Professional Development Training in BodyDreaming®
BodyDreaming is an embodied practice that helps to ground psychotherapy, and ensoul somatic practice. BodyDreaming offers a unique combination of the psychology of C.G. Jung, BodySoul Rhythms® of Marion Woodman, the trauma therapy Somatic Experiencing of Peter Levine, Neuroscience, Attachment and Developmental Theory.
The training programme is anchored in Marian Dunlea’s book, BodyDreaming in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: An Embodied Therapeutic Approach. The work is experientially based and allows participants to learn the somatic skills necessary to follow and regulate the currents of the Autonomic Nervous System that is so challenged in these extraordinary times.
We draw on Jung’s vision of the Self, a guiding intelligence which Jung says must be rooted in the body. The autonomic nervous system prompts and feeds the mythopoetic. The inner world of the psyche, dreams and images resonates in the cells, in the tissue, in the organs, in the musculature, in the bones of the body.
The BodyDreaming training is designed for those interested in healing, the arts, and living well – ecologists, psychologists, psychotherapists, somatic therapists, coaches, artists and creative minds.
Learning the skills needed to titrate emotional overwhelm deepens our sense of rootedness in our bodies and our surroundings. The capacity to regulate our systems is key to working with all manner of trauma. It supports us to experience life with greater ease and pleasure, to connect with our dreams, the mythopoetic and the symbolic. Jung and Marion Woodman often quoted the saying ‘as above so below’, reminding us that the macrocosm of the universe is mirrored in the microcosm of our physiology and psyche.
Here is Marian talking about BodyDreaming at a recent #withUkrainianJungians seminar: https://youtu.be/655Loti2s6Y – alongside Olena Brante; Marian is about 1 hour in.
Marian offers BodyDreaming supervision groups focusing on the embodied countertransference. She has been working with a group of Ukrainian Jungian therapists and analysts since the early months of the war in Ukraine; feedback from one of these groups reads:
“ I am writing on behalf of the Development Group and Ukrainian psychologists working with the massive consequences of war and ecocide in Ukraine.
Requirements and Recommendations
The BodyDreaming training is based on modules taught over a 3-year period, 3 modules per year.
In order to receive the Certificate of Completion participants are required to participate in all 9 modules, which will be held online. In addition, participants are strongly recommended to attend an in-person BodyDreaming / BodySoul workshop – either mask or fairy tale.
Each of the 9 modules builds incrementally on the previous one. If you have missed previous modules, you will be offered the opportunity to watch recordings of the previous module before participating in the next, once you have registered. However, before final completion, you will be required to attend the modules you have missed.
The training weekend will comprise of theory and practice, experiential learning and embodied practice sessions, dream work, movement, voice work, ritual and art. We will work in large group sessions and in small break-out practice sessions. We have a large group of assistants providing containment and guidance for the small break out practice sessions. Each small break-out group will have an assistant present.
The faculty, Marian Dunlea and Abigail Whyte, will be joined on a rotation basis by one or two assistant faculty for each module.
We recommend that you have at least one personal session with one of the Assistants or an approved Provider in between each module. For completion we require that you have a minimum of 8 personal sessions over the three year period.
We also recommend that you form practice/study groups where you can practice the exercises and read the material together to build understanding and gain experience. Some groups may wish to invite an Assistant to guide their learning – that is the choice of each group.
Cycle 2 Module Dates
2025
Feb. 7th-9th
June 6th-8th
Sep. 19-21st
Dec. 5th-7th
2026
Feb. 6-8th
June 5-7th
Sep. 18th-20th
Dec. 4th-6th
2027
Feb. 5th-7th
Core Faculty for the Training
Marian Dunlea, M.Sc., IAAP, ICP, is a Jungian analyst who has been leading workshops internationally for the past 20 years integrating body, mind and soul. With the development of her unique approach BodyDreaming®, Marian’s work has expanded to incorporate the developments in neuroscience, trauma therapy with Jungian psychology and the phenomenological standpoint of interconnectedness. Her trainings include Jungian Analysis, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Psychosynthesis, Infant Observation, BodySoul Rhythms® and Somatic Experiencing. Marian is head of training for BodySoul Europe, sister organization of the Marion Woodman Foundation. She is the author of BodyDreaming in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: An Embodied Therapeutic Approach, Gradiva Award 2019, IAJS Book Award 2020.
Abigail Whyte is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist (C.Clin.Psychol.,Ps.SI). She has worked as a Clinical Psychologist since 1991 with young people and their families in public mental health services in Ireland. She is an experienced clinical psychology supervisor, and has been involved with both University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin D.Clin.Psych Clinical Psychology Training programmes. Abigail finished her training as a Somatic Experiencing /Trauma Practitioner (SETI) in 2015 and has been working as an SEP in private practice in Dublin since then. She is a graduate of the Marion Woodman BodySoul Rhythms Training Programme (www.marionwoodmanfoundation.org) and has been facilitating regular BodySoul groups in Dublin since 2013.
In addition, each Module will have a 3rd Faculty member trained in BodyDreaming® or BodySoul Rhythms®.
For inquiries and further information contact bodydreaming@gmail.com