Integrative somatic studies institute
Move ~ Breathe ~ Feel ~ Heal
Training Overview
Integrative Somatic Studies Institute offers continuing education and professional development in Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™. Continuing Education Credits are available through the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). Our training engages multisensory learning to support adult education through the integration of visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile experience.
Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ is a body-centered, spiritually grounded psychotherapy approach for trauma healing. Rooted in humanistic, relational, and spiritual perspectives, it addresses the emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions of recovery.
Informed by research, ISTP™ integrates a range of therapeutic practices to address emotional and physical pain. These include restorative postures and somatic bodywork, mindfulness, resilience-building, breathwork and Bioenergetic Unwinding™, sound healing, ceremony, ancestral reverence, processing and integration, and neuroscience. Through this comprehensive body-centred approach, students learn skills that support trauma recovery, emotional regulation, resilience, and greater personal and relational well-being.
Enhance your practice by learning how to apply ISTP™ skills to support clients in regulating emotional distress, managing physiological symptoms, strengthening self-efficacy, and building resilience. Certification is completed within 18 months to 2 years.
The institute offers intimate training circles of 10 to 14 participants, creating a supportive and connected space for deeper learning.
The Institute Grants 3 Certificate Training for Trauma Recovery.
Level 1: Fundamentals of Trauma Recovery is a two-month online course offers a grounding in the essential teachings and guiding principles of trauma recovery and somatic psychotherapy. Designed as a self-paced journey, it serves as the foundational course study for Level 2 for students wishing to gain skills in somatic therapy. As an introductory level, it focuses on building a strong foundation rather than hands-on client recovery skills, which are cultivated more deeply in Levels 2 and 3. The Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) awards 25 CE credits for completing Level 1. TUITION: $545.00 CAD. For more information, View HERE.
Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice(ISTP)™ is a five-day land-based immersive training. This training invites students into a deeper embodiment of Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ through eLearning, five days land-based immersion, skills application, mentorship and independent practice. It is designed to cultivate the core competencies needed to bring ISTP™ skills into practice with greater presence, sensitivity, and integration. 130 CE credits is awarded with the Canadian Counselling Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and accredited with 35 instructional hours. Upon completion, you may refer to yourself as ISTP Trained. Enrollment is limited to 10 to 14 students per year. TUITION $6,300.00 CAD (tax included). For more information, View HERE.
Integrative Somatic Breathwork (ISB)™ is a seven-day immersion & healing retreat on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Participants are invited into a deeper exploration of breath & bioenergetic unwinding as pathways to healing, embodiment, and transformation. Training includes eLearning, seven days land-based immersions, skills application, mentorship, and independent practice. 135 CE credits is awarded by the Canadian Counselling Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and accredited with 39 instructional hours. Upon completion, you may refer to yourself as ISB Trained Enrollment is limited to 12 students per cohort. TUITION $4,341 CAD (tax included). For more information, View HERE.
Integrative Somatic Bodywork is a 3-Day immersion training in Integrative Somatic Bodywork offer by Mandorla Yoga Institute. This immersion offers a deeper journey into touch & bodywork as a sacred, support and adjunct to somatic psychotherapy for trauma recovery. The practice invites students to cultivate embodied presence, sensitivity, and integrity in the therapeutic use of touch. Those with prior traditional training in Yoga and Bodywork will benefit from this training due its foundational application as a complementary therapy. The program includes online course study and three days of in-person immersion training. This 150-hour training can be counted towards registration as a Bodywork Practitioner with Namasta (USA) or NHPC (Canada). TUITION $4190 CAD (tax included). For more information and registration, View HERE.
Training Suitable for
- Counsellors, Psychotherapists, Social Workers
- Personal Coaches, Nurse Practitioners
- Mental Health Workers, Holistic Practitioners
- Yoga Therapists, Registered Bodyworkers
- First Responders, Energy Healers
ADMISSION CRITERIA: Integrative Somatic Studies Institute is not a licensing or accrediting body. For this reason, ISTP™ training is offered as continuing education for those who are already rooted in the mental health or wellness fields, rather than as entry-level preparation. These programs are intended to deepen, refine, and build upon existing knowledge and clinical skills, offering advanced training than foundation instruction. Many of our students are established clinicians, coaches, and mental health practitioners who feel called to weave ISTP™ into the scope of their existing professional practice.
Trainings are designed to support mental health and wellness professionals—including personal coaches, yoga therapists, and registered bodyworkers—in deepening the specialized skills needed to bring ISTP™ into their work with greater presence, care, and integrity. Our intention is to support the ethical, legal, and professionally aligned application of ISTP™ in practice.
Admission to ISTP™ Training: Our admissions policy reflects our role as a provider of specialized continuing education. These trainings are intended for individuals who are qualified and legally credentialed to practice in mental health, health, or wellness professions. Students who enrolled in Level 1 before March 2025 are grandfathered into the program and remain eligible to apply for admission.
This policy offers clear guidance for admission into ISTP™ training and helps uphold the ethical integrity of those we serve. It is rooted in the program’s learning intentions and in the professional standards that support responsible clinical and mental health practice within the ISTP™ & ISBP models.
Trauma disrupts the body’s natural instincts—our innate responses to threat and danger. In ISTP™, healing begins with a return to these primal instincts. Recovery is a process of reclaiming the body’s natural impulses and the authentic human needs that restore wholeness
What Gives ISTP™ Its Unique Healing Essence?
ISTP™ weaves together nine trauma-informed, bottom-up healing practices into one integrated path of somatic transformation. These include:
- Mindfulness as sacred presence
- Restorative Postures as supported expansion
- Breathwork as a gateway to healing
- Somatic Bodywork as embodied support
- Embodied Resilience as inner steadiness
- Sound Healing as vibrational restoration
- Ceremony as intentional practice
- Ancestral Reverence as connection to lineage
- Bioenergetic Unwinding as energetic release
- Processing and Integration as grounded transformation
The institute offers intimate training circles of 10 to 14 participants, creating a supportive and connected space for deeper learning.
CEREMONY is an essential part of Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice. We believe that physical and spiritual health are intimately connected: Body and spirit must heal together. Traditional healing ceremonies promote wellness by reflecting on ancient cultural conceptions of Spirit, Creator, and the Universe. They can include prayer, chants, drumming, songs, stories, and the use of a variety of sacred objects. To begin with, ceremonies or rituals connect us to the past and provide stability for the future. As we remember what has gone before, we are comforted by those memories to strengthen our present. In our trainings, a ceremony is offered to gather students together in community. We come together, support each other, and embrace unity in healing & learning.
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Faculty Trainers, Training Assistants, and Consultants
Our faculty trainers and clinical consultants bring together a rich tapestry of professional and educational backgrounds, including registered clinical counsellors, social worker, yoga therapist, and bodyworkers.
Arshdeep Sandhu, Training Assistant
MCP, RSW
Louise McCormick, BSW
Level 1 Student Academic Support
In ISTP™, we work with repressed emotions.
The more we move, the more we breathe, the more we breathe, the more we FEEL Dance is one way of releasing feelings of shame ~ Ratha Chek