INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO TRAIN THOUSANDS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OF THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

London, UK, 9 June 2023—Babette Rothschild, specialist educator in the treatment of trauma and PTSD, is partnering with the Complex Trauma Institute (CTI), in the UK and W. W. Norton & Company, the international publishing house, to bring training to 3,000 Ukrainian therapists.

“CTI is providing a platform for internationally recognised trauma specialist Babette Rothschild to hold a 3-day online event on Somatic Trauma Therapy from 28 to 30 June 2023. This event is being made freely available to Mental Health professionals in Ukraine and over 3,000 participants are expected to attend online.”

Dzmitry Karpuk—Director, the Complex Trauma Institute, York

Babette Rothschild explains: “At the time the war broke out in Ukraine, I was in regular contact with colleague and former student Hanna Kemp and was deeply concerned for her and her family’s welfare. At the same time, I was immersed in reading a book about a woman surviving in Second World War Paris. This led me to wonder what I might need if I found myself in a similar situation. Firstly, I realized I would want those outside my country to know and remember what was happening and to care. As a result, I started sending contributions to organizations that were beginning to help in the crisis. At Hanna’s request I helped spread the word about needing ‘humanitarian corridors’ so refugees could pass safely out of Ukraine.

“We began to discuss if there was anything of my professional expertise in trauma and PTSD, as well as self-care for therapists that might be useful to Ukrainian therapists and others. In July 2022, Hanna organized and gathered an all-volunteer team of translators and hosts to conduct a 12-hour professional training, held over three consecutive days, for about 200 Ukrainian therapists and other helping professionals. Following the success of this session, Hanna teamed up with Dzmitry Karpuk from the Complex Trauma Institute, again, with a team of volunteers to organize a program to be held in June 2023 where I would speak to 3,000 Ukrainian therapists.

“One of the many things I learned from Hanna about fleeing within or from a war-torn country is that saving books cannot be a priority. This knowledge inspired me to contact Pamela O’Reilly at W. W. Norton to see if they might donate professional books to those who left them behind when seeking safety. As a result, Norton is donating not just a few, but thousands of professional e-books to Ukraine therapists. To my knowledge, this level of generosity from a prominent world-wide publisher is unprecedented! That, among other things, makes me so proud to be a Norton author!”

Babette Rothschild—Master of Social Work, body-psychotherapist and specialist educator in the treatment of trauma and PTSD

“When Babette Rothschild approached W. W. Norton with the idea of running workshops directly with Ukrainian therapists, we were pleased to be able to help. Babette’s relationship with Hanna Kemp and the Complex Trauma Institute presented the perfect opportunity to create a partnership and donate a total of 5,000 copies of two of Babette’s ebooks (Help for the Helper and Revolutionizing Trauma Treatment) to participating therapists working on the ground with displaced Ukrainians.”

Julia Reidhead—President, W. W. Norton & Company, New York

Complex Trauma Institute

This event is part of a larger pioneering programme of membership services provided by CTI, with the support of the University of York, which have been made freely available to Ukrainian Mental Health professionals. Since the invasion began this programme has allowed CTI to organise regular free group supervision and to host training events for Ukrainian professionals. CTI’s 4th International Trauma conference in September 2022 was attended by around 2,000 Ukrainian colleagues. Read more about CTI at complextraumainstitute.org.

W. W. Norton & Company

W. W. Norton & Company is the largest book publishing house owned by its employees. In light of the on-going war in Ukraine, we are in a position to help, even if only in a small way. One of the core principles of W. W. Norton’s co-founders was a dedication to the dissemination of knowledge to the public, especially in times of conflict and uncertainty. This year as Norton celebrates the centenary of our company, that philosophy remains truer than ever. Read more about Norton’s 100-year celebration at wwnorton.com.

Body/mind therapist and teacher Ilana Rubenfeld passed on December 23, 2022, while residing at the Rogue Valley Manor, Medford, Oregon.

A pioneer in the body/mind movement, she created the Rubenfeld Synergy Method ® (RSM) because she came to realize that for people to understand their emotional state, they would have to learn how to listen to their bodies.

Ilana’s first love was music. After studying orchestral conducting at Julliard, she began to learn alternative methods of healing because of the physical challenges she experienced caused by conducting. She first discovered the Alexander Technique (originated by F. M. Alexander) while seeking relief for her back and shoulder pain, and as a result, Ilana was inspired to become an Alexander teacher.

At the same time, she sought out talk therapy because of triggered emotions that the Alexander teacher was not qualified to help process.

Ilana then found that the talk therapist would not use touch when she verbally expressed the memories and feelings that had emerged from her body. She longed to have a single professional to do both, and soon embarked on a journey of discovering how to become that “someone”.

In the mid-1960s Ilana met Fritz Perls at Esalen Institute. He invited her to place her Alexander-trained listening hands on his clients while they talked with him. Thus, it was while studying Gestalt Therapy with Fritz and Laura Perls that the concept of integrating physical touch with talk was born.

After Fritz Perls’ death, Ilana continued to attend Esalen, meeting many of the pioneering spirits of the day who presented their work there, including Virginia Satir, Charlotte Selver, and many others. It was here in 1972, that Ilana met and began to study with Moshe Feldenkrais. She completed his first North American Feldenkrais training in San Francisco in 1978.

Ilana started a series of classes incorporating her previous trainings in Feldenkrais, Alexander, and Gestalt and in 1977, developed the RSM Training Program. She taught her method to hundreds of students and guided thousands of participants in countless workshops in her long career.

Ilana had an instinctive knowing that “emotions and feelings are embedded in the body and in the brain, and that to reach them touch is needed – non-verbal communication – and talk.” RSM became a dynamic integration of body, mind, emotions, and spirit that combines both talk and listening touch at the same time. Ilana’s remarkable presence, her mastery in listening on many levels simultaneously, her insightful intelligence and quick humor supported life-changing results in thousands of lives over the years. She came to be referred to as the ‘Grande Dame of the body-oriented therapy movement’.

Being one of the first in her field, she influenced many other teachers who incorporated her methodology into their own practices. She traveled extensively in North & South America and Europe giving workshops, bringing emotional and physical healing to a great number of participants.

As well as teaching for many years at the Esalen Institute, Ilana taught in many other venues including the Omega Institute in NY, Rowe Conference Center in MA, and other places of study.

Her impressive life history and innovative methods were encapsulated in her book, “The Listening Hand: Self-Healing Through the Rubenfeld Synergy Method of Talk and Touch”, © 2000.

In 1994, Ilana was given the “Pathfinder Award” by the Association of Humanistic Psychology (AHP) for her outstanding contributions to Humanistic Psychology.

In 2002, Ilana received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy.

When Ilana moved to Ashland, OR, from New York City in 2000, she re-embraced her love of music by becoming a patron of and champion for many musical organizations in the Rogue Valley.

Ilana Rubenfeld is survived by her younger sister, Lydia Yohay of New York, NY, and Lydia’s children Leora Grace Yohay and Joseph Yohay.

A list of organizations to which donations can be made in Ilana’s name is available through contacting INARS: https://www.rubenfeldsynergy.com/.

USABP currently has a vacant President position on the Board of Directors (BOD). In the interim, the BOD is working diligently to serve its members per the Society’s Mission and Goals. If you are interested in nominating yourself/or a colleague to join and lead this highly passionate and dedicated group, please complete the “NOMINATE” form below.

If you have questions, please email angie@usabp.org.

USABP President Position Description:
To lead the Board of Directors with the support of the Executive Director. The President’s term is for two years and they must be a member in good standing.

The President may be elected by a majority vote of the current Board. Please be sure that the nominee is aware of submission for this role.

Nomination Survey Questions to Submit with Your Nomination:

Submitter’s First and Last Name
Submitter’s Email Address
Nominee’s Name
Nominee’s Email Address
Why is the nominee a good fit to serve as USABP President?
Nominee’s Professional Website

Make Your Nomination

We are grateful for the life and legacy of Anna Halprin, founder of the Tamalpa Institute - An Official USABP Independent Body-Centered Training Institute Member - Level 1. 

Few dance artists have been as influential as Anna Halprin. She has been credited to have redefined dance as a tool for healing (NPR).

In 1978 she began offering the first movement-based expressive arts therapy training and art-based, somatic movement therapy training program in the field. The Institute continues to be a center for research, collaboration, workshops, training programs, and performance. You'll find their events listed in our events calendar.

In Remembrance there will be a special online event:

Honoring Anna Halprin: Halprin Work and Legacy ~ with Janice Ross
Friday, August 20, 10-11AM PDT

Register here.

The non-profit Center for Mindful Body Awareness offers trainings to therapists who want to learn how to teach clients fundamental strategies to access and sustain mindful interoceptive attention to enhance client embodiment, self-awareness, and emotion regulation. Based on strategies from evidence-based approach Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT), this training is focused on fundamental skills that develop and increase client capacity for interoceptive awareness. The MABT approach is particularly helpful for clients who are disconnected from their bodies due to high stress or patterns of experiential avoidance, chronic pain, or trauma. The Liberated Body podcast interview is a great way to learn about the MABT approach and research.

The next professional training is September 12-18, 2021 at the Whidbey Institute in WA State. 

Two educational scholarships are available to therapists working in community settings with underserved populations; applications will be accepted until July 18^th.

The United States Association for Body Psychotherapy Board is pleased to announce it has granted its inaugural Scholarship in the amount of $7,500 to Mystique Hargrove from North Carolina for the 2020-2021 academic year!

Mystique is a first year doctoral student at Capella University.

Mystique is currently working on her dissertation topic for approval in hopes to focus her research on race based trauma among Black LGBTQ+ individuals.

Outside of her doctoral studies, Mystique is a single parent to a very energetic and loving 5 year old, who she homeschools as well. Mystique is also a community birth worker who is certified as a full spectrum doula as well as a community lactation professional who services Black bodies and other bodies of color in Greensboro, NC and surrounding areas.

Mystique says she is working "to improve accessibility in offering more inclusive services and support for Black bodies and other bodies of color, especially in the LGBTQ+ community.”

Her vision is to provide the needed research as well as mental health and wellness services centered around identifying, assessing and treating minority stress and race based trauma within these communities.

On behalf of all of us at USABP, congratulations Mystique!

Kinsey Institute Receives $290,000 Gift to Further Trauma Research

The United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) in partnership with the Dillon Fund has awarded a $290,000 gift to the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. The gift will provide funding for trauma recovery research being conducted at the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium (KI-TSRC). “We are excited about the promising research the KI-TSRC is producing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and are happy to continue our shared support of this valuable and unique mission,” said Dr. Christopher Walling, President, USABP.

Led by Distinguished University Scientist Dr. Stephen Porges, the KI-TSRC’s mission is to explore the science of human connection and the role that stress and trauma experiences play in disrupting a person’s ability to feel safe and to socially engage. KI-TSRC research emphasizes that social engagement is essential to health and wellbeing across the lifespan. With the collaboration of over 700 therapists specializing in trauma, the KI-TSRC is collecting data on the therapeutic needs of trauma survivors and the clinical practices of their therapists in order to advance research, develop innovative tools and methodologies, and further clinical care.

Dr. Jacek Kolacz of the KI-TSRC is currently leading a study that seeks to learn about coping behaviors and mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are impacted by prior trauma history. “In times when funds are scarce, philanthropists can make a difference and partner in the healing process by funding KI-TSRC research to uncover the diverse needs of our fellow humans today and offer accurate, effective support for trauma recovery tomorrow,” said Katherine A. Wolovsky, MA, Co-Director, The Dillon Fund.

In addition to this impactful gift of $290,000, the USABP and The Dillon Fund previously gave $260,000 in 2019 to support the KI-TSRC’s trauma research and archival preservation. “We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of the USABP and The Dillon Fund. The continued confidence and generosity of our donors and Advisory Council members allows our research faculty to stay at the forefront of important and timely scientific research, including the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and wellbeing,” said Dr. Justin Garcia, Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute.

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About the USABP

The United States Association for Body Psychotherapy was founded in 1999 to help develop and advance the art, science, and practice of body psychotherapy and somatic psychology in a professional, ethical, and caring manner in order to support their members as they promote the health and welfare of their clients.

About the Kinsey Institute

For over 70 years, the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University has been the premier research institute on human sexuality and relationships and a trusted source for evidence-based information on critical issues in sexuality, gender, and reproduction. The Kinsey Institute's research program integrates scholarly fields including neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, history, and gender studies. The Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collections encompass over 500,000 items spanning 2,000 years of human sexual behavior and are a destination research collection for scholars and students. Kinsey Institute outreach includes traveling art exhibitions, public scholarship, research lectures, and a continuing education program.

For more information about the work of KI-TSRCplease visit kinseyinstitute.org or contact trauma@indiana.edu

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To continue these types of impactful services we draw upon readers like you to help us out. 

Would you like to donate to our cause? 

Learn More About Contributing to the USABP

We are pleased to announce that USABP Member Carl H. Shubs, Ph. D. is deeply honored and appreciative of having been given the Award for Outstanding Practice 2020 by The American Psychological Association (Division 56 – Trauma  Psychology) “to celebrate you and your fantastic work for Trauma Psychology [and] your amazing contributions to the field.”

We are thrilled to announce that Stella Resnick, PhD has been contacted by the Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collections Director to say that they would be honored to have her collection of books, papers, and memoranda to be a part of the Special Collections of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. IU is her alma mater where she graduated with a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the age of 26. 

In fact, the Kinsey Institute with its Special Collections will be moving to Lindley Hall, where she spent an intense five years of her early twenties, with all the insecurities and self-doubts of a young woman embarking on a highly competitive venture.  And now my life’s work in the field of sexual education and body-based sex therapy, will be housed in a place of honor in this same building. 

The prior director of the Kinsey Institute is Dr. Sue Carter, Biology Professor at IU and author of the brilliant article, Love as Emotional Medicine in the IBPJ, Spring/Summer 2019 and wife of Dr. Stephen Porges, our own Research Director of USABP. 

BIO
Stella Resnick, PhD is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Beverly Hills, CA, specializing in relationship and sexual enrichment. Her latest book is Body-to-Body Intimacy: Transformation Through Love, Sex, and Neurobiology. Her previous two books are, The Heart of Desire: Keys to the Pleasures of Love and The Pleasure Zone: Why We Resist Good Feelings has been translated into nine different languages, and is considered a classic.

A prominent speaker and seminar leader, Dr. Resnick is a regular presenter at professional conferences, including the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS), the American Association for Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), and the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy (AAGT).

Attention Somatic Practitioners and Body Psychotherapists! Join our Global Research Initiative. Learn what is involved below. Click the link to get started. Don't wait. Time is running short on getting survey's in. 

Please take the questionnaire for clinicians and trauma workers, a collaboration between the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium (TSRC), the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) and the European Body Psychotherapy Association Science and Research Committee (EABP SRC). To protect confidentiality, you will not be able to save your responses to return later. 

Please make sure to set aside about 45 minutes for the questionnaire. It will take about 15 minutes to complete the first part of the questionnaire (socio-demographics and data on your profession) and another 30 minutes to complete scales on your personal experience relevant to your clients.

 You are eligible for this study if: 

 1. You are a body psychotherapist or member of a body psychotherapist association

 2. You are 18 years or older 

 3. You are fluent in English  

If you are eligible and wish to continue, please click the red arrow button below.

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