Shin Somatics® Professional Certification through Individual Design 

Description

The Shin Somatics® Certificate Program offers a certificate of completion in variety of professional fields through individual contract. Students in this program are able to study somatics in relation to their expertise and interests and to include independent study. This program also offers the opportunity to study in your location of choice with registered somatic therapists and educators—certified through Eastwest Somatics Institute. All teachers in this program are also registered through ISMETA, International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association.

Some fields of study are listed below along with the requirements for the Shin Somatics® Graduate Certificate and the Shin Somatics® Associate Certificate. Directed courses of study in related fields may also be arranged through application and designed with specific goals in mind. Independent study is designed through contract with Eastwest Somatics Institute. Certificate students may also fulfill requirements through participating in Shin Somatics® Workshops offered through Eastwest Somatics Institute. Programs may be designed to include workshops, independent study, and private or small group tutorials.

The program is intended for candidates who are active in their professions as teachers, advanced students, dancers, creative arts specialists, movement specialists, therapists, communication and leadership specialists, or bodywork practitioners. Upon completion of the certificate program, candidates will receive associate certificates, or graduate certificates. Associate certificates are based on fewer hours and apply to those who take the program for personal growth or further development in their field. Those who complete the full program and achieve graduate certificates are eligible to apply to ISMETA for the designation of Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (rsmt), or Registered Somatic Movement Educator (rsme).

Earning Credits

Credit for each course taken through independent study or private tutorial is based on demonstration of competency and completion of reading/writing assignments and/or reports of practicum hours. Credit for workshop participation is given at the end of the workshop. A final case study is required for the graduate certificate. On completion of all coursework and homework, the candidate is awarded a Shin Somatics® Certificate that designates their field of specialization and their associate or graduate status. Those seeking a certificate to teach Shin Somatics® Land to Water Yoga can design an associate certificate for that purpose with the help of an Eastwest Somatics designated instructor.

Benefits

The Shin Somatics® Certificate Program meets the needs of teachers, dancers, artists, movement specialists, counselors, and communications professionals seeking to integrate somatic education processes and principles with their related interests and professions. Course work can be completed within a time frame and at a pace suitable to the candidate.

Requirements

Students complete the required courses at their own pace, but within a three to six year time period. For each workshop, independent study, private or small group tutorial, active participation is required. If students take professional courses outside of the Eastwest Somatics Institute they wish to integrate with the certificate program, they can apply to receive approval to include such courses. Students may receive credit for two such courses upon approval and as they apply to their field of study. The student needs to demonstrate ongoing integration of somatic studies in their chosen field, and also needs to complete all written work, as well as the final case study for the graduate certificate.

Contract of Study

Students draw up a contract of study with the director of Eastwest Somatics, or with a designated teacher who will follow through with them in setting up the required study. The designated teacher may also be the instructor for some or all of the tutorials and independent study. The contract of study should equal 4 levels of workshop study though Eastwest for the Associate Certificate, or be the equivalent of 7 levels of workshop study for the Graduate Certificate. The Shin Somatics® Associate Certificate is based on 4 levels of study including the prerequisites. Certification to teach Shin Somatics® Land to Water Yoga requires 5 levels of study and a competency exit exam. The Shin Somatics® Graduate Certificate is based on the summary of requirements listed below and includes 7 levels of study plus the prerequisites. Prerequisites may be college courses in subjects listed below, or others that apply. They may also be taken concurrently with study at Eastwest, and some are offered at Eastwest. Students wishing to complete 8 levels of study may earn a Teaching Certificate.

Students in any of the above Shin Somatics Certificate tracks should take at least 2 Eastwest workshops where they participate with others in the learning process. It is recommended that these workshops be taken first, before independent study or tutorial study is undertaken.

Tuition Students register for courses as included in their contract of study with Eastwest Somatics Institute, and pay the course tuition through Eastwest. Registration information is listed on the Eastwest website: www.eastwestsomatics.com. See the registration page. All other books are purchased separately. Each level of Shin Somatics Study is $886, now discounted $100. Designated teachers for independent study, private or small group tutorials are paid through Eastwest. Full time students may apply for partial scholarships or fee reductions. Payment distribution over agreed upon time periods is also possible. Retreats are priced separately.

Application Process: Apply through email to workshops@eastwestsomatics.com. Send a one-page statement of your goals and a short biography. A one-page recommendation from someone who is acquainted with your professional goals and educational background is also required.

Suggested Topics for Independent Study Papers (10 pages double-spaced)

Defining the field of somatics; Structure and rewards of autotelic activities; Practice as research; Designing a case study; Ethics in somatics; Somatics and aesthetics; Teaching dance technique in relation to somatics; Contact improvisation somatically designed; Choreography and somatics; Improvisatory paintings of dance experiences; Somatics in children's dance classes; Cultural bodies and the somatic structures of identity; Enjoying work; Dance and the experience of flow; Transcendence of ego-boundaries in somatic experience; Dance and the performative self; Therapeutic aspects of performance; Self-perception and personal development; Political bodies and somatic theory; Somatic movement re-patterning with victims of trauma; Environmental settings for somatic explorations; Common features of butoh and somatics; Philosophy of the body and somatic theory; Phenomenology of somatics; Modes of breath work; Repatterning in music and somatics; Music therapy and somatics; Effective communication and somatic processes; Somatics applied to group dynamics and leadership; Applications of somatics in social work and counseling; Somatic studies and developmental movement in infants; The embodied brain; Relationships between somatics and neurobiology; Applied anatomy in yoga and bodywork.