Somatic Transformation

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Somatic Transformation

Dr. Sharon Stanley's unique approach to healing neurological trauma inspired by neuroscience, developmental psychology, and traditional practices.

08/16/2025

Starting this September, Life Architect is holding a three-month online training program called Integrating Somatic Techniques in Therapy. I am honored to be joining this course as one of its teachers, along with ten other renowned teachers in this field, and I’d love to have you join me on this journey!

This course is for anyone looking to effectively introduce somatic techniques into their practice and invite clients to experience somatic interventions.

You’ll experience:

-13 experiential workshops with hands-on learning, demonstrations, Q&A, group work, and sharing.

-13 practice circle meetings for connecting with your fellow students and getting support from the training team.

-13 guided somatic explorations to move, open up to your body, and create a deep relationship with it.

-6 hours of case consultation calls designed to provide personalized guidance.

-A carefully curated selection of techniques from leading modalities like Polyvagal Theory, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, Expressive Arts Therapy, and Breathwork.

To learn more about this opportunity, click here: https://lifearchitect.com/integrating-somatic-techniques-in-therapy/?aff=ss

06/10/2025

I am delighted to be taking part as a teacher in this wonderful 3-month online training program from Life Architect: Integrating Somatic Techniques in Therapy. I’d love to have you join me in this educational and empowering experience.

During these three months, you will:

-Learn core concepts of somatic therapy, gain effective somatic tools, and integrate them into your practice.
-Gain confidence in using somatic techniques both online and in person, and help your clients reconnect mind and body in a safe, embodied way.
-Connect with like-minded mental health professionals in a supportive space for practice, reflection, and shared experience.

The training starts on September 16th of this year, but Life Architect is currently offering a Super Early Bird Price: when you reserve your seat before June 12th, you’ll save $300 on the course.

If you are interested in learning more, just go to https://lifearchitect.com/integrating-somatic-techniques-in-therapy/?aff=ss.

05/29/2025

There are just a few more days before my book signing event on Bainbridge Island!

You’re invited to come celebrate the launch of the second edition of my book, Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past.

If you’re interested in the science of trauma, the healing practices for the treatment of trauma, and how we can address individual and collective trauma in our current age, this event is for you.

No registration is required for this free event. To learn more, go to eagleharborbooks.com/event/sharon-stanley-phd-bi-senior-center-healing-trauma-relational-and-body-centered-practices.

05/24/2025

You’re invited to my book signing event!

This event is on Sunday, June 1st, at the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center. The address is 370 Brien Dr SE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, and the event will run from 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm. No registration is required.

Join us as we celebrate the launch of the second edition of my book, Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past. I’ll be diving into what we can do to help heal individual and collective trauma in our current age.

I hope to see you there!

03/29/2025

Meditation is an integral part of somatic transformation. It is a practice that connects us to the earth and our bodies and helps us return to the relaxed, desired state of homeostasis.

That is why I am so passionate about sharing these resources with you! You can now find four new somatic meditations on my website that range from about 5 minutes to 25 minutes. My hope is that you will find the ones that speak the most to you and the time you can commit to this practice today.

Go to somatictransformation.com to find these meditations now.

03/13/2025

Today’s the day! 🎉 My new book is now available to order from Routledge.

Darcia Narvaez, PhD, author of Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdom, was kind enough to say, “Stanley is such a good writer and explainer of brain and body systems that laypeople can benefit from her insights as well. Highly recommend!”

I am honored to have this recommendation from such a renowned professor and author.

You can order your copy of my book now at https://www.routledge.com/Relational-and-Body-Centered-Practices-for-Healing-Trauma-Lifting-the-Burdens-of-the-Past/Stanley/p/book/9781032717661.

03/07/2025

Right now, when you sign up for my mailing list at somatictransformation.com, you’ll get a free sneak peek at a section of my upcoming book, the second edition of Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past.

You’ll get Exercise 1.1 from the appendix, “Embodiment—Sensory-Motor Awareness and Regulation.” This is an exercise for the practice of embodiment and purposefully connecting with your body and the body of another—the first step to somatic transformation.

Go to somatictransformation.com to sign up for the mailing list now!

02/28/2025

Edith Stein was many incredible things, including a renowned phenomenologist with groundbreaking ideas about empathy—work that has greatly influenced my own treatment of trauma.

Stein identifies three essential elements of empathy:

1) Relational Embodiment: We recognize the other as a worthy human being in our hearts, and a right-hemisphere mutuality is felt by both in the “living body.”

2) Phenomenological Inquiry: Inquiry based on wonder, interest, and recognition of radical differences in subjective lived experiences.

3) Reflection: Reflection on the lived experience of others opens new learning and a more expansive knowledge of what it means to be human.

Let’s reflect on the life and teachings of Stein by being purposeful in the practice of empathy!

*This quote comes from Simon Wharne’s article, “Empathy in phenomenological research: Employing Edith Stein’s account of empathy as a practical and ethical guide.”

02/20/2025

I’m so grateful to be able to share this news with you all! Pre-orders for the second edition of my book, Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past, are now open. You can order your copy now at https://www.routledge.com/Relational-and-Body-Centered-Practices-for-Healing-Trauma-Lifting-the-Burdens-of-the-Past/Stanley/p/book/9781032717661.

My friend and renowned colleague Dr. Allan Schore was kind enough to say, “Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma is a remarkably compelling blend of interdisciplinary theory and applied case material. The science is accurate, and the clinical material is absorbing.”

A big thank you to Dr. Allan Schore and all the amazing people whose ideas have helped influence and shape this book.

02/17/2025

Connecting With the Earth—A Meditation, available for free at somatictransformation.com/resources/meditations, will help show just how vital it can be to incorporate meditation into your daily somatic practice.

Somatic meditations are compassionate interventions that strengthen the neural networks of connectivity between the body, mind, and brain and provide the relaxation needed to regain homeostasis—or a stable internal environment.

It helps us become aware of the relationship between the earth’s gravity and our bodies and how the earth can be a presence there to support and comfort us if only we take the time to tune in. Meditation increases somatic awareness, a crucial step of somatic transformation that awakens the vitality of our life force and restores.

Take 9 minutes today to invest in yourself at somatictransformation.com/resources/meditations.

02/04/2025

Somatic transformation is like a nesting doll: each of the six steps leads into the next, creating a full, multilayered picture when put all together.

Here are my six steps for somatic transformation for helping professionals:

-Embodiment: Purposefully connecting within your body and the bodies of others.

-Somatic awareness: Creating a collaborative relationship between the body, mind, and brain and developing an awareness of another’s felt sense.

-Embodied empathy: Getting to know and understand the inner subjective reality of another.

-Somatic Inquiry: A mindful method of questioning for discerning the truth of another’s lived experience.

-Somatic Intervention: Therapeutic exercises that regulate emotions and restore homeostasis.

-Somatic reflection: An embodied reflection on lived experience that reveals the hidden, often shame-filled aspects of the inner world and transforms it into acceptance, embodiment, and incorporation.

To learn more about this method of somatic transformation, look out for my upcoming second edition of Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past, set to be released on March 13, 2025, from Routledge.

01/23/2025

I am thrilled to be partnering again with Routledge for the second edition of Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past.

This edition will be available for pre-order on February 20, 2025, and you can sign up for pre-order notifications now at https://www.routledge.com/Relational-and-Body-Centered-Practices-for-Healing-Trauma-Lifting-the-Burdens-of-the-Past/Stanley/p/book/9781032717661.

This book was created to be a resource for psychotherapists and other helping professionals, providing a body-based model for the treatment of trauma. The publisher found the sales of the book to be "wonderful" and very helpful for professionals in the field, as well as other people interested in healing trauma. The second edition expands on the body-based model, incorporating new principles and healing practices to address individual and collective trauma from climate instability, colonization, the global pandemic, and political unrest.

Empathy is at the heart of these practices—my goal is to help individuals and communities respond to adversity with vitality and love.

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Bainbridge Island, WA
98110

Website

http://somatictransformation.com/

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