Integration Psychotherapy Level 5 Diploma
Course Methodology
We purposefully guide participants on a path leading to awareness of Self, undefined by conditioned limitations, to support working with others who wish to access their potential. We dive into a philosophical dialogue that encourages increasing awareness of the connections between the energetic and the biochemical systems of the human being. We explore the synergistic nature of the psychological, physiological, neurophysiological, and subtle systems as they influence the whole person. In discussing the body-mind-energy-spirit complex in both health and distress, we explore methodologies supporting balance and wholeness.
Students will be supported in their exploration of course material and experiences processing and integrating whatever arises in small groups, triads, online, and their own self-practice. In listening carefully to felt and somatic experiences, the activity of mind, and movements within the Field, the co-creative dance between individuals, in therapeutic contact, becomes possible. Through their own experiences of the content and practices forming the course, they will become proficient in the language and experiences of integration psychotherapy as they advance their ability to curate sessions and work with the innate intelligence of their future clients.
Theoretical Influences
The course builds upon but is not limited to the following therapeutic approaches and models:
- Transpersonal Therapy
- Humanist Psychology:
Person-Centered Therapy,
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,
Existential Psychology - Process-Work Psychology
- Somatic Psychology
- Process of Individuation
- The Ego & Dynamic Ground
- Gestalt
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Family Constellation Therapy
- Attachment Theory
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Course Aims
As an integration psychotherapist, you will be able to analyse, interpret, and evaluate concepts and ideas relevant to integration psychotherapy. You will be aware of the nature and scope of psychotherapeutic work, and understand different therapeutic perspectives, approaches, and the reasoning behind these schools of thought.
You will also be able to assess, adapt, and apply appropriate therapeutic methods, practices and techniques to address, broadly defined, complex problems. You may also be able to review and incorporate relevant research to develop or inform appropriate actions in a therapeutic setting. You may also be able to apply additional training, or scientific expertise gained from outside the course, to evaluate actions, methods and therapeutic outcomes.
Personal development
Journey from the unborn to infant using Yoga Nidra (similar to hypnosis), Journeying, somatic movement (inspired by Hannah Somatics), Embodied Kundalini, spontaneous movement and sounds.
Practice a constellation to bring forth aspects of self that are available for integration. Discuss the components of Jung’s active imagination and justify why they are used through the course for self-reflection.
Integrative knowledge and therapeutic skills
- Learn basic embryology, cell biology and morphology, neural cells, the central and peripheral nervous system.
- Understand bottom up and top-down processing, and how they can be used to promote regulation in the client.
- Understand the developmental milestones of complex movement patterns in the early years.
- Discuss the development of connective tissue and the roles of fascia.
- Look at the role of the body in trauma and autobiographical memory.
- Learn the basics of attachment theory.
- Explore the meaning of attunement and the role of the therapist.
- Introduce transference and counter transference.
- Identify how to create a safe and authentic environment for therapy.
- Discuss the five stages of listening.
- Introduce Family Constellation Therapy
- Explore shadow work and methods that support the integration of negated aspects of self.
- Introduce Integration Psychotherapy’s Nine Dimensions of Self.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document (based on the Nine Dimensions of Self) and 500-word reflection, voice recording or piece of artwork to describe what they have understood about the meaning of integration through this lens.
Study complex movement patterns in infants. Consider the interaction between the internal world of the infant and the external environment, propose how this dynamic could affect soma and psyche over the lifetime of a person.
Journey to explore the toddler to adolescent stages of life through Yoga Nidra, Hatha Yoga, Meditation, deep relaxation by hypnotherapy, drumming and sound. Trauma informed movement practice. Motivational technique including artwork to explore the teenage years.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Learn about the role the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the meaning of homeostasis.
- Discuss the neurobiology of the stress response and look at the long-term effects of the fight-or-flight-or-freeze response.
- Understand Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and learn how to promote coherence between systems.
- Introduce neuroplasticity with a view to understanding how to promote change through movement and psychological holding.
- Explore the role of movement for interrupting habitual habits that affect soma and psyche.
- Introduce the cerebellum, the effect of stress and methods that support emotional and physical balance.
- Discuss the dissociative spectrum.
- Introduce limbic attunement and neural regulation in the therapeutic relationship.
- Work through a trauma-informed lens to promote wellbeing.
- Explore how breath and movement can be used for grounding, regulation and to promote vagal tone.
- Find out the roles of dopamine and serotonin with regards to pleasure and happiness.
- Learn the basics of Acceptance and Motivational Therapy (ACT)
- Using motivational techniques for goal setting (vision building) combined with artwork to support change.
- Learn about hypnotherapy and compare with Yoga Nidra (Ewen Sim).
- Understand scope of practice, personal care, fitness to practice, malpractice and supervision.
- Further practice the Nine Dimensions of Self.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document and 500-word reflection, voice recording or piece of artwork to describe what they have understood about role of the body and the environment in the development of motor patterns, how they connect to the psyche, how stress affects the system, and how movement, rest and motivational work affects neuroplastic change that can be measured across systems.
Journey to explore the young adult stage of life through Embodied Kundalini Yoga, Hatha Yoga, transformative movement, candle meditations, mudras in movement and mediation, breathwork, use of voice, ritual, and self-care.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Learn the basics of the cardiopulmonary system with a view to knowing how to use movement and breath for optimum health.
- Introduction to creating ritual and study its use in therapy and group work.
- Explore the Vedic deity Agni (the fire), with the purpose of creating and practicing a personal fire ritual.
- Use the process of initiation as a therapeutic tool, especially for those who are in times of change or carrying unprocessed trauma.
- Practice using mudra for stress regulation and as reorientation method for psychological flooding.
- Work with sound for groups and one:one setting.
- Preparing for placement.
- Requirements for Clinical Supervision and how to get the best out of it.
- Strategies for working with high-risk situations.
- Learn and practice Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
- Further explore and practice working with the Nine Dimensions of Self.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document and 500-word reflection, voice recording or piece of artwork to describe what they have understood about the workings of the circulatory system and how movement and breath affect heart health. Produce a written version of their fire ritual, that takes the reader through the process step by step.
Journey to explore the adult to middle age stage of life through Hatha Yoga, movement, meditation, visualisation, breathwork and storytelling in movement.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Explore Mirror Neurons and the role of mirrored movement in the relationship
- Learn about the biological mechanisms of interoception and exteroception and find out how they coalesce to produce the reality of personal self.
- Discuss how meditation and movement can be used to incite neuroplasticity in brain regions that govern interoception.
- Practice simple methods that use mirroring, meditations, mudras, movement and enquiry to support neurological and psychological change.
- Investigate the structures of the pain matrix in the brain, to understand top-down processing in the perception of pain.
- Delve into Field Theory and learn the basics of atomic entanglement in order to make sense of data that arrives from the field.
- Review Michael Washburn’s theory of the Dynamic Ground.
- Understand the importance of strengthening the personal self before working in the transpersonal realm.
- Practice methods to support the personal self when dissociation into the transpersonal realm occurs.
- Discuss the use of journeying in therapy.
- Practice holding space for one:one and group journeys.
- Explore collaborative facilitation structures to deepen the awareness of energetic holding and field dynamics.
- Identify the benefits of working with storytelling in therapy, study creation stories from around the world and discuss where they meet or differ.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document and a 1000-word essay with APA referencing., to describe what they have understood about the mechanisms that govern pain. Describe the difference between acute pain and chronic pain, justify why people with chronic pain might be more likely to seek therapy and explain which techniques they would use from Integration Psychotherapy to support such clients. Reasonable adjustments will be made for neurodiverse students.
Journey to explore elderdom and end of life preparation through Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, journeying, end of life listening, movement, meditation, visualisation and ceremony.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Learn about the lymphatic system to understand how important movement is for the removal of waste and toxins.
- Explore the changes in the brain of the elderly person.
- Learn about the neurology and psychological effects of dementias and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Practice methods to work with people who are approaching the end of life to help them to travel well.
- Introduce spiritual counselling.
- Look at the role generational trauma plays in families, and practice constellations for an embodied understanding of how it effects relationships.
- Discuss how to working with loss and grief for individuals and families; to include using Family Constellation Therapy for families to consciously support one the who is dying.
- Working with the Nine Dimensions of Self in tandem with constellations for end-of-life care.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document and 700-word reflection, voice recording or piece of artwork that explores their beliefs about the role they play in their family, goals they might have to achieve before the end of their life and how they intend to go about fulfilling them.
Exploring meditation and mindfulness for continuing the process of self-enquiry. Using poetry art and spirituality to deepen the experience of self.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Take a journey through the brain.
- Revisit limbic attunement and practice methods to regulate another person.
- Learn the neurological effect of mindfulness and meditation.
- Explore the effects of mindfulness and meditation in vulnerable populations.
- Discuss when it would be appropriate to work with spiritual counselling sessions and learn how to structure them.
- Look at Kaufmann’s drama triangle and embody the process through exploratory practices.
- Explore the meaning of neurodiversity and look at how to hold space for those with differing brain types to our own.
- Look at anxiety and depressive disorders (DSM) and discuss which forms of meditation or movement could help to regulate those systems.
- Learn about managing high risk situations and reducing the risk of psychological harm to self.
- Initiate peer supervision groups and begin to support each other through the Nine Dimensions of Self model.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document. Module six and seven 3000 self-reflective APA referenced essay to share which aspects of the training have had positive effects on their growth as a person and a therapist. Discuss which methods or models have been useful and which have not.
Further exploring meditation, mindfulness, sound and processes that support the module material.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Look at contact boundaries in the therapeutic relationship (Jennifer Smallwood).
- Learn the Gestalt Cycle and practice how to bring processes to a place of completion (Jennifer Smallwood).
- Learn to use chair work (Jennifer Smallwood).
- Examine transference and counter transference in Gestalt (Jennifer Smallwood).
- Practice using active imagination techniques to complete processes.
- Practice the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) sequence.
- Explore Mindell’s Processwork.
- Discuss how Integration Psychotherapy brings a collection of theories and practices together that we refer to as Field Work.
- Show how Field Work supports integration across the Nine Dimensions of Self.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document.
Further exploring meditation, mindfulness, sound and processes that support the module material.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Study personality disorders and explore how to work with the different manifestations (Bernd Leygraf).
- Revisit constellation therapy, explore IFS and look at how configurations of self can be worked with when the personality is severely fragmented.
- Introduce psychedelic assisted psychotherapy and discuss how Integration Psychotherapists can support this emerging field.
- Discover the meaning of set and setting in psychedelic assisted therapy.
- Explore how psychedelic assisted therapy could support those with seemingly treatment resistant conditions.
- Understand what pacing looks like in psychotherapy as a pose to psychedelic assisted therapy.
- Learn about the neurobiology of MDMA, Psilocybin and DMT.
- Investigate the research that shows which compound has shown to be useful for particular conditions (Valeria Riccotti).
- Consider the importance of creating a setting that includes a connection to the sacred, especially when working with clinical protocols, where ceremonial settings have been removed.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document.
Preparing for endings with meditations, movement, group ceremony and group process.
Integrative knowledge and skills
- Further exploration of Art Therapy and active imagination (Colleen Wrestling).
- Practice how to manage endings in the therapeutic relationship.
- Co-creative offering that the group creates to share how their individual therapeutic expressions, come together to share something that touches the personal, transpersonal and collective consciousnesses. The offering should specifically work with the Nine Dimensions of Self which includes the field of Unity.
Assessment
Integration Psychotherapy’s self-assessment document.
4000 words supervised case study APA referenced.
“Our bodies are manifestations of this Earth, and we have a task to fully incorporate our mind and soul into our physical vehicle, which is confusing for many of us, especially if life has been challenging. Integration Psychotherapy is about bringing the many dimensions of self back to the experience of the body, the present moment and the consciousness of Earth.”
Entry Requirement and Suitability
This qualification is not suitable for those who are currently in a state of severe emotional difficulty and/or severe psychological confusion. The course involves experiential elements that will involve considerable personal disclosure and associated personal developmental activities.
Applicants must be intending (and actively seeking) to begin work with clients during Year 1 of the programme in order to gain the necessary experience to continue into Year 2. This will ideally be as a placement in a charitable counselling service, or if that is not possible, then in private practice from a dedicated space in their home or at external premises. All applicants are required to complete the application form and then go through the application process which comprises a written portfolio submission and, if the portfolio is deemed sufficient, an interview in person. If offered a place, a course contract will have to be signed and returned with an initial non-refundable booking deposit of £500 to secure a place will be required within 14 days.
If a portfolio or interview is not successful, constructive guidance will be provided for those who wish to re-submit or interview again later.
Applicant background
Prior Learning (APL)
Your prior learning will be assessed in the application portfolio and interview to make sure it is at the required level commencing your study at Level 5.
Supporting Documents
- Essay (4,500 words)
- References from two referees who have known you in a personal or professional capacity for at least 2 years (must include duration of knowing you, their role in your regard, and their reflections on your potential as a therapist).
Flow of the Training
The programme content is designed to be delivered specifically throughout teaching times with both supplementary material and practices to be explored during independent or group study. We recognise each group will present unique needs; the course therefore works with the organic contributions this will bring to the course. Students are invited to begin this course with an active willingness to participate in and learn from group dynamics. In this way, the integration psychotherapy ethos is modelled through both the content and delivery of the course. Students will be encouraged to step into their role as space holders by honing their self-awareness and observational skills, as they engage with the subjects and practices woven into the fabric of the course.
The course is organised into nine modules that are delivered over two years.
Next Intake 2023-25
We have decided to offer some of the modules entirely online, recognising that a significant amount of therapy has remained in the virtual space since the constraints of the pandemic have ended. Moreover, it makes practical sense for us to offer some of the winter modules online. The venue for the in-person modules is The Space, Eyam Hall Courtyard, Main Rd, Eyam S32 5QW.
2023
27th – 30th April
15th – 18th June
14th-17th Sep
16th – 19th Nov (Online)
2024
25th – 28th Jan (Online)
21st – 24th March
16th – 19th May
25th – 28th July (Online)
3rd – 6th October
12th- 15th December (Online)
2025
20th – 23rd Feb 25
Investment
The full Investment for this training is £4100 per year a non-refundable deposit of £500 is required when booking.The deposit will be taken once the student has been accepted onto the course, at this point the student becomes liable for the training.
Following receipt of a deposit, the full balance is paid with payment plans that can extend after the first weekend on the proviso that a contract is signed between the student and ourselves to confirm student liability for the full fee.
We have made every effort to make this course financially accessible both in our pricing and payment structure. In line with the ethos of Integration Psychotherapy we operate a 100% transparency policy, this means that we do not enter into special payment deals.
Student Liability
Once admitted onto the course, each student is liable for the full training fee; there is no obligation on the part of Integration Psychotherapy or Pilamaya Training Ltd to refund monies if a student decides not to complete the training.
In the unfortunate event that a student becomes ill during the course, we will do our utmost to support the student to complete the course but we cannot refund any of the course fee.
Should the student have the good fortune to become pregnant, we will support the process but we cannot refund any of the course fee.
Please exercise due diligence and digest the material above fully to decide whether this course is for you. If this course calls to you, then come with an open heart.
Attendance Requirements
The quality of your own learning relies heavily upon the potency of the course environment, you are therefore expected to attend all scheduled training events punctually. Your attendance is not only crucial for your diploma requirements, but is also a practical exercise in honouring the necessary role time commitment and reliability has in maintaining the boundaries protecting future therapeutic relationships
We understand extenuating circumstances may, at times, nevertheless interfere with your ability to attend in-person trainings. You must be aware that a minimum of 85% attendance is required to receive the diploma course award. A certificate of attendance will be given to students who attend less than 85% of the taught course. At the discretion of the Course Director, students attending less than 85% of the taught course may be asked to undertake additional tutorials, reading or written assignments, in their own time and at their own cost, reach the required level to attain the diploma award. Any such programme of additional work must be agreed with the Course Director and students.
Personal Therapy Requirements
The absolute minimum amount required by this course is 10 hours of personal therapy per year, which you will need to self-certify. If you have the opportunity to engage with more hours, then that is recommended, with weekly to fortnightly sessions considered a helpful frequency, especially if you want to gain accredited membership of other professional bodies later, such as AHPP, and registration with UKCP.
“I did not just learn how to be a yoga teacher, I learnt what steps to take to become an improved version of myself”
Faculty
Shaura is a Yoga Therapist (IYAT), Supervisor (certificate with CTSD) and Interfaith Minister. Her training includes over 1000 hours of Yoga Therapy and yoga teacher training and further training in the Health Sciences, Psychotherapy. She is currently working towards a diploma in Neurosomatic Psychotherapy. Shaura’s personal journey began in 2004 with the First Nation People of North America. Her connections to these people and ceremonial ways of life have a great influence on her worldview and work. Shaura lectures on Yoga Therapy for Addictions and is a lead Supervisor for the Minded Institute.
She is the Course Director of Yoga Therapy for Addictions CPD, where she teaches people how to use psychotherapeutic and yogic techniques to support those on the road to recovery. She is also the Course Director of the Transpersonal Yoga 300hr and Meditation and Facilitation for Mental health that are amalgamating into Integration Psychotherapy. In her private work she supports individuals and groups on the process of healing and individuation, through a rich plethora of methods that are forming the basis of Integration Psychotherapy.
Jennifer Smallwood is a BACP Senior Accredited Gestalt Psychotherapist, Integrative Therapist and Clinical Supervisor. Jennifer is also an EMDR UK & Europe registered and accredited EMDR Consultant with a successful private practice based in Sheffield. She holds a BA Honours Degree in Pure Philosophy, a master’s degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy and is currently undertaking a vocational training in Meditation as Facilitation for Mental Health which she hopes to use alongside her EMDR and Gestalt practices to further her trauma work in private practice.
Jennifer has worked in private practice for the past 19 years as well as volunteering for The Samaritans, working for the NHS in Derby City Centre PCT, and eight years working for FREED BEECHES Eating Disorder charity in Nottinghamshire as Senior Psychotherapist and Deputy Clinical Manager. Before her retraining in Psychotherapy, Jennifer worked as a Business Consultant helping businesses improve the efficacy of their Systems and Processes. She is a guest speaker at SPACE Academy and also delivers workshops locally in Trauma.
Colleen Shraddha Steiner Westling works in private practice as an MA Art & Environmental Psychotherapist/Supervisor. She is also a 800+hrs IAYT Yoga & Meditation Therapist/Supervisor specialising in physical & mental wellbeing. By combining her multiple modalities of study, Colleen addresses the bespoke needs of clients with such conditions as; Physical injury, pain and dis-ease, Grief, Anxiety, Depression, Personality Disorders, Learning Differences, PTSD & Developmental Trauma.
Art and Yoga Nature combines the embodied practice of movement with art material manipulation to creatively express unprocessed feelings in a nonverbal way. The creative experience and the art works created can be felt as connecting to a sense of inner witness with projections of negative, positive and/or mixed emotions validated to strengthen the inner resources of self — awareness, compassion, and esteem.
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Bernd Leygraf co-founded a number of organisations (London Men’s Forum, UK Standing Conference on Sexual Abuse of Men, the Centre for Personal and Professional Development, the Whittington Hospital Psychotherapy Clinic, the Hungarian Gestalt Association, NAOS Institute). He co-authored with Judi Keshet-Orr the first MSc in Humanistic Psychotherapy and the first MSc programme in Psychosexual & Relationship Therapy in the UK. He also authored or co-authored, as well as led, several masters programmes in the UK, primarily at South Bank University, Middlesex University, Westminster and the University of Surrey. He was external examiner to various universities in the UK.
A former Chair of the Professional Standards and Accreditation Board at the European Association for Counselling, and Ethics Committee of COSRT, Bernd works currently with trainees, from over 40 countries. he is familiar with and interested in working with issues of cultural difference. He is fascinated by the work of Mindell and more recent developments in constellation theory.
Valeria Ricotti, born in Abruzzo (Italy), now lives in London. She is co-founder of a gene therapy company and conducts research in the health applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in collaboration with Imperial College London.
She graduated in Medicine in Ireland and specialised in Paediatrics. She holds a Clinical PhD from University College London on neuromuscular disorders. She has always been interested in eastern philosophies and exploring consciousness with scientific tools. She is passionate about the use of psychedelics in the context of mental health and spirituality. Valeria is a Reiki Master and a fiction writer.
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Heather Mason is the Founder of the Minded Institute, a leading yoga therapy training school in the UK, and the founding director of the Yoga in Health Care Alliance. Committed to bringing yoga into health systems, she has also taught in medical schools, educating future doctors in integrating yoga into treatment, created the first mind-body medicine course on USA’s first Master of Science degree in Yoga Therapy at the Maryland University of Integrated Health, developed various programmes for yoga’s integration in healthcare, and continues to lecture at various universities on this topic. Heather is the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Yoga in Society in the UK. She is an RYT-500 and C-IAYT; holds MAs in psychotherapy and Buddhist Studies and an MS in Medical Physiology; and has done extensive study in neuroscience. She is also the co-editor of the core text for yoga’s in mental healthcare, “Yoga for Mental Health” and “Yoga on Prescription”.
