Program Overview

Back by popular demand, Kathy and Tony will be teaching the Somatics of Emotions class together again in the U.S., continuing their exploration of somatics, touch, and emotions. We’ve expanded the class to four days to explore each topic more fully. This workshop will provide an experiential framework for understanding the somatics of emotion.

It is universally accepted that infants have emotions (affects) well before they have developed the cognitive skills to remember, assess, or name them. In our work, we have observed that there are somatic and behavioural patterns that are pre-, or non-cognitive expressions of affect, which can be accessed via somatic interventions. The approach in this class focuses on emotions being basic to animal/human organisms, and that they occur before we adapt to our experiences. By definition, the class focuses on the inter-relationship of body and feelings before trauma occurs, so it does not specifically focus on trauma.

In this workshop we will examine the somatic and behavioural components of these simple affects, practice somatic interventions, and knit together an understanding of the way in which the body gives access to these emotions. A somatic approach can give access to settling, and to using our Affective States as information, enabling us to use them to enrich our emotional experience of life.

In this workshop we will be specifically engaging the patterns affiliated with emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, excitement, gratitude, and joy. For each of these affects we will consider things such as:

  • Body changes during the emotion
  • Behaviours associated with the emotion
  • Information conveyed by the emotion (watch out, change something, accept something, life is great, oh — others are here too)
  • The usual observers’s response (how do you respond to each emotion? Expressed or unexpressed)
  • Pro-social value of the emotion
  • Common disorders of the emotion (psychological, somatic, behavioural)

Note: due to the coronavirus pandemic, our January 2021 class will be held online. Please see below for notes on how the program has been adapted to be held online.

Prerequisites

This workshop is appropriate for advanced practitioners with professional practice experience, and who have a grounding in a somatic practice/approach of some sort – or have taken any form of somatic-based training such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing or similar.

It is for those who have an interest in integrating all aspects of a person’s function in their work. Attendees will have been working in their profession long enough to have come naturally to the question of how emotions and somatic expressions of affect interrelate.

Please Note: The Somatics of Emotions workshop is not appropriate for those just starting out in their professional practice.

If you are not sure if you meet the prerequisites, you are welcome to submit your professional background information and it will be reviewed by Kathy and Tony to determine if this workshop is a good fit for you (or one of them will contact you for further information).

About Kathy L. Kain
and Tony Richardson

Learn More

Continuing Education

Continuing Education credits may be offered for this program (number of hours varies for online or in-person classes). Please see the Registration page for each training to see whether CEs are offered.

LEARN MORE

Class Learning Objectives

VIEW UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Online Workshop Includes

  • Online meetings on each of the scheduled class dates
  • Three live Q&A/follow-up sessions with Kathy and Tony
  • Recordings of all live video conference sessions
  • Access to recordings of additional video material that will cover topics not covered in the live program
  • Intentional touch exercises in place of touch practice sessions

Program Overview

Back by popular demand, Kathy and Tony will be teaching the Somatics of Emotions class together again in the U.S., continuing their exploration of somatics, touch, and emotions. We’ve expanded the class to four days to explore each topic more fully. This workshop will provide an experiential framework for understanding the somatics of emotion.

It is universally accepted that infants have emotions (affects) well before they have developed the cognitive skills to remember, assess, or name them. In our work, we have observed that there are somatic and behavioural patterns that are pre-, or non-cognitive expressions of affect, which can be accessed via somatic interventions. The approach in this class focuses on emotions being basic to animal/human organisms, and that they occur before we adapt to our experiences. By definition, the class focuses on the inter-relationship of body and feelings before trauma occurs, so it does not specifically focus on trauma.

In this workshop we will examine the somatic and behavioural components of these simple affects, practice somatic interventions, and knit together an understanding of the way in which the body gives access to these emotions. A somatic approach can give access to settling, and to using our Affective States as information, enabling us to use them to enrich our emotional experience of life.

In this workshop we will be specifically engaging the patterns affiliated with emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, excitement, gratitude, and joy. For each of these affects we will consider things such as:

  • Body changes during the emotion
  • Behaviours associated with the emotion
  • Information conveyed by the emotion (watch out, change something, accept something, life is great, oh — others are here too)
  • The usual observers’s response (how do you respond to each emotion? Expressed or unexpressed)
  • Pro-social value of the emotion
  • Common disorders of the emotion (psychological, somatic, behavioural)

Note: due to the coronavirus pandemic, our January 2021 class will be held online. Please see below for notes on how the program has been adapted to be held online.

Online Workshop Includes

  • Online meetings on each of the scheduled class dates
  • Three live Q&A/follow-up sessions with Kathy and Tony
  • Recordings of all live video conference sessions
  • Access to recordings of additional video material that will cover topics not covered in the live program
  • Intentional touch exercises in place of touch practice sessions

Prerequisites

This workshop is appropriate for advanced practitioners with professional practice experience, and who have a grounding in a somatic practice/approach of some sort – or have taken any form of somatic-based training such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing or similar.

It is for those who have an interest in integrating all aspects of a person’s function in their work. Attendees will have been working in their profession long enough to have come naturally to the question of how emotions and somatic expressions of affect interrelate.

Please Note: The Somatics of Emotions workshop is not appropriate for those just starting out in their professional practice.

If you are not sure if you meet the prerequisites, you are welcome to submit your professional background information and it will be reviewed by Kathy and Tony to determine if this workshop is a good fit for you (or one of them will contact you for further information).

About Kathy L. Kain and Tony Richardson

Learn More

Continuing Education

Continuing Education credits may be offered for this program (number of hours varies for online or in-person classes). Please see the Registration page for each training to see whether CEs are offered.

LEARN MORE

Class Learning Objectives

VIEW UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Training Locations

Online
Los Angeles, California
Portland, Oregon
SF Bay Area, California
Sydney, Australia
Vancouver, Canada