Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy

As part of my Gestalt work with clients, I weave into my work an approach called Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy (DSP). DSP is a theory developed by Ruella Frank at the Centre for Somatic Studies in the USA. I have trained with Helena Kallner, who trains therapists in DSP internationally, and who trained with Ruella.

DSP informs us how we are in the world from a perspective of early developmental movement patterns. These movement patterns can be seen to unfold as early as in infancy in interactions with our caregivers, or even earlier than that, in our mother’s womb in interactions with the microcosm of the womb.

In DSP, we assume that as we move into the world, we meet the world and the world meets us, and so there is an inherent relationality and reciprocity in these movement patterns.

As adults, through attuning to our bodies’ wisdom, we can learn to be curious about these patterns and notice how they shape our being in the world and in relationships. Discoveries about our bodies’ wisdom can be made during psychotherapy sessions.