Become a certified somatic therapy practitioner and master the keys to body-based trauma healing— in just three days.
The body keeps the score. Today, it's an accepted truth in our field.
But while clinicians agree that trauma lives in the body — far too few of us have gotten the intensive training we need to work with it clinically. That's why we created this somatic therapy practitioner certification training. To give you the focused training hours you need to engage the body and nervous system in safe, structured, and clinically effective ways. You'll join Stacy Ruse, LPC, ERYT-500, one of PESI's most in-demand trainers who's taught thousands of trauma therapists.
Over 3 intensive training days she'll give you a powerful somatic-based toolkit and integrative clinical framework that draws from Polyvagal theory, attachment science, IFS‑inspired parts work, EMDR tools, and transpersonal perspectives…
… so you can confidently treat trauma, chronic dysregulation, dissociation, attachment wounds, and mind–body fragmentation.
And since experiential learning is central to mastering somatic work, Stacy will take you through micro-practices, guided somatic sequences, clinical demos, case examples, and therapist embodiment practices that translate all you learn into embodied, repeatable clinical skills.
PLUS when you finish, you can become a Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner through Evergreen Certifications.
And as our gift to you, your certification application, a digital badge and listing on a directory of certified professionals so clients can find you is all yours for FREE.
Register now!
3-Day Certified Somatic Therapy Practitioner Intensive: Tools for Trauma, Complex PTSD, Dissociation and Nervous System Regulation
Choose how you want to attend
Every format includes the full 3-day intensive, up to 19.0 CE hours, and free CSTFP certification.
Hilton Boston/Dedham
8:00 AM–4:00 PM ET
- Live experiential practice & demos
- In-person Q&A with Stacy
- Free CSTFP certification
- 90-Day Replay Access
8:00 AM–4:00 PM ET
Up to 19.0 CE Hours · attend live
- Full live training, streamed to you
- Ask questions in real time
- Free CSTFP certification
- 90-Day Replay Access
- Fully flexible to watch on your schedule
- Rewatch the practices anytime
- Free CSTFP certification
The full curriculum
15 modules. 3 days. Every one of them hands-on.
DAY 1 — Foundations of Somatic Trauma Therapy
1The Neurobiology of Somatic Trauma▾
- How trauma disrupts adaptive processing (AIP, memory networks, and nervous system dysregulation)
- Sensory, emotional, and cognitive fragmentation
- Body–brain loops: bottom-up & top-down processing
- The roles of the head, heart, and gut in somatic regulation
- The window of tolerance (Siegel) and Window of Presence (Chitty): updated models and clinical applications
Somatic Micro-Practice #1: Tracking Body Temperature, Texture & Micro-Sensations
Somatic Micro-Practice #2: Orienting to Safety & Environment
2Polyvagal Theory in Practice▾
- The Polyvagal Ladder for clinical use
- Neuroception, cues of safety/danger
- Mapping sympathetic, dorsal, and blended states
- How to work somatically with each state
- Using polyvagal sequencing to prevent retraumatization
Guided Polyvagal Mapping activity
"Vagal Glimmers" embodiment practice
3Interoception, Proprioception & Embodied Awareness▾
- Rebuilding inner connection
- Why interoceptive deficits occur in trauma
- Working with numbness, shutdown, pain, dissociation, and "missing body parts."
- The interoceptive hierarchy: from gross awareness → subtle awareness → emotional awareness
Guided Interoceptive Scan
Hands-on worksheet: My Body Landscape
4Somatic Safety, Titration & Pendulation▾
- Establishing somatic boundaries and consent
- How to titrate safely in complex trauma
- Pendulation as a gentle method of trauma resolution
- Working with overwhelm, collapse, looping, and "too much too fast."
Pendulation Practice: Expansion & Contraction
Container & Anchor Practice
5The Embodied Therapist▾
- Embodied countertransference
- Nervous system contagion & co-regulation
- Self-energy through the body
- Ethical boundaries for somatic touch (if used)
Sacred Pause Sequence
Self-to-Therapist Micro-Regulation
DAY 2 — Somatic Interventions for Trauma, Attachment Wounds & Dissociation
6Working Somatically with Protectors▾
- How protectors show up somatically (tension, gripping, bracing, numbness, impulses)
- Somatic dialogue with the manager & firefighter parts
- Body-tracking for polarization
- Somatic markers of "not ready."
Protector Mapping through Posture
Somatic Boundary Practice
7Somatic Approaches for Developmental & Attachment Trauma▾
- Repairing early relational wounds through the body
- Co-regulation as an intervention
- Somatic reparenting foundations
- Working with collapse, appeasement, and attachment freeze
Reparenting Imagery + Somatic Anchor
Heart–Gut Breath for Co-Regulation
8Dissociation, Freeze States & Somatic Stabilization▾
- Somatic signatures of dissociation
- How to safely bring clients "closer to the body" without flooding
- Top-down and bottom-up grounding
- Distinguishing structural dissociation parts through somatic cues
Ground-to-Sky Stabilization
Gentle Re-Entry Practices for Fade-Out Moments
9Somatic Interweaves & Trauma Resolution▾
- Using somatic prompts from or within trauma-informed care (EMDR, IFS-inspired parts work, or other modalities)
- Corrective sensorimotor actions
- Incomplete defensive responses (fight/flight/freeze/fawn completion)
- Micro-movements for trauma completion
Somatic Interweave Practice (pairs or demo)
Gesture Completion Exercise
10Clinical Breathwork for Trauma Therapists▾
- Breathwork neuroscience
- Matching breath to the nervous system state
- Contraindications
- Breathwork library: Humming Sigh Breath · Central Channel Breath · Sat-Chit-Ananda Kriya · Oceanic Pacing Breath · Interoceptive Spiral Breath · Bilateral Breath · Flame of Presence Breath · Root-to-Heart Breath
Guided Breath Lab with 3–4 selected practices
DAY 3 — Advanced Integration, Transpersonal Work & Clinical Application
11Applying Somatic Work in an IFS-inspired Parts Work Framework▾
- Unblending through sensation
- Somatic Self-energy
- Somatic signatures of protector permission
- Somatic pathways into exile healing
- Body-led unburdening
- Working with legacy burdens in the body
Somatic Parts Work Guided Practice: Self-Led Body Dialogue
Demo: Somatic Unblending Session
12Integrating Somatic Principles into EMDR Therapy▾
- When and how to incorporate somatic interweaves
- Somatic assessment before reprocessing
- Working with looping, blocked processing, and protective parts
- State change practices for session prep and closure
- Using bilateral stimulation with somatic anchors
Demo Practice in structured triads (live version, optional)
State Change Tool Practice
13Cultural, Collective & Intergenerational Considerations▾
- Social nervous system dynamics
- Cultural humility as somatic awareness
- Collective trauma impacts the body
- Working with ancestral patterns and legacy burdens somatically
- Ethics, power, consent, and the somatic experience
Collective Body Field Exercise
Gentle Ancestral Strength Visualization
14Transpersonal & Energetic Dimensions of Somatic Work▾
- The body as a site of intuition & wisdom
- Imagery, archetypes, subtle energy, and somatic resonance
- Working with clients' spiritual or symbolic systems responsibly
- Grounded, evidence-based clinical framing
"Inner Sanctuary" Somatic Imagery Practice
Guided "Central Channel Embodied Presence" Sequence
15Treatment Planning, Skill Mastery & Integration▾
- Assessment template for somatic-informed care
- Sequencing somatic interventions across phases of treatment
- Contraindications and precautions
- Case studies
- Clinical troubleshooting
Q&A or case conceptualization/consultation (optional)
Closing Embodiment Practice: Becoming the Self-Led Somatic Therapist
The part no one trained you for
You can feel it in the room. The talking isn't reaching the trauma.
You've got that client. The one who's done years of good work. Smart, insightful, can narrate exactly what happened to them in clean, organized detail — and still flinches when a door slams. Still can't sleep. Still goes somewhere far away the second the hard stuff gets close.
And some quiet part of you already knows what's happening: you're circling it. You're talking about the trauma instead of helping the body actually move it.
You've heard "the body keeps the score" a thousand times. You believe it. But believing it and knowing what to do with a dysregulated nervous system at 2:15 on a Tuesday afternoon are two completely different things.
So you keep doing what you were trained to do. And you keep wondering if there's a whole layer of this work — the layer where the change actually sticks — that nobody ever taught you how to reach.
Here's the part no one says out loud: you don't have to throw out a single thing you already do well.
You don't need to abandon your IFS. You don't need to drop EMDR, or DBT, or the relational depth you've spent a career building. You need to learn how to bring the body into the room — safely, on purpose, and in a way that finally loosens what talk alone can't touch.
That's the entire reason these three days exist. Not another theory dump. A working toolkit you can carry into Monday's first session and actually use.
You already have the heart for this work. Over three days, Stacy Ruse will give you the body-based skills to match it.
If you've ever checked out by hour two…
This isn't another firehose CE that leaves you more confused than when you started.
Be honest about how a lot of trainings actually go. A presenter races through 200 slides. The pace is relentless. You're trying to keep up, and somewhere around hour two your brain just… closes the tab. Too much pressure, too fast, and none of it ever makes it into a real session.
That is exactly what your peers told us they were so tired of. And it's exactly what makes Stacy different.
Stacy paces her teaching to match how human brains actually learn — to transfer. She builds in space. She models the interventions live, so you don't just hear about somatic work, you feel it in your own body. You leave knowing how to do it, not just define it.
You're not starting over — you're adding a dimension
Layer the body onto the modalities you already trust.
The clinicians who get the most out of this training aren't beginners. They're seasoned therapists who already use IFS, EMDR, DBT, or CBT — and want to make all of it land deeper. That's the whole design. Somatic work threaded into your existing approach, never instead of it.
Bring the body in — without derailing
Know exactly when and how to introduce body-based interventions so the session deepens instead of going sideways.
Make dissociation feel workable
Trade the bracing for confidence. Read somatic markers of freeze and shutdown, and stabilize them with a clear, non-pathologizing framework.
Explain polyvagal in plain language
Finally make the nervous system make sense — to you and to your clients — and use it to guide them out of fight, flight, or freeze in real time.
What your peers walked away ready to do
By Monday, you'll have a full toolkit — not a stack of notes.
These aren't aspirations. They're what hundreds of clinicians actually reported after training with Stacy.
Confidently introduce body-based interventions — knowing exactly when and how to bring the body into the room without derailing the session.
Finally explain polyvagal theory to clients in plain language — and use it to guide them out of freeze, fight, or flight in real time.
Layer somatic techniques directly on top of the modalities you already use — EMDR, IFS, DBT, CBT — without retraining from scratch.
Work with dissociation from a place of confidence, not fear — using a trauma-informed, non-pathologizing framework that makes sense.
Teach clients to track their own nervous system — building the regulation skills that make every other intervention land deeper.
Help complex-trauma clients reach healing they couldn't access through talk alone — because the body holds what words can't touch.
Use the satisfaction cycle and embodiment practices directly in session — interventions you'll actually remember and reach for.
Feel re-energized about your work — reminded why you showed up in the first place, and that what you offer genuinely matters.
Your presenter
Stacy Ruse, LPC, E-RYT-500, is an internationally recognized educator, trauma expert, and clinical consultant specializing in an integrative approach rooted in IFS, EMDR, Somatic, Polyvagal-informed, and Transpersonal therapies — all supported by a neuroscience-informed lens.
Her trainings have helped thousands of therapists move beyond symptom-focused approaches to become more confident, embodied, and trauma-competent clinicians equipped to work with the full complexity of the human nervous system.
Stacy has 2 books scheduled for release in 2026, IFS Made Simple (New Harbinger) and Integrative Trauma Healing (PESI Publishing).
In their own words
What clinicians say after training with Stacy.
Warm, engaging presenter. LOVED that she wove IFS into the training. Very respectful and kind and really knows the material she presented on. Excellent training.
Excellent content, experienced presenter who modeled many of the interventions presented — calmly and thoughtfully! Highly recommended!!
The presenter was able to model her therapeutic approach and connect with the participants even through Zoom. Really, really impressive!
You are a wonderful presenter. Beautiful compassion — not pathologizing people re: dissociation. I like the way you wove the questions in. The pacing was very good. Thank you for a wonderful day.
Stacy was knowledgeable, accepting of people, kind, and sensitive — and I love how she ended with such a positive note of "keep on doing what we are doing, because of the value of what we offer to people." This was very reaffirming.
Thoroughly enjoyed the presentation, the engagement with attendees, and the plethora of information on somatic trauma therapy. I learned a great deal and so much was clarified for me.
Stacy had a wonderful approach! Great slides, easy to follow, gave great examples that I will be able to apply to my clinical work.
Exceptional presenter. Best I have had at PESI!
Walk away certified
Become a Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner.
When you complete the intensive, you're eligible to become a Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner (CSTFP) through Evergreen Certifications — a credential that tells trauma clients you've done the real training to work with the body.
And as our gift to you, the certification application, a digital badge, and a listing on a directory of certified professionals — so clients can find you — are all yours for free.
Professional standards apply. The CSTFP credential is awarded by Evergreen Certifications, which sets the eligibility and professional requirements. For full certification standards, visit evergreencertifications.com.
Your CSTFP credential includes:
- Certification application — covered for you
- A shareable digital badge for your profile
- A listing in the certified-professional directory
Learning objectives
What you'll be able to do.
- Use updated neurobiological and polyvagal models to explain how trauma affects the nervous system and body.
- Appraise the evidence and current critiques of polyvagal theory.
- Examine the evidence base for body and movement-oriented interventions.
- Identify risks and potential limitations of somatic techniques in the treatment of trauma.
- Develop a safe therapeutic environment to prevent re-traumatization of clients.
- Apply five somatic interventions to support nervous system regulation and trauma processing.
- Integrate interoception, titration, and pendulation to guide clients safely through somatic healing.
- Identify somatic markers of dissociation, protector activation, and trauma patterns.
- Select somatic stabilization strategies appropriate to a client's dissociation profile.
- Use somatic co-regulation practices to support clients with attachment wounds in developing embodied safety.
- Incorporate somatic approaches into IFS-inspired parts work, EMDR, and trauma-informed therapy sessions.
- Identify challenges and limitations in the existing research into the Internal Family Systems framework.
- Utilize breathwork techniques to regulate arousal and promote embodiment.
- Develop treatment plans that sequence somatic interventions appropriately across therapy phases.
- Use somatic micro-interventions to stabilize dissociation, overwhelm, or emotional flooding.
- Evaluate client readiness by assessing nervous system cues and adjusting somatic pacing accordingly.
- Integrate culturally responsive frameworks into somatic treatment planning.
- Apply transpersonal or imaginal somatic methods to deepen embodiment.
Who this training is for
CE details
Earn up to 19.0 CE hours.
Credit details | Virtual Credit Information
This intensive is designed for continuing education across the behavioral health professions. Credit availability varies by profession, state, and license type.
Up to 19.0 CE Hours
Available across all three attendance formats — live in-person, live online, and on-demand.
Free CSTFP Certification
Become a Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner through Evergreen Certifications at no extra cost.
Designed for many professions
Counselors, social workers, MFTs, psychologists, addiction counselors, nurse practitioners, physicians, and other caring professionals.
Questions, answered
Before you register.
Do I need prior somatic training?+
What's the difference between the three formats?+
What's the daily schedule?+
Please note: You will have access for 90 days after the program for review. For live CE credit, you must watch the live presentation in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. Please note that this requirement may vary by credit type. Please see detailed credit information for specific requirements for each credit type.
Is this just lecture, or do we actually practice?+
Will I be able to use this with clients right away?+
How do I get the free certification?+
Clinicians fly across the country to train with Stacy
This February, she's coming to New England.
Here's something we hear all the time: "I'd love to train with Stacy Ruse, but I just can't make the trip." We've watched clinicians book flights, drive hours, and clear their calendars to get in a room with her — because what she teaches isn't just another CE checkbox. It's the thing that finally makes body-based trauma work click, not in theory, but in the session.
This time, you don't have to pack a bag. Stacy is bringing her Somatic Therapy Intensive to Dedham, Massachusetts — three days, in person, with the same depth that has practitioners across the country raving.
Live in-person seating is limited. Once the room is full, that's it. Can't make it to Dedham? Join the livestream from anywhere, or grab instant on-demand access — same training, same certification.
If you've been telling yourself you'll get to somatic training "eventually" — eventually just landed in your backyard.
We’re that confident you'll find this learning experience to be all that's promised and more than you expected.