The heart is a primary organ of transformation of self, other, and the world. It is the organ of connection and relationship. Beyond anatomy, the heart is a quality of energy, a feeling, a symbol, and a way of being. This fact informs a therapist to perceive, soften, and open his or her own heart qualities as an essential part of the therapeutic work. Heart is a reality that impacts us on many levels and is always present in personal life and in deep therapeutic work, whether we consciously recognize this or not. With the current lens of psychotherapeutic thinking and theory so actively focused on neuroscience, the significance of the heart is often overshadowed or lost. This course will address the question, “How can an individual deepen into life and relationship through the potency of the heart?” and “How can a therapist utilize this central role of the heart in deepening the therapeutic process?”

In this course, we will explore physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual manifestations of heart. We will explore tracking, assessing, and engaging heart at all stages of the personal and therapeutic process. We will make use of the qualities of awareness, connection, compassion, kindness, gratitude, and acceptance. Therapeutic interventions utilizing the heart will be studied and practiced.

This program is part of the Embodied Psychology Association (EPA) certificate program in Mindful, Relational Somatic Psychology. The EPA, founded in 1995 by Joanna Chartrand and Dyrian Benz, PsyD, is an informal affiliation of experts, practitioners, and innovators. The EPA certificate program is a series of courses inspired by a graduate level curriculum in mindful, relational, somatic psychology.

For more workshop information, including pricing and continuing education credit eligibility, please go to the following links.


CEUs available for psychologists.
CEUs available for MFTs and LCSWs.

Reservations Information (Accommodations & Pricing)