Trauma

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 Values

Excellence

Observe the best practices of education and administration to provide a preeminent learning experience; maintain the highest standards of personal and organizational professionalism, ethics, and responsibility that are deserving of the confidence and trust of our constituency.

Diversity

Treat each individual with dignity and respect; honor and embrace unique backgrounds, talents and perspectives; foster an inclusive culture reflective of our commitment to diversity among our staff and learning community; provide equitable education and participation; work toward eliminating discrimination.

Innovation

Support an atmosphere that stimulates creativity; enhance the professional growth of staff members and those we serve by integrating and contributing to cutting edge theory, research, and technology; encourage a high level of curiosity, inquiry, and appropriate risk-taking.

Sustainable Growth

Seek to balance innovation, action, and capacity; wisely allocate individual and organizational resources to ensure the health, vitality, and longevity of each member of our community and the organization as a whole.

Collaboration

Recognize that we are a group of individuals unified through a shared purpose; appreciate that together we can broaden our impact; seek a wide range of partnerships; invite each individual’s unique contributions to the whole; integrate the efforts and input of many individuals to achieve our goals as a team.

For Information on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Courses click here

History of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

In the early 1970s, while working as a technician and yoga/dance teacher at a short-term psychiatric hospital, Pat Ogden became interested in the correlation between her clients’ disconnection from their bodies, their physical patterns and their psychological issues. Before the Diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Dr. Ogden recognized first-hand the way in which many of her patients were at the mercy of reliving the past, and that current treatment methods only seemed to trigger traumatic reminders. Recognizing the link between the body and psychological issues, she began to form the foundations of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® by joining somatic therapy and psychotherapy into a comprehensive method for healing this disconnection between body and mind. In 1981, after co-founding the Hakomi Institute, pioneered by Ron Kurtz, Dr. Ogden founded her own school, a branch of the Hakomi Institute, which is known today as the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI).

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® draws from somatic therapies, neuroscience, attachment theory, and cognitive approaches, as well as from the Hakomi Method. Since the first course in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® was offered in the early 1980’s, it has gained international acclaim. The first book on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®, Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy, published in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology in 2006 gained international acclaim. The sequel to the first book, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment was published in spring of 2015.

Development of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Dr. Ogden is currently developing Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for children, adolescents, families, and couples with colleagues.

Several research studies to gather data on the effectiveness of SP are underway or in the process of publication at the following institutions:

• Maudsley Hospital (London, UK)
• Womens’ College Hospital (Toronto, Ontario)
• Modum Bad Outpatient Clinic (Oslo, Norway)

Disclaimer

SPI is neither a regulatory nor licensing organization and therefore not sanctioned to certify, license, or otherwise bestow the legal authorization to practice as a mental health professional.