SPI is a professional educational organization that designs and provides the highest-level trainings and services to serve a global network of mental health practitioners, and for the public at large. Seeking to enhance human relationships, our paradigm is substantiated by interpersonal neurobiology and impelled by mindfulness applied in interactive contexts.

Our Mission

To deliver an unparalleled state-of-the-art somatic psychotherapy worldwide through education, practice, and research.

Our Vision

To harness the innate wisdom of the body to liberate human potential.

Our Core Principles

Organicity

Organicity refers to the internal wisdom of all living systems. Thus, the therapist does not “heal” the client; rather the healing power and intelligence is within, and each person has their our own unique, mysterious and emergent growth path.

Unity

We exist within a complex organic system of interdependent parts. Unity acknowledges that we are all connected, and that we have individual and group differences. Although unity is ever-present, it is recognized and experienced more fully through communication.

Mind/Body/Spirit Holism

Mind, body, and spirit are intimately related, essential aspects of each of us. We keep the whole person in mind and consider mind body and spirit in context and relationship, rather than work with these elements in isolation.

Non-Violence

Our work is not forceful. We believe that people do not need to be “fixed” or changed. We avoid criticizing, judging, or pathologizing, and we encourage curiosity, and follow the natural organicity to promote change.

Mindfulness/Presence

We encourage awareness of present moment internal experience–both ours and our clients’–as well as the impact we have on others, and others on us. We strive to be in deep resonance with our clients, cultivating a state of presence that is conducive to intuition and inspiration.

Relational Alchemy

We recognize that each relationship has a unique nature that spawns something bigger than its parts. We honor deep, authentic connection as well as interpersonal challenges that are avenues of personal growth, accepting the imperfection of the human condition.

For Information on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Courses click here

What is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy?

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) is a therapeutic modality for trauma and attachment issues. SP welcomes the body as an integral source of information which can guide resourcing and the accessing and processing of challenging, traumatic, and developmental experience. SP is a holistic approach that includes somatic, emotional, and cognitive processing and integration.

SP enables clients to discover and change habitual physical and psychological patterns that impede optimal functioning and well-being. SP is helpful in working with dysregulated activation and other effects of trauma, as well as the limiting belief systems of developmental issues.

SP helps clients cultivate their strengths, while providing enough challenge to stimulate growth, long lasting change, and well-being.

Pat Ogden, PhD, is a pioneer in somatic psychology and both Founder and Education Director of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute®, an internationally recognized school specializing in somatic–cognitive approaches for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and attachment disturbances. She is co-founder of the Hakomi Institute, a clinician, consultant, international lecturer and trainer, and first author of Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy. Her second book, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment(2015) is a practical guide to integrate Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® into the treatment of trauma and attachment issues. Dr. Ogden is currently developing Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® for children, adolescents and families with colleagues.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in Context by Dr. Pat Ogden

Pat Ogden presents Sensorimotor Psychotherapy with an updated vision for her work that advocates for an anti-racist, anti-oppression lens throughout the book.

Working closely with four consultants, a mix of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute graduates, trainers, consultants, and talented Sensorimotor Psychotherapists who have made social justice and sociocultural awareness the center of their work, this book expands the current conception of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Numerous composite cases with a variety of diverse clients bring the approach to life. This book will inspire practitioners to develop a deeper sensitivity to the issues and legacy of oppression and marginalization as they impact the field of psychology, as well as present topics of trauma and early attachment injuries, dissociation, dysregulation, and mindfulness through a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy lens.

Find Additional Resources on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Here