Applied Somatic Counselling Skills for Helping Professionals

4-Day Live Online Training | 35 Hours

An invitation to deepen your presence

How do you support another person without trying to fix them?

How do you stay present with what is happening in the moment, while creating a space where someone feels safe enough to explore their own experience?

Applied Somatic Counselling Skills is an experiential training for professionals who want to deepen their therapeutic communication through the wisdom of the body.

Rather than learning techniques to change people, we explore how genuine presence, embodied awareness, and compassionate listening can become the foundation of meaningful therapeutic relationships.

This training invites you to slow down, become curious, and discover how counselling skills can naturally emerge from an embodied way of being.

Who is this training for?

This module is designed for professionals who work with people in health, wellbeing, or body-based practices, including:

• Yoga Therapists (in training or certified)
• Yoga teachers wishing to deepen into therapeutic work
• Coaches and counsellors
• Physiotherapists and healthcare professionals
• Bodyworkers and other helping professionals

If you are looking for a trauma-sensitive, relational, and embodied approach to communication, this training will offer practical skills that can immediately enrich your work.

During this training you will learn to

• communicate from presence rather than from problem-solving
• build trust through deep listening, silence, and invitational language
• recognise transference and body image sensitivities with care
• create safety as the foundation for therapeutic change
• understand the scope of Somatic Counselling in relation to Psychotherapy
• work skilfully with timing, boundaries, and therapeutic touch
• integrate somatic awareness into your professional practice

What you can expect

This is a highly experiential training. Together we create a warm, supportive learning environment where theory and practice naturally come together.

The programme includes:

• Live online teaching with Esther van der Sande
• Guided experiential exercises
• Small group practice sessions
• Personal feedback and supervision
• Reflection and integration
• Real-life case discussions
• Access to the recordings after the training
• Access to an international learning community

Every part of the training is offered from a trauma-sensitive perspective, honouring each participant’s own pace, choice, and experience.

Training Format

35 hours

• Four live online training days
• One supported self-study day with an online check-in
• English spoken
• Interactive teaching, partner practice, and group reflection

Dates

Applied Somatic Counselling Skills — May 2027

• Friday, May 21
• Saturday, May 22
• Sunday, May 23 — Self-study Day
• Friday, May 28 — Final Training Day

Training hours

09:30 – 16:30 (Netherlands time / CET)

Please note that the daily schedule may be adjusted slightly to support the pace and needs of the group.

Investment

€500 excluding 21% VAT
€605 including VAT

Both prices are displayed because participants may register either privately or through their organisation. An invoice will be sent automatically after registration.

Meet Your Trainer

Esther van der Sande is a trauma therapist, trainer, mentor, and lecturer in Applied Psychology with more than twenty years of experience working with individuals, professionals, and organisations.

She is the founder of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Nederland, a licensed Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) trainer for the Benelux, and a mentor within the international TCTSY Certification Program. Esther’s work integrates somatic psychotherapy, and trauma-sensitive practice, creating learning environments where safety, curiosity, and embodied awareness support meaningful growth. Throughout this training, Esther combines practical experience with compassionate guidance, inviting participants to deepen not only their professional skills but also their own embodied presence.

This training is more than professional development. It is an invitation to cultivate a way of meeting yourself and others with greater presence, curiosity, and care. Because lasting change rarely begins with fixing. It begins with feeling safe enough to be fully met.