-contained interaction, placing greater emphasis on the container: ‘Being a Father figure is an organisational, evolutive state in the sense that this “paternal” role may be performed by men, women, individuals, and groups.’”

Mindfulness Built for Two

When clients come to us in crisis with racing thoughts, potent emotions, and harsh inner voices, didactic approaches to awareness training are not easy. After noticing their breath for a few minutes, people may be accosted by thoughts: I can’t do this; It’s just another thing for me to fail at; or I have too much to do. Beginners need to practice persistence before they experience meditation’s benefits, like improved concentration, reduced reactivity, and even lower blood pressure. In a culture where immediate gratification is expected, people often give up.

Binge Eating as Nervous System Dysregulation Turned Habit: Regulating Our Nervous System Through Somatic...

Over time, I experimented with different body-based movements and meditations. The most effective for me were sensory strategies that emphasized the body's crucial role in self-regulation and healing. For individuals like me, BED is not merely a psychological issue. Insights from my studies in somatic psychology and occupational therapy suggest that binge eating is a somatic manifestation of nervous system dysregulation.

Book Reviews

What Sustains Me

What Sustains Me is a collection of personal essays written by seven therapists who use their skills for observation and self-reflection to dive into their lives and explore the experiences that brought them to where they are, who they are, and why they are here today. Each shares a deeply personal reflection of self and others, their initial wounds in childhood, and the continual assaults that resulted from self and others. They are vulnerable and intimate. There’s a sense of expansion as each writer breathes life into words landing on the page.

Polyvagal perspectives: interventions, practices, and strategies

As a seasoned laboratory scientist, Stephen W. Porges presented his polyvagal theory (PVT) in 1994 and simultaneously started a revolution. His research and resultant theories reframed our understanding of the ANS’s impact on stress, resilience, sociality, feelings of safety, and more. Porges’ newest book, Polyvagal Perspectives: Interventions, Practices, and Strategies, discusses concepts embedded in his original theory that transcended its theoretical framework. It represents his desire to ‘clarify his original theory and rectify potential misunderstandings by documenting its scientific foundation’ (pg. 24) and counter academic attacks and misrepresentations of clinical applications. The materials also demonstrate that a polyvagal perspective may deepen our understanding of vagal impacts on human health and experience.

Polyvagal Perspectives: Interventions, Practices, and Strategies

After decades of witnessing misunderstandings and misrepresentations, Dr. Stephen W. Porges wrote Polyvagal Perspectives: Interventions, Practices, and Strategies to set the record straight. He wanted to “clarify his original theory and rectify potential misunderstandings by documenting its scientific foundation” (pg. 24). Porges didn’t propose that PVT be proven or disproven. He wanted further research to inform and modify the theory and provide “a perspective to frame research questions—it is not a static theory” (pg. xiv). PVT consists of two components: a series of hypotheses “driven and future-oriented which could potentially lead to enhancements of mental and physical health” (pg.70) and a descriptive model. Porges wanted to emphasize the role of our autonomic state as “an intervening variable in how we respond to internal and external cues” (pg. 71).