Why Somatic Practice?
Somatic Practice describes a body of work and an educational approach that can’t be simplified into a definable method or a predetermined set of techniques. Practitioners choosing this training path engage in ongoing learning and practice which gradually changes their way of working – and being. Thus, it is more accurate to call this work a “practice” rather than naming it as a particular method or modality.
Why Somatic Practice?
Somatic Practice describes a body of work and an educational approach that can’t be simplified into a definable method or a predetermined set of techniques. Practitioners choosing this training path engage in ongoing learning and practice which gradually changes their way of working – and being. Thus, it is more accurate to call this work a “practice” rather than naming it as a particular method or modality.
Kathy L. Kain, Ph.D.
Kathy L. Kain has practiced and taught bodywork and trauma recovery skills for more than 42 years. She teaches in Europe, Australia, Canada, and throughout the United States.
Kathy’s trainings cover various interwoven focus areas, including trauma recovery, somatic touch, self-regulation skills, and resilience. These focus areas ultimately weave together into a unified somatic approach to touch, awareness, and embodiment. Her educational approach encourages students to engage an ongoing practice that deepens their skills and expertise as they gradually embody the work and make it their own.
Kathy is a senior trainer in the Somatic Experiencing training program, an adjunct faculty member of Sonoma State University, and was a senior trainer for 12 years in the Somatic Psychotherapy training program based in Sydney, Australia.
Kathy L. Kain, Ph.D.
Kathy L. Kain has practiced and taught bodywork and trauma recovery skills for more than 42 years. She teaches in Europe, Australia, Canada, and throughout the United States.
Kathy’s trainings cover various interwoven focus areas, including trauma recovery, somatic touch, self-regulation skills, and resilience. These focus areas ultimately weave together into a unified somatic approach to touch, awareness, and embodiment. Her educational approach encourages students to engage an ongoing practice that deepens their skills and expertise as they gradually embody the work and make it their own.
Kathy is a senior trainer in the Somatic Experiencing training program, an adjunct faculty member of Sonoma State University, and was a senior trainer for 12 years in the Somatic Psychotherapy training program based in Sydney, Australia.
Co-Facilitators
Tony Richardson
Somatics of Emotions Co-Facilitator
Tony was one of the original trainers and exponents of Somatic Therapy in Australia in the late 1970’s. He is also a medical practitioner and psychiatrist. For the past 25 years, Tony has taught his Buddhist inspired Somatic Therapies in Australia, the US, and Europe. He has an interest in working with chronic pain, and continues to supervise medical students, trainee pain specialists, and psychiatrists at a major hospital in Sydney, Australia.
Co-Facilitators
Tony Richardson
Somatics of Emotions Co-Facilitator
Tony was one of the original trainers and exponents of Somatic Therapy in Australia in the late 1970’s. He is also a medical practitioner and psychiatrist. For the past 25 years, Tony has taught his Buddhist inspired Somatic Therapies in Australia, the US, and Europe. He has an interest in working with chronic pain, and continues to supervise medical students, trainee pain specialists, and psychiatrists at a major hospital in Sydney, Australia.
FAQ
Somatic Practice trainings are generally intended as professional development for established practitioners in the fields of somatics, psychotherapy, trauma recovery, and physical care. The focus of our programs is to provide training in the use of touch for trauma recovery and for deepening somatic awareness. Most of our trainings do presume knowledge and practice in these fields – prerequisites vary, can be viewed on the general information pages for each class
In general, the usual sequence is that people start their training at the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI) in Boulder, or have equivalent training in other biophysiological models of trauma. You can get information about what SETI offers and how to apply at their website, here.
Once you have completed the Beginning year at SETI (or the equivalent), you would be able to take Kathy’s Touch Skills Training or the Somatic Skills Online training. These workshops presume that you have a working knowledge of:
- the impact of trauma on the autonomic nervous system
- traumatic stress physiology
- practice and experience in working with activation/deactivation cycles, and
- practice and experience in supporting orientation and self-protection impulses in clients
Another path you might take would be to look into Steve Terrell’s Transforming the Experience-based Brain program – to understand the qualifications for that class you would need to reach out to Steve via his website, here, for more information.
From there, we generally consider the Touch Skills training (or Stephen Terrell’s TEB class) to be a prerequisite for the three-module Somatic Resilience and Regulation class, although completing SE through the advanced year would also prepare you.
If you have questions about other work you’ve done that might be equivalent, you can also reach out to the local coordinator listed on the info page for the training you’re interested in. The coordinators are also practitioners and can possibly help assess whether your background is a good fit.
We recently updated our Registration Policies to reflect the growth in interest for our programs. We offer flexible options for transferring your registration to the same class at another location, and staggered payment deadlines to ensure that when your plans change, we can manage our class lists efficiently. For details about deposits, deadlines, cancellations, and transfers, please review our policies, here.
You can log in to our website to view your registrations and make a payment when the time comes. Here’s how:
- Look for a link at the top right of our website – it will say either “Log In” or “Your Registrations,” depending on whether you are already logged in.
- If you are already logged in, click “Your Registrations” and skip the next three steps.
- To log in, click the “Log In” link. The email address you used to pay your deposit is your username
- If you haven’t logged in before, or can’t remember your password, click “Lost Password” and follow the onscreen instructions.
- Once logged in, click “Your Registrations”
- You will see a list of all events for which you are registered
- Click the gear icon under “Actions” next to the listing for your training
- Scroll down, and click the shopping cart icon to the right of the Early Registration ticket
- Your balance due will be shown on the next screen, and will reflect the payment you have already made – just add your payment details and submit the payment. You’ll be charged accordingly.
If you have trouble, or have other questions about your registration, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help.
Our multi-module classes are designed to be completed with all modules in sequence, with the same cohort of students. Students who register for Module 1 of Somatic Skills Online or the Touch Skills Training are guaranteed space in the later modules with the same group. Because these classes are often full with a waiting list, this means the later modules are also likely to be full.
We therefore cannot guarantee a space for you to begin the training with one cohort and then continue in later modules with a different cohort. While it is sometimes possible for students to start with one cohort and then complete in a different group, we ask that you contact us to request special scheduling of this type.
To find full details about the schedule for a class, please go to the registration page for that class, then click the “Info for Attendees” button. Dates, times, and other information for your class will be listed there.
This information is also included in the confirmation email you received upon registration.
For all online classes, times shown are US Pacific Time. For your convenience, you will find a time zone converter on the Info for Attendees page.
Due to her heavy teaching and writing schedule, Kathy is not offering individual consults or supervision sessions for at least the next few months. We don’t yet have an estimate as to when she will be available for consults, but will announce via our newsletter when she resumes offering them. You may join our newsletter list via our Contact page, here.
Kathy closed her private practice some years ago to focus on teaching her skills to other practitioners, and no longer sees clients for sessions. Please see below for information on referrals.
Due to the many referral requests we receive, we are no longer able to provide direct referrals, but here are some resources that might point you in the right direction.
You should be able to find someone if you check the SE Institute practitioner directory – Kathy is on the faculty there and has trained many of their graduates. The directory can be found on their website, here, and is searchable by location and specialty.
We do not have our own practitioner directory, however one is being developed by some members of the community. This directory will list people who have completed Kathy Kain’s Touch Skills Training, Steve Terrell’s Transforming the Experience-Based Brain training, or the Somatic Resilience and Regulation class that they teach together. You can check here for possibilities, and bookmark the address for later reference.
We often receive requests for scholarships, and Kathy recognizes that the training can be a significant financial commitment for students. She has considered carefully whether it might be possible to offer tuition assistance to meet a clear need in the community, and has found it to be simply too complex to manage.
Somatic Practice is not a large organization – essentially it is just Kathy. Any reduction she could offer would be a financial gift directly to the students involved, which then requires figuring out who is most deserving of that financial support. As an individual, not an institution, she does not have the capacity to manage a scholarship program fairly and ethically, so has decided her donations will be made to the community as a whole rather than to individuals.
