Jaap van der Wal PhD is medical doctor and works nowadays as associate professor in Anatomy and Embryology at the University of Maastricht, Holland. Since his medical education in 1973 he became specialized in the functional anatomy and development of the locomotor apparatus, in particular regarding proprioception i.e. the sense for the perception of locomotion and body position. Gradually he developed into being a teacher in Philosophy of Science and in Medical Anthropology. “My passion however was and still is human embryology. The human body is a process, developing and functioning …

Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., is the developer of Somatic Experiencing® (SE™), a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma, which he has developed over the past 50 years. He holds a doctorate in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. He is the Founder and President of the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education and the Founder and Advisor for Somatic Experiencing International, where his work has been taught to over 30,000 persons from different vocational fields in over 42 countries. He recently finished his Autobiography,

Darrell Sanchez, PhD, LPC is a licensed somatic psychotherapist, Certified Advanced Rolfer™, Rolf Movement Practitioner, Craniosacral Therapist, Certified Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner and former trainer, and professional dance instructor and performer.He has been studying, practicing, teaching, and performing in the movement and healing arts since 1974. The common thread woven through all of Darrell’s work is the facilitation of creative transformation (

Dr. phil. Urs Honauer Urs (CH) is the director of the Polarity Center and the Center for Inner Ecology in Zürich, Switzerland. He is also the founder of the Learning Festival in Weggis and the originator of the communication model AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATION (AK) which he also teaches himself. He has long been involved in adult education and has taught among others in trainings like Somatic Experiencing (SE), Polarity, and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). In his private practice he works with people of all ages (from infants to senior citizens). He holds a Master’s degree in …

Sônia Gomes is known worldwide at the international SE – Somatic Experiencing´s community for her love and caring, the mastery of SE and body therapies, her wonders in demos and personal sessions. Clinical Psychologist/Advanced Structural Rolfer, Movement Teacher. She is among the few qualified to teach Advanced SE. She adopts a multidimensional integrative approach to her teaching, therapy and clinical practice. Fundamental also, is her commitment to the relief of suffering resulting from trauma and somatic experiencing as a means to enhance personal development

Dr. Aline LaPierre is the creator of NeuroAffective Touch®. A practicing clinician, author, and educator, she is President of the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy and Editor-in-Chief of the International Body Psychotherapy Journal. She co-authored the bestselling book Healing Developmental Trauma: How Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship, translated into 14 languages. She is a contributing author in the groundbreaking Somatic-Oriented Therapies: Embodiment, Trauma, and Polyvagal Perspectives (Norton, 2025).
Dr. LaPierre is a former …

Nicole Münch has been working intensively with the human voice and its relationship to the body and psyche for 20 years. At the beginning, her motives were purely artistic (singing), later also strongly from a therapeutic point of view. Born in Zürich, she completed her training as a voice teacher from 1998-2001 at the "Lichtenberger Institut für angewandte Stimmphysiologie" and received her teaching diploma from Gisela Rohmert. 2007 she received her diploma as a Somatic Experiencing (SE) Practitioner.
She is a visiting lecturer at various universities in Switzerland and offers courses …

Paki E. Heisserer was born in Germany and is living in Zürich since 1980. She is self employed in her own practice as a Bodypsychotherapist since 1985. She works as a Traumatherapist with Somatic Experiencing (and is also teaching SE since 2019). Her backgroung is the Process-Oriented Psychology of Arni Mindel (POP), Polarity Therapy, Cranio Sacral Therapy, Chinese Medicine, and Prenatal and Birthtraumawork of Ray Castellino.She is practising and teaching Qi Gong, Tai Qi and Tao Yoga since 35 years.Her wish is to go along the human process on all levels which will be shown. According to the …

Jim Feil, MA, DC, RPP, RCST has been in the field of complementary health care since 1970. He began his career in the healing arts by studying with Dr. Randolph Stone, founder of Polarity Therapy, from 1970 to 1973. He began practicing Polarity Therapy in California in 1973, and started teaching and training therapists in 1976. He was one of the founding directors of the American Polarity Therapy Association and has also served on the Spanish Polarity Therapy Association. He developed one of the first full training programs to be taught worldwide based on the APTA Standards for …

Prof. Heinz Deuser is the founder and developer of „Arbeit am Tonfeld®“ (the „Work on the Clay Field“- method), which he has been continuously developing and spreading since 1972. In 1984, together with his wife Ortrud, he founded the Institut für haptische Gestaltbildung („Institute for Haptic Gestalt Education“), which has since served as the basis for the practical application, research and dissemination of this method. Core insights into the significance of haptic self-movement and perception in therapeutic and educational contexts are developed there.
 
From …

Alé Duarte is a somatic therapist and educator with over 30 years of experience in personal development. Recognized internationally for creating innovative somatic methodologies, Alé empowers professionals to navigate complex challenges with clarity and compassion.Alé holds a Master’s degree in Education and Entrepreneurship from Finland and certifications in Somatic Experiencing Practitioner SEP™, Rolfing Structural Integration®, and Rolfing Movement. He also has leadership training from the THNK School of Creative Leadership and Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara.
Through …

Ruth Lanius, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry is the director of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research unit at the University of Western Ontario. She established the Traumatic Stress Service and the Traumatic Stress Service Workplace Program, services that specialize in the treatment and research of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related comorbid disorders. She currently holds the Harris-Woodman Chair in Mind-Body Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.
Her research interests focus on studying the …

Gerald Hüther, Doctor of Natural Sciences, MD, neurobiologist. Member of the Executive Board of the Akademie für Potentialentfaltung (Academy for the Unfolding of Human Potential). Gerald Hüther is one of the best known brain researchers in Germany. In practical terms, his main focus is on research related to neurobiological prevention research in the context of various initiatives and projects. The author of several non-fiction books, he gives lectures, organizes conferences, works as an advisor to politicians and entrepreneurs and is is a frequent guest on radio and TV shows.This way, he …

Thomas Hübl, PhD, is a world-renowned author, course leader and international facilitator on the complexity of systems and cultural change. In his work, he integrates the essential insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the findings of modern science. He is a visiting scholar at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Since 2004, he has taught and facilitated programs with more than 100,000 participants worldwide. Since 2013, he has also offered many online courses. He is the author of the books “The Healing Power of Our …

Michael Mokrus works in his own practice and teaches internationally as a trainer, lecturer and supervisor on various mindfulness-based body, psycho- and trauma-therapeutic approaches for people in therapeutic professions.

Her professional career took Emmanuelle Rosa from physiotherapy to acupuncture and then to Peter Levine's SOMATIC EXPERIENCING (SE) - trained by Steve Hoskinson and Dominique Dégranges. There she developed into an experienced Senior Assistant who imparts the SE knowledge in courses, supervision and intensive individual work. She has extensive experience in bodywork and also teaches courses in stress management and burnout prevention. She has her own practice in Lausanne and Sion.

Marianne Bentzen is a somatic psychotherapist and author. She has also taught and supervised mental health professionals internationally since 1982. She has presented at more than forty international and national conferences and written numerous articles and books. Since the early 1990s, she has developed the theory of Neuroaffective Developmental Psychology (NADP), which bridges personality development, brain development, trauma theory and evolutionary psychology as well as emotional training programs and assessment tools with her friend and colleague, psychologist Susan Hart. A long-time …

Claudia Studer-Wild has accompanied people in her practice in Winterthur for 30 years. She is inspired by personal encounters and nature. As an experienced family woman, she has developed her quality and experience in working with families, children and adults in various training and further education courses: Kinesiology (specialising in brain, LEAP) with EMR recognition according to Dr. Charles Krebs (D), Neurofeedback with Peter van Deusen, HANDLE with Judith Bluestone, SOMATIC EXPERIENCING with Steve Hoskinson and SOMA EMBODIMENT with Sônia Gomes and Marcelo Muniz.
With kinesiology …

Thomas Fuchs, born in Munich in 1958, is Karl Jaspers Professor of Philosophical Foundations of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. After studying medicine, philosophy and history, he gained his doctorate in the history of medicine in 1989. Trained as a specialist in psychiatry at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Technical University of Munich. From 1997 senior physician at the Psychiatric University Hospital in Heidelberg. 1999 Philosophical doctorate at the University of Munich. Habilitation in the field of psychiatry with an “Investigation into the psychopathology of corporeality”.