Strozzi somatics

Domain IV · Body-oriented psychotherapy · Richard Strozzi-Heckler · 1985 · Oakland

What it is

Strozzi somatics is a training tradition and institute, not a manualised psychotherapy. The Strozzi Institute was founded in 1985 by Richard Strozzi-Heckler, PhD, and is based in Oakland, with programmes at its Sonoma training centre. Its roots are the Lomi School, a 1970s body-oriented…

Format

• The Somatic Arc of Transformation (a trademarked name; the 2014 book has a chapter on it). The Institute's pages do not number its stages. The sequence below follows Strozzi-Heckler's spoken account, with the Foundations course labels in brackets.
• Format and dose (as published).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• What it is. Strozzi somatics is a training tradition and institute, not a manualised psychotherapy. The Strozzi Institute was founded in 1985 by Richard Strozzi-Heckler, PhD, and is based in Oakland, with programmes at its Sonoma training centre. Its roots are the Lomi School, a 1970s body-oriented psychotherapy programme he built with Robert K. Hall, MD. Lomi drew on Fritz Perls, Ida Rolf and Randolph Stone and…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• pushing from the shoulders; over-breathing.
• forced positivity that skips over real grief.
• losing yourself in the other person (merging).
• the staff triggering trauma memories; competitiveness.
• losing centre during the turn; balance problems (offer a chair to hold on to).

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.