The diploma programme is an integrated programme that was developed through Linda Hartley’s therapeutic and somatic approach of engaging body, mind, soul and spirit. It aims to support the unfolding of process through the body, and the cultivation of awareness, clarity and compassion in the therapeutic relationship.
The IBMT Diploma Programme is being offered in England, Russia and Lithuania. Our program maintains the high standards of an Approved Training Program of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA). Our graduates meet all requirements to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators (RSME) and Therapist (RSMT).
If you are interested in the UK Diploma Programme, we run introductory workshops in the months before a module starts and you could take a series of 1:1 sessions with a practitioner to learn more about the approach.
If you are interested in training with us, please join our mailing list and link up via social media to receive information about future events and see our workshop page for introductory workshops. Our next intake for new students is in September 2024, beginning with Infant Movement Development. Please apply early – places limited and priority is given to those completing the whole diploma.
Click here for the Application Process
The Diploma consists of a programme of four Modules, that can be taken over three years.
Modules run in an academic year, beginning in the autumn. We offer the Infant Movement Development module alongside the Authentic Movement module, the first half of Embodied Anatomy takes an academic year on its own, and then we offer the second half of the Embodied Anatomy alongside Somatic Psychology.
There are three entry points for the diploma. ie. the Infant Movement Development module, Authentic Movement module and Embodied Anatomy module. If you have not worked with us before you are required to attend one of our introductory workshops before applying to join the programme. The Somatic Psychology Module requires you to have taken a previous module with us or have an equivalent somatic movement training.
Please scroll to the bottom of this page for details of the content of the Modules, along with current dates, cost and venue.
As well as attendance at all Modules, some home study will be required. The primary focus of the training is embodied practice, so participants will be expected to engage in personal movement and peer practice between seminars. Reading lists will be given at the start of each Module, as support for the experiential learning.
Trainees will be required to submit a written paper each year of training and after all Modules have been completed, a written case study and video of a practice session will be required for the final assessment. Unless it is incorporated into one of the modules, there is also an additional Presentation Weekend when students offer to their peers a presentation on an aspect of the training that they are developing or applying in their work. The weekend costs approximately £170).
If you are interested in the full Diploma:
To gain the ISMETA Approved Diploma in Integrative Bodywork & Movement Therapy practitioners need to complete:
- all Modules.
- a written paper each year of study.
- 1 hour a week practicing hands-on work.
- 1 hour a week movement practice.
- some background reading – reading lists are provided at the start of each module.
- a journal of your experience during and between courses for your own reflections.
- regular individual IBMT sessions with an IBMT practitioner (a minimum of 24 from students graduating after 2022), so think of 6 in a year over the 3 years, plus 6 while you are completing your case study. Payments arranged between student and practitioner.
- Offer 6 IBMT sessions to a fellow student.
- A Presentation to the group sharing how you are, or hope to be, applying IBMT principles in a project or your work.
-
a case study, and film of a session (submitted in the 2 years after completing all modules).
-
We recommend that you have access to a Therapist for personal work as needed to help process and integrate material that may arise during the training.
- Receive supervision from a more experienced practitioner, or in peer supervision, once you begin to apply aspects of the work in your professional practice.
Further Details and a copy of the IBMT Handbook will be provided at the start of the course.
In preparation, you may want to have a look at the following and see our ‘Publications Page‘:
- Wisdom of the Body Moving – Linda Hartley – Particularly Relevant to Infant Movement Development and Embodied Anatomy.
- Somatic Psychology – Linda Hartley.
- Offering from the Conscious Body – The Discipline of Authentic Movement – Janet Adler.
- The Fluid Nature of Being – Embodied Practices for Healing and Wholeness – Edited by Linda Hartley (writings by 21 IBMT pracitioners)
Depending on your background and experience we may recommend you take some individual sessions with an IBMT Practitioner, or attend an IBMT workshop to gain some experience of the work.
For more information on each module, please click the links below:
Authentic Movement and Therapeutic Presence
Embodied Anatomy and Movement Re-patterning
IBMT is an approved training programme with ISMETA and successful graduates of the Diploma can apply to ISMETA for professional registration as a Somatic Movement Therapist and / or Educator.
You can read feedback from Diploma Graduates here.