Somatic Body Mapping
Your bodily felt senses matter.
Your body matters.
Your feelings matter.
What is it?
Somatic Body Mapping Intensive (SBMI) is a holistic embodied process for individuals who are interested in engage in their body, movement, and creativity. SBM is a safe, respectful, and gently paced journey that encourages you to engage with your body sensations, creatively marking and speaking. It is a space to slow down and attend to inner sensations in your body. ​
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You will be creating a body-size map, using various art and organic materials that assist you to express yourself. It is explorative, experiential, playful, and sometimes risk-taking.You require no experience or skills in artmaking and movements. It is about you experiencing and expressing rather than creating a 'nice piece of artwork'.
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SBM is offered on a one-to-one basis or in groups.
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Who is this for?
Individuals can use SBM as a therapeutic journey within a set of the timeframe.
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Helping professionals can use this space for their personal and professional development.
Researchers can use a map to process their research journey and/or mitigate secondary traumatisation. ​​​​​​
Features
Why Somatic?
This type of body mapping is not just 'marking' or colouring what exists or is 'you think' in your body. This comes from the cognitive level. On contrary, Somatic Body Mapping is strongly based on your somatic bodily experience. What you experience in your body is a central focus in this journey.
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The purpose of making a map is not to create a nice piece of artwork. If so, that is a body map, but not a somatic body map!
Personal Development
Somatic Body Mapping is a personal embodied journey. We will explore the birth history, childhood, teenagerhood, adulthood, parenthood and the aged life in relation to the body creatively.
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SBM is useful for meeting your body in a safe and gentle way. This method is useful for those who are struggling with their body images, changes in their identities, and trauma.
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The space is slow-paced and nonjudgemental by the therapist, so that self-reflection can happen safely. ​
Collective Circle
In a Somatic Body Mapping group (intensive), we gather as a circle of individuals. We have a choice of sharing, and listen, witness, and echo other participants' experiences. The space becomes more collective and conscious by the others' presence.
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The process starts with an individual level and expands at a group level as we establish the group dynamics.
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The space allows participants to be heard and seen and ultimately cohesive.
Inclusive Environment
This CPD is offered and facilitated for people of all abilities, ages, races, and backgrounds.
This space is for cis-gender, trans and nonbinary and inclusive of all gender forms.
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As this process may involve proximity and possible touch, we make sure if this is comfortable for individuals and we always ask for permission. It is important to respect individuals' senses and previous experience of being close to someone or touched.
Professional Development
​Somatic interventions can be introduced to clients only when you as a practitioner are comfortable with your own body. This CPD is not only for a personal development but I frame this as a professional development space to equip you with practical skills. In this process, I employ the practice of psychodynamic psychotherapy approach, Authentic Movement and dance movement psychotherapy, and the theoretical underpinnings of attachment relationships and an infant's early development.
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In a post-SBMI reflective practice (facilitated either in-person or online for 2 hours after the intensive weekend), I offer a space for participants to reflect on how they can incorporate newly developed somatic awareness in their practice and strengthen their clinical understanding. You will be provided with readings about SBM and guided to reflect on the process, facilitation, and theories behind the process. Please note the post-SBMI reflective practice is not training to become an SBM practitioner but to strengthen your clinical skills.