USABP, in collaboration with the Alliance of Somatic Educators,
has identified core competencies that support professional proficiency in applying body-mind theory to client care.
Practitioners understand and can integrate the following knowledge, skills, and practices
in measurable, observable, and assessable ways.
has identified core competencies that support professional proficiency in applying body-mind theory to client care.
Practitioners understand and can integrate the following knowledge, skills, and practices
in measurable, observable, and assessable ways.
Integrative Foundations
- Theoretical Foundations. Understanding the key concepts and principles of body-mind theory and their integration into professional practice. Learn more: https://usabp.org/About-Body-Psychotherapy-and-Somatic-Psychology.
- Psychophysiology. Involves understanding the psychological and physiological processes underlying behavioral, emotional, and mental states. It includes assessing and addressing somatic symptoms within the context of developmental stages, attachment patterns, and an individual's capacity for connection and well-being.
- Biopsychosocial growth. Knowledge and capacity to support individuals, couples, families, and groups within their social ecosystems.
- Self-Development. Ongoing self-cultivation through body-mind practices to understand one’s own somatic and psychological issues.
Essential Skills
- Legal and Ethical Practices. Adherence to the USABP Code of Ethics, particularly concerning transference, boundaries, and physical touch, which are essential to somatic practices.
- Client-Centered Approach. Skills in creating a therapeutic environment that prioritizes trust, comfort, and client agency. Proficiency in establishing a safe, supportive, and consensual space for somatic exploration.
- Multi-Cultural Competence. Awareness and sensitivity to the cultural context of clients’ bodily experiences and expressions. The capacity to support individuals, couples, families, and groups within their social ecosystems.
Scope of Somatic Competencies
- Assessment and Case Conceptualization. Demonstrating competence in assessing the level of care, evaluating the effectiveness of somatic interventions, and adjusting treatment plans as necessary.
- Observation and Interpretation Skills. Cultivating client/practitioner resonance while effectively observing, interpreting, and articulating nonverbal cues and body language related to biopsychosocial processes.
- Body Awareness. The ability to recognize, track, and understand bodily processes and their meanings. Practitioners must develop skills in body awareness techniques and the capacity to teach these methods to clients using a collaborative approach.
- Somatic Interventions. Proficiency in using techniques that involve breath, vocalization, contact, movement, attention, attunement, and stillness to enhance body-mind expression, integration, and health. The ability to expand these skills and incorporate them relationally within groups, communities, and organizations.
- Trauma-Informed Care. Involves understanding the impact of trauma on the body and mind while employing techniques that address it safely.
- Integrating Somatic Practices with other therapeutic models of treatment and healing.
The USABP is a nonprofit membership association dedicated to
the development and advancement of the science, art, and practice of somatic therapy.
The USABP is not a regulatory organization
the development and advancement of the science, art, and practice of somatic therapy.
The USABP is not a regulatory organization