Personal & Professional Background

Michael Soth is registered and accredited through his professional association CABP with UKCP, the national association for psychotherapy in the UK. This is not yet a legal requirement, but a voluntary arrangement, although most psychotherapists follow it. Some therapists oppose statutory regulation (certainly the one currently proposed), for coherent reasons (further info ...). Michael is also a paid-up member of EABP, the European Association for Body Psychotherapy. He is also listed in various directories, including:

I have been working as a psychotherapist with individuals since 1986 (most years at an average of between 550 and 750 sessions, more in recent years). I am UKCP registered and insured through my professional association CABP.

Training

My original training was in Body Psychotherapy at the Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy, Ealing, West London (1984 - 1987). This training was largely humanistic, comprising the spectrum of neo-Reichian approaches including Biodynamic Psychology as well as Gestalt.

Since then, my own ongoing therapy and extensive further training have taken me into Jungian and psychoanalytic perspectives, as well as Process-oriented Psychology and Bert Hellinger's constellations. I have maintained a fairly high level of 'Continuing Professional Development' and have both published articles and papers as well as participated in many conferences. I regularly teach weekends and run advanced training seminars for professionals.

For 15 years (1992-2007) I worked as Training Director at the Chiron Centre and taught the 3rd-year module (known as "Charge in the Therapeutic Relationship") on the Body Psychotherapy training (this has only come to an end recently, as the directors of Chiron, my colleagues Bernd Eiden and Jochen Lude, are winding the organisation down due to retirement). There I was privileged to be involved in the high intensity and passionate engagement of an extraordinary and creative phase of development in the history of Body Psychotherapy. Amongst other things, it is my learning during these years which has taken my practice forward, hopefully to the benefit of those I work with. See the forthcoming book, edited by Linda Hartley, for which I contributed a chapter on the development of Chiron work.

Professional Innovation

In the profession I am known for attempting to address the original and historical wounds and shadow aspects of the Body Psychotherapy tradition, as well as pioneering a re-integration between Body Psychotherapy and psychoanalytic and relational thinking. These integrations and developments have led to the formulation of some new and original concepts which shed light on the inherent paradoxes of the therapeutic endeavour - some of my writing over the last few years has focussed on these themes. I also draw on a wide range of techniques from other approaches, thus bringing a refreshing bodymind perspective and integral-relational thinking to them. More about my approach to psychotherapy ...

I am also known for applying Body Psychotherapy to psychological work with psychosomatic symptom and illness, and have developed a comprehensive and unique approach in this area.

Most of my work tends to be in-depth and long-term (over several years), but I am open to short-term arrangements. I also have a fairly wide network of diverse practitioners in Oxfordshire whose work I am familiar with through training and supervision and who I make referrals to (see Assessment & Referral Service).