Das Body Psychotherapy Festival SOMA bietet eine bereichernde Umgebung zum Lernen, Teilen und persönlichen Wachstum. Durch die Zusammenführung führender Experten, Praktiker, Studenten und Enthusiasten in einem dynamischen Raum erleichtert das Festival die Erkundung der tiefgreifenden Vorteile der Körperpsychotherapie. SOMA fördert eine Gemeinschaft, die sich dem ganzheitlichen Wohlbefinden und der psychischen Gesundheit widmet.
The Body Psychotherapy Festival SOMA provides an enriching environment for learning, sharing, and personal growth. By bringing together leading experts, practitioners, students, and enthusiasts in a dynamic space, the festival facilitates the exploration of body psychotherapy's profound benefits. SOMA fosters a community dedicated to holistic well-being and mental health.
SOMA möchte ein Treffpunkt für Körperpsychotherapeuten sein und einen Wandel hin zu einer stärker verkörperten Gesellschaft anregen, in der der Einzelne tief mit seinem physischen und emotionalen Selbst verbunden ist. Wir stellen uns eine Welt vor, in der die Prinzipien der Körperpsychotherapie weithin anerkannt und in alltägliche Gesundheitspraktiken integriert werden und so zu einer gesünderen, bewussteren und widerstandsfähigeren globalen Gemeinschaft beitragen.
Team/Speakers
All events in the official program of the festival will be conducted entirely in English
Matthew Appleton
Body Psychotherapist and
Co-Founder of Conscious Embodiment Trainings
Matthew Appleton is an expert in the fields of Body Psychotherapy, Craniosacral Therapy, and Core Process Psychotherapy, with over three decades of experience. He is the co-founder of Conscious Embodiment Trainings and founded Integrative Baby Therapy (IBT), a somatic and relational therapeutic approach that works directly with the prenatal and birth memories of babies.
More than 400 professionals, such as psychotherapists, osteopaths, midwives and paediatricians, have graduated internationally in IBT. Alongside the IBT trainings and his private practice in Bristol, England, Matthew runs experiential workshops for adults, which address how pre- and perinatal experiences shape emotional, physical, and psychological well-being.
Matthew’s journey into therapeutic work began at the famed Summerhill School, where he served as a houseparent, fostering children’s natural capacity for growth and emotional expression. His therapeutic approach is enriched by years of study in Buddhist and Indigenous traditions, creating a unique synthesis of spirituality, bodywork, and psychology.
His books ‘A Free Range Childhood. Self-Regulation at Summerhill School’ (1999) and ’Transitions to Wholeness. Integrating Prenatal, Transpersonal and Somatic Psychology’ (2020) have been translated into several languages. He is passionate about helping people explore how early life events influence their present experiences and equipping therapists with tools to support healing at every stage of life. His workshops, offered both in the UK and internationally, bring together profound insights into the interconnectedness of the body, mind, and spirit.
Merete Holm Brantbjerg
psychomotor trainer & co-creator of Bodynamic Analysis
Merete Holm Brantbjerg is an innovative psychomotor trainer and a co-creator of Bodynamic Analysis. With a career spanning nearly 40 years, Merete has spent the last two decades developing Relational Trauma Therapy, an approach that bridges psychomotor techniques, neurocentric skill training, and group systems to support trauma recovery.
Her methodology focuses on regulating hypo-states—areas of the body and mind that become under-responsive due to trauma. By creating systems of mutual regulation, her work helps individuals access and process emotions and experiences that have been held in dissociation.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Merete leads workshops and training programs both in-person and online for therapists across the globe. Her work is known for being deeply practical, innovative, and grounded in compassion, offering valuable tools for integrating body awareness into trauma therapy.
Stefan Ide
Body Psychotherapist, Chairman of the DGK
Prof. Maurizio Stupiggia is a world-renowned body psychotherapist, author, and academic, best known as the co-founder of Biosystemic Psychotherapy. This innovative approach combines bodywork, psychoanalysis, and family therapy into an integrative model, earning recognition as a university specialization by the Italian government.
As a professor at the University of Milano and former faculty member at the Universities of Bologna and Genoa, Prof. Stupiggia bridges the worlds of academia and clinical practice. His work extends far beyond the classroom, with decades of experience supporting trauma recovery in survivors of natural disasters, refugees, and other marginalized groups.
Through collaborations with the Italian Ministry of Health, Prof. Stupiggia has helped develop programs for immigrant integration and post-trauma recovery. He has also supervised psychotherapists working with African women refugees who have survived war and abuse.
An international trainer, he teaches in Europe, Japan, and South America and has authored influential books such as La Terapia Biosistemica and Il Corpo Violato. His contributions continue to shape the field of body psychotherapy, offering profound insights into healing, resilience, and the role of emotions in human connection.
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D.
Creator of the Polyvagal Theory.
Stephen W. Porges is a trailblazer in understanding the connection between the nervous system, emotions, and social behavior. He serves as Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he founded the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is also a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and holds emeritus positions at the University of Illinois and the University of Maryland.
Dr. Porges is renowned for introducing the Polyvagal Theory, a groundbreaking framework that links the evolution of the autonomic nervous system to behavior, mental health, and trauma responses. This theory has transformed how clinicians understand conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, and autism, leading to innovative treatments that enhance safety, regulation, and social engagement.
With over 400 peer-reviewed articles to his name, Dr. Porges has also authored influential books like The Polyvagal Theory and Polyvagal Safety. He developed the Safe and Sound Protocol™ (SSP), a widely used therapeutic intervention that combines music and neuroscience to improve emotional resilience and communication. As a former president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Dr. Porges continues to inspire therapists and researchers worldwide with his compassionate approach to healing.
Marc Rackelmann
Body Psychotherapist & couples therapist, Vice Chairman of DGK
Marc is a body psychotherapist and couples therapist based in Berlin (ECP). He holds a diploma in Political Science and wrote his dissertation on Wilhelm Reich and the Sex-Pol movement.
As a trainer and supervisor in body psychotherapy and couples therapy, Marc is the author of several professional articles and the popular book on male sexuality, Make Love – das Männerbuch.
In addition to his trainings, he leads workshops for men and alongside his wife Michaela, for couples. He has trained in couples and sex therapy with David Schnarch and in Integrative Baby Therapy with Mathew Appleton.
Marc serves as the Vice Chairman of the German Association for Body Psychotherapy (DGK) and is a Board member of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP). He is also part of the editorial board responsible for a new edition of Wilhelm Reich’s books in Germany.
Bettina Schroeter
Body Psychotherapist,
Board Member of the DGK
With over four decades of experience, Bettina Schroeter is a senior trainer in transformative body psychotherapy, blending movement, breathwork, voice, and emotional expression to unlock vitality and creativity. As the founder of a pioneering training center, she has helped shape the evolution of body psychotherapy and continues to mentor practitioners in Berlin, Germany.
Bettina’s therapeutic work is grounded in a rich academic foundation, with qualifications in pedagogy, sociology, and psychology. Her extensive training includes disciplines such as biodynamic psychology, biosynthesis, trauma therapy, and transpersonal psychotherapy, with influences from luminaries like David Boadella, Gerda and Ebba Boyesen, Stanislav Grof and Wolf Büntig.
Drawing inspiration from Eastern spiritual traditions, Bettina has studied Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanic traditions, weaving transpersonal dimensions into her practice and training. Her work emphasizes building a deeper, lasting friendship with oneself and life, helping clients transform personal struggles into sources of resilience and joy.
An active member of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP), Bettina has contributed to its 1. Ethics Committee and the Forum and serves since more than a decade in the Board of the DGK. Her presentations at international congresses on transpersonal psychology and body psychotherapy have inspired therapists to integrate essential elements of Reichian BPT and transpersonal dimensions into their practices. She is an author of several articles addressing neglected gender aspects in BPT and an editor of a book about aspects of female embodiment.
Kathrin Stauffer, Ph.D.
President of EABP
Kathrin Stauffer PhD, UKCP Registered Body Psychotherapist, is the author of ‘Emotional Neglect and the Adult in Therapy: Lifelong Consequences to a Lack of Early Attunement’ (W.W. Norton 2020). She was born and educated in Switzerland. Originally a research biochemist, she retrained at the Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy. She lives in Cambridge and works in private practice as a body and humanistic psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner, trainer and supervisor. Currently she is the President of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy EABP. www.stauffer.co.uk
Prof. Maurizio Stupiggia
Body Psychotherapist, Co-Founder of Biosystemic Psychotherapy
Stefan Ide is a psychologist and licensed psychotherapist specializing in integrative body psychotherapy, horse-assisted psychotherapy, and trauma therapy.
Since 2020, he has served as the 1st Chairman of the German Society for Body Psychotherapy (DGK). He is a teaching therapist at the Institute for Body Psychotherapy Berlin (IFK) and a lecturer at Sigmund Freud University Berlin (SFU).
Stefan leads the Centro Delfino practice in Berlin Charlottenburg as well as a health insurance-approved practice in Oranienburg. He lives in a small town in Brandenburg, Germany, on a horse and cattle farm where he integrates body psychotherapy with animal-assisted psychotherapy, particularly working with horses.
Dive into a transformative journey at SOMA, where mind, body, and spirit converge. Our festival is a vibrant celebration of holistic wellbeing, blending therapeutic experiences, bodywork, groundbreaking lectures and a thriving community to nurture your entire being.
