Somatic Psychology Research

05/18/2026

So, Gallese has named the space around the body as the "peripersonal space" (PPS). Irmgaard Bartenief, a movement analyst who is a founding theorist of Laban Movement Analysis named that space 70 years ago, the "kinnesphere." Gallese is also missing Edward Hall's book, "The Hidden Dimension" where Hall describes the fight/flight freeze response in relation to how close a threat is to the body...

So much literature is lost, just because it is outside of the traditional research milieu. I do wish traditional researchers could meet with somatic psychologists (like myself) and dance/movement therapists to see the lesser-known studies that exist on the fringes.

Here's Gallese's paper. Tell me what you think:

04/20/2026

Is anybody on this page working on a study currently? If so, what are you working on?

02/19/2026

https://www.ciis.edu/events/spring-open-house Virtual Open House is this weekend!

Experience CIIS at our Spring Open House—connect with community, explore programs, and imagine what’s next for your education.

02/04/2026

"You are how you move;
you live how you are."

01/17/2026

I am honored to be joining the graduate faculty in the Somatic Psychology department at CIIS starting Spring, 2026! Come join the next wave of scholars in Somatic Psychology! The application window is open now.

The Research Psychology department at CIIS offers two doctoral concentrations: Somatic Psychology and Integral & Transpersonal Psychology, both offered online.

10/20/2025

You don't have a body. You are your body, in every cell, in every drop of blood, in every moment of grace.

07/27/2025

Let's do an experiment right now. Take your hand and point to yourself. Which part of your body are you pointing to?

07/25/2025

Think Critically

(you might save a life or two...)

07/24/2025

"Healing" is not simply getting rid of difficult feelings; healing is taking a difficult experience and turning it into something useful.