Somatic Developmental Psychology
Psychotherapy training mapped muscle by muscle.
Professional training for practicing therapists in a developmental system that connects psychological resources to specific muscles and movement patterns.
Founded by Lisbeth Marcher, former President of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy.
Lisbeth Marcher
Founder & Director of Education
Former President of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy
For practicing therapists
What it changes in the room.
A developmental lens changes what the therapist notices, tests and chooses next.
See the developmental pattern
Read the stage and resources beneath the presenting problem, not the symptom alone.
Intervene with more precision
Connect psychological patterns with specific muscles, movements and Ego Functions.
Differentiate developmental and shock trauma
Recognise which pattern is present, where they overlap and what handling each calls for.
Where to start.
The trainings build on one another. Most practicing therapists enter at Foundation.
- 01Taster
Workshops
1–3 days
No prerequisite
For anyone who wants a felt sense of the method before committing to a programme.
Explore workshops - 02Most start here
Foundation Training
1 year
Part-time
For practicing therapists with a degree or an equivalent psychotherapy training.
Explore the Foundation - 03Certification
Practitioner Certification
3 years
15 modules
For Foundation graduates certifying as a Bodynamic Body Psychotherapist.
Explore certification
The Bodymap
A body map developed from thousands of clinical observations.
Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, Lisbeth Marcher and an interdisciplinary research group documented more than 15,000 session records across roughly 500 clients, alongside parallel observations of child development. The result was the Bodymap: a chart correlating the elastic response of over 125 muscles and pairs of muscles — front, face and back — with specific psychological content, colour-coded by developmental stage.
Plate 01 · Full BodymapFront · face · backWhat a Bodymap can help reveal
- 01Where a pattern took holdForm hypotheses about the developmental stage a difficulty is organised around, rather than working from the presenting symptom alone.
- 02Resources, not only defensesThe chart reads what a client already has available as closely as what is guarded — which is what a therapy plan gets built on.
- 03Change over timeRetested every couple of years, it offers a second lens on how a client is changing, alongside their own account of it.
Trusted by leading practitioners
“I believe that most schools of psychology and therapy have failed to understand fundamental ways humans use to make meaning about themselves in the world. Marcher, Fich, and their Bodynamic colleagues make a stunning step forward in overcoming this error.”
“Bodynamic Somatic Developmental Psychology is probably the most body-oriented and comprehensive developmental psychology and character structure model there is. I highly recommend the Bodynamic foundation level training as a must to all those who are serious about being a body-oriented therapist.”
“Bodynamic Training is the premier program for developing knowledge and skill in Developmental Psychology. Offering grounded theory and practical healing protocols with precision and heart.”
“Lisbeth Marcher is the Scandinavian legacy of Wilhelm Reich.”
Find your place in the training path.
Compare workshops, Foundation Training, and the route to practitioner certification.
The Association of Bodynamic Psychology supports the wider community and hosts a directory of Bodynamic therapists.