Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™
We believe that true healing comes when we work in tandem with both body and mind. Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ is a body-centered soul- based psychotherapy to healing body stored trauma. ISTP™ is a humanistic and relational model to healing that focuses on enhancing the body’s own capacity to heal from emotional and physical pain by freeing the body, breath, and energy flow through the practice of self-awareness and self-compassion. Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ is informed by research and developed from an intuitive knowing of the need to weave various healing modalities into a cohesive whole to fully support individuals in therapy; body, mind, and soul. Developed by Registered Clinical Counsellor and Elder Ratha Chek, Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice focuses on working from the body’s intuitive knowing through an embodied process of sensing into protected areas of the body to release held expressions (emotional, physical, spiritual) for healing and transformations.
Held expressions manifest as anxiety, numbness, irritability, and mood swings, often appearing as physical pain (headaches, stomach issues, muscle tension), fatigue, sleep problems and chronic stress. The basic premise of ISTP™ is that body and mind are interconnected; emotional and psychological issues can manifest as physical tension held in the body. When we engage the body with specific practices designed to release tension, we can freely express to experience emotional healing, increasing vitality, and gain a greater sense of well-being.
To free the body, breath, and energy flow is to unblock Chi or Qi; a life-force energy and moves through the body, the immediate, space, and beyond. By promoting a free flow of energy throughout the body in tandem with Psychotherapy , individuals can move through unresolved emotional issues held in the body to improve emotional health, reduce stress, and increase overall vitality. Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ integrates innovations in Mindfulness, Yoga, Bodywork, Breathwork, Movements, Emotional Expression, Sound Healing, Embodied resilience, Ceremony, Ancestral Healing, Somatic Processing and Integration designed to enhance the body’s own capacity to heal and reclaim HOPE. Centering on this organic process to healing, individuals are gently guided to release body-stored trauma, experience self-efficacy, gain greater emotional resilience to interact with life challenging circumstances with clarity, openness, and HEART.
INTEGRATIVE SOMATIC THERAPY PRACTICE INTUITIVELY INTEGRATES VARIOUS HEALING PRACTICES:
- Mindfulness Practice
- Somatic Bodywork (myofascial release)
- Breathwork
- Embody Resilience
- Sound Healing
- Ceremony (Shamanic Practice)
- Bioenergetic Unwinding™
- Ancestral Healing
- Processing & Integration
Therapy
Individual Therapy
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I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor, and founder of Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™. I am also the founder of Integrative Somatic Studies Institute and Body Mind Soul Healing Centre. I bring over 30 years of counselling, psychotherapy and insight in the healing of trauma into my training, mentorship and clinical supervision. Along with formal education in Master of Counselling Psychology, my background also includes training in Therapeutic Yoga, Breathwork, Thai Yoga Massage, Bodywork and Shamanic practice. My education and professional training informed my practice in working from the body’s intuitive knowing along with the mind.
In my early years of clinical practice, I have come to realized that my interventions have centered solely on the mind thus, reinforcing a further disconnection from the body for many of my clients. I have come to understand that while the mind can distract clients from the truth, the body always speaks of wisdom and truth, when we are willing to listen.
Experiences from working with my own clients have enriched my understanding that separation from one’s body informed continued suffering while connectedness informed healing and WHOLENESS! Therefore, integrating various distinctive (separate) approaches to recovery into a cohesive whole is premise to healing body-stored trauma.
While a number of treatment models have continued to remain separate, ISTP™ integrates various distinctive approaches grounded on body-mind interconnectedness. For many of my clients, I am often their last stop. I am truly humble by my clients lived experiences and strengths with renewed sense of hope in overcoming intense challenges.
Training Certificates
Integrative Somatic Studies Institute offers CE credits with the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association, CCPA. Training in ISTP™ , Levels 1, 2, and 3 are eligible for the Canada Job Grant covering up to 80% of student’s tuition. We are Pro-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by providing both payment plans and scholarships for all our programs.
Enhance your practice by learning to apply specialized skills to help clients self-regulate emotional distress, manage physiological symptoms, experience self-efficacy, and build resilience with Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP) ™. View Training Overview, HERE.
