Training Event

Foundations of Somatic Therapies

Explore · Elevate · Radiate

Friday 24 July 2026
9.00am – 3.30pm

Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron
48 Tingira Street, Portsmith

Investment: $160
Includes morning tea & light lunch
CPD: 5 points

Overview

The understanding that the body — the soma — plays a leading role in the management and relief of stress and trauma was brought to mainstream attention through Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score. This perspective has existed for centuries and has informed treatment practices for just as long. So where did we get led astray –why have we separated ourselves into components of body or mind? What is a way back!

Historically, many therapeutic approaches have privileged cognition, often sidelining the body and emotional experience, or have focused on the physical body, with little regard to emotion and mind. While this can support insight, promote relief and understanding, it may not always facilitate meaningful change. Clients may know why they are suffering yet remain unable to shift how the suffering is experienced — leading to client/patient plateaus and practitioner frustration.

Somatic Interventions explore the dynamic relationship between body, brain, mind, emotion, and behaviour. Rather than operating as a stand-alone modalities, they integrate seamlessly with both mind and body-based therapies, balancing bottom-up practices with top-down approaches.

By attending to what is restricted in the mind/body connection, practitioners can support the release of stored stress responses, facilitate emotional processing, and strengthen interoception — the vital bridge between the prefrontal cortex and the body’s innate intelligence.

This immersive and experiential training combines professional learning with personal development, exploring how unconscious processes are expressed somatically and how unresolved patterns can manifest as physical and psychological distress. Participants will be introduced to foundational, hands-on techniques that engage the intelligence of the body, with the power of mind within restorative interventions.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will develop the capacity to:

• Refine nervous system regulation through breath and embodied awareness
• Support both client and practitioner in moving out of stress states
• Navigate central nervous system dynamics, with particular attention to the vagus nerve
• Apply stabilisation strategies for highly distressed presentations
• Integrate somatic principles into clinical practice
• Understand the opportunities and limitations of neuroplasticity
• Identify key contributors within the somatic therapy landscape for continued professional development