Body psychotherapy training at university level – piloting a novel integrated master’s programme

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade a growing number of clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate and demonstrate the efficacy and clinical utility of body psychotherapy for various mental health problems. The statutory provider landscape for psychological therapies does however rarely provide these therapies for patients; several factors have been identified for this mismatch and among those the lack of university-accredited academic training schemes constitutes a major limitation for wider dissemination and implementation within highly regulated health care systems. This paper explores an innovative pilot to establish a master’s programme in clinical psychology with a focus on embodiment in Turkey/Istanbul. The curriculum represents an integration of perspectives from various body psychotherapy schools. Findings of the pilot are encouraging and may serve as a template for the development of similar schemes with support from professional bodies such as the European and United States associations of body psychotherapy.

Keywords:

• Body psychotherapy
• postgraduate training
• university
• MA programme

Background

The beginning of modern psychotherapy is generally marked as the establishment of psychoanalysis at the beginning of the 20th century. Methodologically, an interpretative understanding and cognitive examination of psychological difficulties, based on a verbal discourse, has been the dominant paradigm in psychological therapies. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - the most widely clinically applied psychotherapy modality - is also located in this methodological paradigm, although the founders initially attributed much more importance to the observation and transformation of behaviour. Only in the last decade has this methodical narrowing opened up to a new perspective. Under the umbrella term of the ‘somatic turn’ (e.g., Sheets-Johnstone, 2009) sociological phenomena as well as developments in the cognitive sciences (keyword 'embodiment’, ‘embodied cognition’) and neuroscience (reassessment of the relevance of affective-emotional experiences in the formation of thought pattern) provided the background for a shift in psychotherapeutic theory and practice. This resulted in an enhanced recognition of the importance of body-experiences and corresponding experiential additions to the intervention strategies within established mainstream schools of psychodynamic (e.g., embodied-relational approaches), cognitive-behavioural (e.g., mindfulness) and systemic (e.g., family therapy role play) therapies. In parallel and under the umbrella term of ‘resource-oriented psychotherapies’ (e.g., Priebe et al., 2014), a shift towards the facilitation and engagement in experiential interaction as well as creative self-expression through the arts can also be noted (e.g., Chiang et al., 2019).

All these aspects developed explicitly and independently within the specific field of body psychotherapy. Geuter (2023) identified three historic roots that merged into modern body psychotherapy theory and practice, which he systematically outlined as: 1. critical psychoanalysis that regards psychological problems as the result of internalising defective or harmful experiences; associated with the early work of Wilhelm Reich, body psychotherapy can be assigned to the broad spectrum of depth psychology (e.g., Röhricht, 2021). 2. a second tradition of body psychotherapy has its roots in body education and in bodywork methods developed out of reform gymnastics. In this tradition body psychotherapy was primarily concerned with the perception and exploration of the body in breathing, posture and movement. 3. The third root stems from the humanistic psychotherapy movement, ‘…as in gestalt therapy, and on utilising in treatment the patient’s embodied experience in relation to the world as the source of meaning and sense’ (Geuter, 2023, p. 1).

In recent years, body psychotherapy became increasingly recognised, owing to a growing evidence base for the utility and efficacy of body-oriented psychological therapy in the treatment of trauma-related syndromes and specific mental disorders such as chronic depressive disorders, bodily distress/somatoform disorders, psychosis and eating disorders (e.g., bloch-Atefi et al., 2014; Röhricht, 2009; Rosendahl et al., 2021). Publications in scientific peer-reviewed journals resulted in a wider dissemination of knowledge about theory and practice in BPT and interventions developed in the context of BPT have been incorporated into integrative treatment programmes (e.g., Young & Grassmann, 2019).

The state of the art in body psychotherapy has, however, been determined by a seeming plurality of terminological differentiations between various schools (Jokić et al., 2019). Whilst this is historically based upon the lasting impact of charismatic founders, who tended to invent new labels following the introduction of comparatively minor alterations to theory and practice (see analysis Röhricht, 2000), there have been attempts to unite the field (e.g., Jokić et al., 2023), applying an evidence based theoretical foundation and defining the common ground for the specific intervention strategy (Geuter, 2023). Various umbrella terms including ‘body psychotherapy/BPT’, body oriented psychological therapy/BOPT’, somatic psychology/SP’ are currently used in the literature to capture a wide range of schools that represent approaches in psychotherapy centring around and working with somatic sensations, bodily functions, and body experiences.

Corresponding trainings have so far been exclusively delivered through teaching schools accredited by the European association of body psychotherapy (EABP; and the equivalent USABP), whereas the lack of university based academic trainings continues to hamper an extended provision within mainstream healthcare systems and this also resulted in relative paucity of corresponding research. A novel master’s programme (MA) with a specific focus towards embodiment in psychotherapy was launched at Maltepe university in Istanbul/Turkey in 2019, aiming to address this gap within the teaching and training landscape and to foster the advance of body psychotherapy as an academically grounded and supported psychotherapy modality. The university-based training was developed as a holistic and body-oriented variation of the standard established clinical psychology programme and offered to students as ‘MA in clinical psychology with body psychotherapy certificate’ for regulatory reasons; it offers a training based upon an integrated general BPT theory and corresponding principles, while also acknowledging the diversity in the field (represented through the faculty of teachers who contribute to the programme based upon their school-specific backgrounds).

This paper explores the specific development, delivery, and evaluation of the first integrated (cross-schools) MA body psychotherapy training programme in Turkey. In doing so, the paper aims to stimulate transparent exchange of information, critical debate, and collaborative interest within the body psychotherapy community as well as the wider psychotherapy teaching landscape with a view to establish more international body psychotherapy master’s programmes at European universities.

Current body psychotherapy training landscape

BPT training at specific schools and according to EABP/USABP curriculum

The EABP training forum represents 21 different, accredited BPT training institutes. In 2006 the association published trainings standards applicable to all these accredited schools (https://eabp.org/training-standards/), defining entry requirements, application processes, minimum hourly training standards in body psychotherapy.

Theory syllabus requirements (500–800 hours): A. background theory; B. general and specific theories of psychotherapy; C. general theory of practice; D. general theory of body psychotherapy.

Training institutes are required to offer a minimum of four years training in body psychotherapy, approximately 1,400 hours, with 250 hours of personal psychotherapeutic experience in an individual or group setting, 300–600 hours of clinical practice with clients/patients, under regular supervision; and about 150 hours of supervision.

University based BPT trainings

Currently, the master’s degree programme (Master of Arts/MA) in Istanbul is the only university-based teaching programme in Body psychotherapy within Europe and Asia that leads to an academic degree and prepares for clinical practice as a psychotherapy practitioner.

Previously, a postgraduate programme was available at Anglia Ruskin university in Cambridge/UK for accredited, qualified body psychotherapy practitioners as a 60-credit academic top up MA, via the MA therapies major project module. Entry criteria stipulated that ‘enrolling therapists will have a recognised postgraduate diploma (PGDip) in body psychotherapy from the Cambridge body psychotherapy centre and will be registered with the United Kingdom council for psychotherapy therapists (UKCP)’. The programme did not include a clinical placement component.

In the USA, three universities offer comprehensive body psychotherapy teaching at master’s level under the umbrella term of somatic psychology, preparing students to become independent practitioners. In addition, some universities offer add-on teaching modules in somatic psychology for MA psychology students (also referred to as ‘somatic psychology concentration’).

The Phillips University in Marburg/Germany offers a body psychotherapy track integrated with the core curriculum of the psychomotricity MA programme.

The integrated MA programme in Turkey

This initiative started in 2018 and resulted from a collaboration between the psychology department and research and application centre for street involved children and youth (SOYAÇ; Bademci et al., 2015) at Maltepe university in Istanbul, and at East London NHS Foundation Trust. SOYAÇ provides care for children and adolescents who have been referred mostly by public institutions. In 2015, SOYAÇ already ventured into exploring new therapeutic inputs (introducing music, movement, dance and drama approaches) and started to integrate psychomotor therapy into its programme. The main aim of implementing body oriented clinical psychology training at an MA level was to strengthen further the collaboration between higher education and community engagement efforts. During the second year, students attend a course on ’community based clinical psychology practices, through which they get involved in SOYAÇ projects and start working in the community in a multidisciplinary team to utilise a body-oriented approach. The MA curriculum was developed by a group of body psychotherapists who fulfilled the main inclusion criteria (EABP accredited with additional university grade professional qualification at PhD, MD or equivalent level). Another selection criteria was the intention to unify experienced clinicians and teachers from various BPT school backgrounds and to represent an international perspective. On this basis and given that all those who were contacted enthusiastically agreed to contribute, a preliminary faculty of international colleagues was established early in 2019.

The MA programme is embedded within the two provider organisations of health and social care, which enables translational approaches; students learn about body psychotherapy whilst considering applied research, benefiting directly from inputs of a large healthcare mainstream provider organisation with statutory care responsibilities for a total population of appr. 2.2 million residents from diverse backgrounds in London.

The faculty of trainers/lecturers

The team of lecturers represents different body psychotherapy schools, professional backgrounds, culture, gender, and geopolitical diversity. One major challenge of the team-building process was identified as one of the main coinciding drivers of the MA initiative, i.e., an acknowledgement of the fact that BPT theory and practice predominantly developed out of clinical wisdom, less so in relation to tested theory or controlled experiments. The richness of clinical case studies (see for example Young et al., 2018) is the backbone of the science of BPT. Only recently, successful attempts have been undertaken to develop a cohesive theoretical framework across BPT schools (e.g., ‘the handbook of body psychotherapy & somatic psychology’, Marlock et al., 2015; and the body psychotherapy textbooks: Geuter, 2023; Heller, 2012; Röhricht, 2000; Totton, 2003 and 2018).

The specific backgrounds and contributions that constitute the integrated MA programme for body psychotherapy:

psychomotricity, sports and movement education (Amara Eckert); hakomi, sensorimotor therapy modalities, polyvagal-informed trauma therapy and neurofascial integration (Herbert Grassmann); neo-Reichian body psychotherapy, radix therapy and research (Biljana Jokić); dance movement psychotherapy, supervision and group work (Nina Papadopoulos); integrative neo-Reichian body psychotherapy, BPT evaluation research, body image phenomenology and higher education (Frank Röhricht); bioenergetic analysis, transcultural perspective, group therapy and higher education (Ulrich Sollmann); biosynthesis, biosysthemic psychotherapy and postural integration (Maurizio Stupiggia).

In addition, the programme furthermore benefits from specific inputs from the following guest speakers: George Downing, mother-infant interaction research; Ulfried Geuter, relational and experiential body psychotherapy, and emotion regulation; Hedda Lausberg, non-verbal communication/gesture research.

The curriculum – our shared understanding of an overarching working model and corresponding core training components for body psychotherapy

The MA master’s programme is taught at university level over two years (full time); it covers 135 ECTS credits in total, 75 ECTS credits in year one and 60 ECTS credits in year two, both years over 2 terms with 210 hours. Students are required to arrange for experiential personal psychotherapy to gather experience of body psychotherapy (group or individual). The university assists in identifying suitable therapists. Students practice under supervision from the second year onwards and write a master’s thesis related to body psychotherapy.

The MA in clinical psychology with focus on body psychotherapy involves an explicit combination of clinical practice and theory of embodied cognition and experiential therapies, designed to improve emotional, cognitive, physical, relational, and social integration through body (self) awareness and embodiment relating to others. The MA programme is distinct from other clinical psychology programmes as it addresses the inseparable cognitive, emotional, perceptual, and physical aspects of self-experiences within a given psychosocial context. Theoretically, the programme is underpinned by the paradigms of embodied cognition and extended mind theory in the radical embodied cognitive science, Malinin (2019, p. 1): ‘The concept of RECS is often described in terms of 4E (embodied, embedded, enactive, extended) cognition, explaining ways the mind is not solely located in the brain but also involves the body and the body’s situation in the environment’. Goals include teaching students the common factors and processes of body psychotherapy in psychological therapy in general and in trauma-informed care, more specifically for the treatment of major mental health problems such as psychosis (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), severe neurosis (anxiety/depression, personality problems), complex trauma, bodily distress disorders.

Course objectives are achieved through a range of blended teaching and assessment methods, including clinical, theoretical classroom sessions, online webinars, and small group teaching as well as practical (experiential) explorations of the techniques in BPT. With a variety of psychomotor and somatosensory practice offerings, students experience the possibilities to communicate and understand oneself and others through body awareness and movement, to express themselves verbally and through embodied aspects of affects (‘body language’) and to perceive group processes at the level of comprehensive and interactive embodied engagement.

Module/course descriptions

The MA programme consists of generic modules of the psychology curriculum of the university (compulsory, and relevant for all psychology master’s) and the specific body psychotherapy modules; the generic modules are taught in Turkish and include teachings on ‘advanced statistics’, ‘research methods’ and ‘general psychotherapy’. During a practical course the scientific knowledge gained from the research methods and advanced statistics courses is applied to develop research plans and research proposals for the subsequent thesis and with a specific focus on the main theme of body psychotherapy, also exploring embodied research methods. The module ‘psychopathology’ integrates standard approaches to mental state examinations with those specific for embodied cognition and body image. Body psychotherapy intervention strategies are taught in the context of integrated care, where they are utilised for the treatment of a range of mental disorders. Evidence suggests that body psychotherapy can contribute substantially to the treatment and help address chronic conditions and disorder-specific psychopathology (see reviews Bloch-Atefi et al., 2014; Röhricht, 2009, and the systematic review/metaanalysis from Rosendahl et al., 2021).

Specific BPT modules of the MA programme cover ‘philosophy of embodiment’, and theory and practice of BPT across five themes: ‘introduction to body psychotherapy’, ‘advanced body psychotherapy’, ‘clinical interviewing & assessment’; ‘experiential group work’; ‘psychomotricity’. These modules are taught in a blended fashion, combining teaching with an experiential exploration of the themes, and are structured around the main theoretical building blocks of body psychotherapy according to above cited body psychotherapy textbooks. A summary of themes is provided in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Theoretical building blocks for body psychotherapy practice.

For detailed information re the content of the modules we refer to the Maltepe university website to see the full outline of the course:

https://aday.maltepe.edu.tr/en/institute/program/53/clinical-psychology-with-thesis-body-psychotherapy-certificate#

The student perspective

Survey – reflections on curriculum contents and teaching methods

To establish as to how students experienced and rated the blended teachings (online lectures and workshops delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic and face-face classroom teaching, including self-experiential groups) provided since the MA launch in spring 2019, we invited the first two cohorts to provide structured feed-back with an online survey tool.

Out of 28 students from the two cohorts N = 15 responded (73.3% from the second cohort), while the first cohort group of students provided additional reflections in a paper published earlier, (Özcan et al., 2021). The average rating across 12 survey questions indicated a high level of satisfaction with most favourable grades for ‘possibilities to experience key concepts of BPT’, ‘diversity of teachers’, and ‘understanding the specific characteristics of BPT as compared with other psychotherapy modalities’. Most respondents rated the program highly positively (grades 6 or 7 on a 7-point likert scale) on all questions; two students however rated the program negatively (grade 1 or 2) with particular reference to a mismatch of expectations prior to starting the programme (they were expecting a focus on clinical psychology rather than body psychotherapy). Furthermore, most of the students indicated that they broadly regarded the MA programme as fitting in with their local context, i.e., being prepared to work as practitioners in Turkey, and in respect of the match with the specific cultural context in Turkey.

Overall, the survey revealed that students regarded experiential work - especially in combination with theoretical parts – as the main strength of the program. The students appreciated the interactive nature of the relationship with teachers, the program/syllabus, and entire organisation. It seems that concepts of embodiment, grounding, and resonance were specifically valuable for them. Students identified the short length of the 2-year MA programme as the main weakness as it provides insufficient time to gather more practical (clinical) experience, as well as in-depth knowledge of the theoretical framework. Students suggested that more practical experience and supervision are needed (e.g., ‘I needed more clinical training like I needed to see full sessions’, ‘Further supervision and courses are required’).

Discussion

This MA programme in clinical psychology with a focus on body psychotherapy is the first of its kind in Turkey (and across Europe/Asia) at university level. The evaluation of the programme, piloting a university based, academically informed postgraduate body psychotherapy training, suggests that it is practically feasible to provide an integrated curriculum. Students rated their experience favourably, and overall, the pilot project successfully demonstrated that body psychotherapy trainings can be embedded within an academic framework at university level and according to scientific standards. Lessons have been learned and necessary amendments to the curriculum been identified; going forward the experiences and findings from the pilot are an important milestone in establishing similar MA programmes elsewhere in Europe to further the integration of body psychotherapy into the healthcare provider landscape of statutory services.

Evaluating the outcome of the MA pilot over two years, the following aspects appear most relevant: 1. concrete praxeological evaluation (including specific consideration of online delivery of teaching), 2. clarification of the distinction between a BPT training in a university context and underpinned by an academic curriculum versus training in a private BPT training institute, 3. integration of different body-oriented psychological therapy approaches to define the unique contributions of this field for the provision of psychotherapy in the context of and in contrast to established and widely provided psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural and systemic approaches.

Given the collective and integrative expertise of a group of EABP therapists who developed the core curriculum for the MA programme in Istanbul, and in order to clearly differentiate the university programme and its contents from those provided at university level as ‘dance movement psychotherapy’ (see analysis of key differences and common ground; e.g., Tantia, 2016), ‘body psychotherapy certificate’ was chosen as a label by Maltepe university for the master’s programme in Istanbul. The umbrella term ‘body oriented psychological therapy’ does however also apply given that the curriculum furthermore integrated competencies and clinical wisdom of psychomotricity and dance-movement psychotherapy. The curriculum represents a synthesis of the rich pool of clinical experience, available evidence base and novel theoretical underpinning of BPT as an experiential, embodied and relational affect regulation therapy (Geuter, 2023; Röhricht, 2015, 2021; Totton, 2018). This is an important milestone for the integration of body psychotherapy methods into the provider landscape of national health care provider institutions. The curriculum can serve as a footprint for further MA programme developments, aligned with EABP training guidelines and utilising the vast experience of the training institutes for practice requirements (personal therapy, practical training under supervision and continuous professional development). One such model would deliver the EABP (or USABP) theory syllabus requirements (background theory, general and specific BPT theories of psychotherapy practice, ethics and research skills, etc.) in a blended (experiential and didactic teaching) fashion at university level and the practical training under supervision as well as personal therapy provision by accredited BPT training institutes (leaving students to choose from a variety of body oriented psychological therapy approaches according to their personal methodological preferences). This would support efforts to standardise training and define a uniform knowledge and skill base for BPT across countries, in the same way as it has been portrayed elsewhere in the context of pluralist training provisions for the arts therapies (Potash et al., 2012).

So far, the dissemination of body psychotherapy as an integral part of the psychotherapy landscape was significantly limited due to tight (and some might argue overregulated) psychotherapy delivery guidelines. Most European countries apply a narrow definition of what constitutes an evidence base for the acceptance of specific psychotherapy modalities as being considered clinically effective. Historically, depth psychology based psychotherapies (psychoanalysis, psychodynamic psychotherapy) have been funded by most national bodies despite the controversially acclaimed evidence base (e.g., Paris, 2017), CBT benefitted from close academic affiliations and a therapeutic paradigm that makes it accessible to positivistic (quantitative, randomised-controlled trial design) evaluation. Many efficacy trials have been conducted on CBT interventions and based upon the vast literature regarding its utility, CBT is now regarded as the main modality in most countries. Decisions regarding psychotherapy funding are predominantly driven by the notion of evidence supported treatments (ESTs). On that basis and despite the fact BPT trials have been conducted successfully, but also because of the above-mentioned lack of academic educational opportunities, BPT is not listed as an evidence-based treatment in most European countries except for Switzerland where accreditation is granted to individual institutes. In Italy, some BPT training institutes are accredited by the government, but not recognised by private insurance companies. And in the USA MA programmes on ‘somatic psychology’ lead to an accreditation as clinical counsellor, family/movement therapist or movement educator.

Emphasising the importance of generic versus specific change factors whilst determining the effects of various forms of psychotherapy for patients (e.g., Wampold, 2015) and also in the context of the growing literature on ‘personalised care’ and ‘precision medicine’ (e.g., Fernandes et al., 2017), a trend towards modular delivery of psychotherapeutic interventions according to individualised analyses of contributing factors can be observed in research and practice (see Fisher & Boswell, 2016). Body psychotherapy can be integrated accordingly as an additional component or as a core methodology of choice into postgraduate programs along with more general clinical psychology (or psychotherapy) MA modules. Hereby, specific and unique contributions on embodied and experiential psychotherapy techniques (see for example Tschacher & Pfammatter, 2016), will become part of student’s mainstream education and hence benefit those patients who are difficult to reach or not adequately responding to the contemporary talking therapy offer. An example for this kind of integration is the so-called third wave in CBT with the widely available provision of mindfulness-based practice. Relational mindfulness is now regarded as a core training component for body psychotherapy whilst being embedded in a systematic exploration of embodiment in theory and practice, rather than as a stand-alone therapeutic intervention. In BPT mindfulness features as an entry point into the examination of unconscious ‘attitudes’ as well as an intervention to foster self-organisation of somatic sensations, relational body and emotional awareness.

The pilot clearly identified that by international standards a 2-year programme has significant limitations in respect of a preparation for clinical practice. Whilst all clinical psychology MA programs in Turkey are offered with a duration of two years, students expressed how the need for their own embodied experiential process and the complexity of the presentations from patients with significant mental and physical health care needs, resulted in feelings of inadequacy and lack of preparedness for clinical work. The master’s programme provided a valuable foundation for further professional development but preparation for clinical practice cannot be adequately facilitated over the course of a two-year programme. Students have been encouraged to continue their professional development and training in line with EABP standard requirements for accreditation. Engaging with the EABP training institutes would also address some of the fundamental challenges resulting from a university based institutional framework, in particular conflicts of interest arising from a system that operates a traditional framework of summative assessments to evaluate student learning and professional competencies at defined end points and by comparing performance against standard benchmarks. The emphasis in private training institutes instead is on formative assessments that consider student’s personal development systematically as an intrinsic aspect of their professional training. This involves an explicit framework of therapeutic support, helping students identifying personal characteristics, their strengths and weaknesses and targeting specific aspects of individual biographies.

Considering the feed-back obtained from the student survey results, it is important to acknowledge that the pilot ran into one of the most unprecedented situations of a global pandemic. Following an initial period of workshop-style face to face teaching on Campus, the entire program had to be shifted into online methodologies from spring 2021. This posed obvious challenges and limitations in respect of the experiential nature of the curriculum. At the same time and in line with a growing recognition of the possibilities and challenges for online provision of psychotherapy in general (Stoll et al., 2019), the pilot demonstrated that distance teaching and learning can be effectively delivered if constraints are creatively addressed. The pilot confirms that body psychotherapy is highly adaptable, equally benefiting from practical and economic benefits and developing specific new perspectives through the medium of video-based methods, staying attuned with societal changes. This involves creative shifts in the interventional repertoire (e.g., Garcia-Medrano, 2021), advantages for teaching and supervision with optional direct recording and also the possibility of conducting clinical case and cohort studies (e.g., Rothman, 2021). Some publications have already dealt with the specific requirements of video-based online body-oriented psychological therapy, identifying important practical adjustments of the setting as well as preparatory steps to enhance the efficacy (e.g., Ogden & Goldstein, 2020).

It has been pointed out previously that a distinction between an inter-, multi-, and transcultural perspective is required to integrate the cultural domain into the curriculum development and delivery (Sollmann et al., 2017; Sollmann, 2018). Intercultural competence refers to cultural knowledge, multicultural competence to an awareness of the respective cultural behaviours and communication patterns and transcultural competence enables cultural co-creation. These perspectives foster emotional and psychological reciprocal resonance with a view to achieve cohesion between people from different cultural backgrounds. Sajnani et al. (2020, p. 1) pointed out that the use of creative arts materials – utilised in all forms of experiential psychotherapy including BPT - creates an ‘aesthetic framework, embedded in a socio-cultural context, from which to explore and examine experience as it arises’. Given the fact that the entire body psychotherapy training was delivered by an international group of lecturers from outside Turkey, the transcultural perspective took centre stage, acknowledging the need for flexible cultural co-creation, cohesion, emotional resonance and a reference to a hybrid identity. The reference to these three aspects of culture was helpful insofar as the students themselves called for this perspective taking based on their own biographic experiences as citizens of a pluralistic society in Turkey (see Özcan et al., 2021). Body psychotherapy itself was developed globally in a transcultural context; BPT thus embodies - paradigmatically - essential aspects of the specific context factors. It has already acquired such implicit cultural knowledge through the development of its own theory and practice. This is a specific strength of the body psychotherapy approach, worth considering for future curriculum development and delivery and corresponding evaluations.

In conclusion, the body psychotherapy MA program has significantly contributed to the advancement of clinical psychology at the university, aligning with the increasing global recognition of the importance of embodiment in psychotherapeutic practice. This master’s level curriculum can be flexibly adapted and applied in other universities across different cultural contexts. By paving the way for the integration of body psychotherapy into university curricula, this program signifies a significant step forward in advancing the practice of psychotherapy in general.

Authors’ contributions

All authors participated fully in all aspects of writing the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Melike Aslam, PhD at Maltepe university, for her dedicated and passionate administrative support in developing and delivering the master’s programme.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Frank Röhricht

Frank Röhricht, is a Consultant Psychiatrist, EABP accredited Body Psychotherapist and Medical Director for Research, Innovation & Medical Education at East London NHS Foundation Trust in London/UK; he is honorary Professor of Psychiatry at the Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (Centre for Psychiatry) at Queen Mary university of London. His research focuses on the evaluation of body psychotherapy for the treatment of severe mental illness as well as body image phenomenology.

H. Ozden Bademci

H. Ozden Bademci, is Professor of Clinical Psychology & Director of Research and Application Centre for Street Children at Maltepe University, Istanbul, Turkey. Her research addresses psychosocial care for under-privileged school children with adverse life experiences.

Amara Eckert

Amara Eckert, is a specialist in Psychomotricity, Sports and Movement Education. She is an Emeritus Professor at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences. Her research interests are in Clinical Psychology, ‘Mindful Body-Psychotherapy‘ and ‘Pre- and perinatal experiences in young children’s body expressions and play’.

Herbert Grassmann

Herbert Grassmann, is a EABP accredited Body Psychotherapist, member of Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in in the Kinsey Institute, USA and guest professor at Parkmore Institute Wilmington, Delaware, USA. He works at SKT and in private practice in Regensburg / Germany. He is doing research with Steven Porges on trauma-related aspects of care and the polyvagal theory.

Biljana Jokić

Biljana Jokic, is an EABP accredited Body Psychotherapist, she works as a research associate at Singidunum University, Faculty of Media and Communication, Department of Psychology and in private practice in Belgrade / Serbia. Her main research interests are in the fields of social psychology with a particular focus on the role of emotions and body awareness.

Nina Papadopoulos

Nina Papadopoulos, is a UKDMT accredited Dance Movement Psychotherapist. She works at East London NHS Foundation Trust as senior Dance Movement Psychotherapist and in private practice, and she has been involved in research on body oriented psychological therapy.

Ulrich Sollmann

Ulrich Sollmann, is an EABP accredited Body Psychotherapist, Executive Coach and Publicist; he is Guest Professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law (SHUPL), and Senior Fellow at Witten University. He works in private practice in Bochum.

Maurizio Stupiggia

Maurizio Stupiggia, is an EABP accredited Body Psychotherapist, and Guest Professor at University of Milano; Italy. He co-founded The International School of Biosystemic and The Bio-Integral Institute of Body Psychotherapy and works as a therapist in private practice.