We Offer:
A Certification Program
Course For Clients
The S.O.M.A Method
Sense.Open.Move.Awaken™
Our Experiential Processing Method uses sensory awareness, bi-lateral stimulation, breathwork, movement, tapping, yoga therapy and more to facilitate the processing of younger traumatized parts existing in the roots of self, and protective parts, which take shape in ones posture and personality (branches).
The Method uses four somatic interventions designed to help clients directly experience somatically what words alone can not access.
Sense.Open.Move.Awaken™
The Processing Method
Sense.Open.Move.Awaken
Sense
Sense your body from within. Learn to listen to your felt- sense and discover parts, patterns, images, memories and emotions present in the roots of your psyche.
Somatically sense the high-tension protective patterns present in your nervous system.
Open
Tense contractions and defenses in the body begin to soften with affectionate attention, breathwork, and posture opening.
Opening is a practice of receiving and internalizing support while opening patterns of bracing against feeling.
Move
Move suppressed survival responses & emotions with shaking, sighing, sounding, humming, and various forms of expression.
Engage in physicalizing practices to instinctively move and express what was at one time uninvited.
Awaken
A practice to sense and embody your authentic alive and confident self-- a body both at ease and energized.
Rooted in nurture, awaken flourishing nervous system patterns of ease, low tension and balanced energy.
Adaptive Parts and Patterns
The S.O.M.A Method understands self as an adaptive system with three primary nervous system pathways: collapse, mobilize, and ease.
Personality parts emerge when these pathways are used repeatedly and become patterned.
Some parts live in sympathetic (these are fighting for survival), some in collapse (these have given up) and some in the roots (these are young, hurting and scared). Protective and hurt parts interact and form personality patterns.
Which pattern has become your home?
S.O.M.A Method™ Modalities
Felt-Sense Inquiry
Use Gendlin's Felt Sense inquiry protocal. Learn to listen to the body's messages.
Compassion Practice
Practice mindfulness based self-compassion and Non-Resistance
Inner-Child Dialogue
Soften the body's contractions with inner-child dialogue. Invite and increase permission to feel
EMDR & EFT
Use vagus based bi-lateral stimulation and tapping to gently move out of freeze states into mobilization
Yoga Therapy
Embody and sense the postures and patterns of the adaptive self
Breathwork
Rhythmic breathing, slow breathing and breath-holds support expression and regulation
Somatic Expression
Use Qi-gong, humming, shaking, sounding, stomping, and emotional voicing
Inner Listening
Access the inner observer or the adult-self state of inner-belonging. Somatically listen for Healing messages
Visualization
Visualize and embody awakened patterns and postures of ease
A Certification Program for Therapists
Course For Clients to Use in Therapy
The S.O.M.A Method™ draws on the wisdom found in psychoanalytic and depth psychologies, polyvagel theory, IFS, focusing, attachment theory, neuroscience studies, as well as contemplative traditions.
S.O.M.A is a powerful nervous system based processing sequence supporting the healing of both adaptive survival parts and wounded parts rooted in trauma.
Our 8 video course will teach you how to use this method effectively with your therapist or coach or in your own daily practice.
MEET
Carolyn Kutsko, PhD
Dr. Kutsko created the S.O.M.A Method from hundreds of her own client sessions. She is a licensed therapist and holds her PhD in Somatic and Clinical Psychology with certificates in EMDR, Relational Somatic Psychotherapy, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, BodyWay Emotional Eating Recovery, The Daring Way, Thai Massage, and Somatic Breathwork.
She wrote her dissertation on “Full Emotional Expression,” an exploration in relational support within catharsis, where she challenges theories cautioning expressive emoting and demonstrates through a phenomenological study the efficacy of relationally supported catharsis and the often miss-used and miss-understood use of "window of tolerance". She describes The S.O.M.A Method as an experiential form of therapy, waking up the body's natural organismic healing capacity.
Receive S.O.M.A Guide
Schedule a Free Discovery Call
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Buy the S.O.M.A Method Course - $29
Enjoy 8 Video lessons combined with written experiential guidance. Learn how to apply each phase of S.O.M.A in addition to developing a deeper understanding of several common adaptive personality patterns (control, perfectionism, manipulation, addiction, codapendency, and collapse). Special attention and explanation is given to Stephen Porges Poylyvagel Theory, focusing on how ones neuroception of threat or safety underlies each pattern.
We mobilize, collapse and flourish based upon biological survival instincts— these Neuro-somatic patterns are responses to trauma and our environment; they are instinctive choices to stay safe and regulated.
The course includes a musically guided breathwork S.O.M.A practice™ which can be used anytime to regulate or relieve stress.
