Episode 78 - Conversations with Raja Selvam

Touching Into Presence

Today's conversation is with Raja Selvam, PhD.

Raja is a licensed clinical psychologist, is the developer of Integral Somatic Psychology™ (ISP™), an effective somatic therapy that helps clients achieve optimal mental health by fully embodying their emotions.

His book The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Guide for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes is currently being translated into several languages.

Dr. Selvam is also a senior trainer at Dr. Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing® International. He has taught for twenty-five years in over twenty countries in North and South Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Far East.

Dr. Selvam’s work is informed by older body psychotherapy systems of Reichian Therapy and Bioenergetic Analysis, newer body psychotherapy systems of Bodynamic Analysis and Somatic Experiencing, and bodywork systems of Postural Integration and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.

His work is also inspired by Jungian and archetypal psychologies, Kleinian and intersubjective schools of psychoanalysis, affective neuroscience, quantum physics, yoga, Polarity Therapy, and Advaita Vedanta (a spiritual psychology from India).

Dr. Selvam’s work also draws upon his clinical psychology PhD dissertation on Advaita Vedanta and Jungian psychology, based on which he has published an article titled “Jung and Consciousness,” in the international analytical psychology journal Spring in 2013.

In today’s talk we talked about what brought Raja to where he is today. We discussed topics from Raja’s book “The Practice of Embodying Emotions,” the interconnection between the mind, body, and environment in the context of psychology. We explored the complex relationship between pain and pleasure in the human brain, the role of defenses in shaping emotional experiences, and the effectiveness of Somatic Experiencing as a trauma modality. We also discussed the importance of accepting and managing life's difficulties, the integration of Eastern psychology into our approaches

You can learn more about Raja at https://integralsomaticpsychology.com/

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You can find more about Andrew at http://andrewrosenstock.com and http://RolfingInBoston.com

Many thanks to Explorers Society for use of their song " All In" from their majestic album 'Spheres' Please check them out here https://open.spotify.com/album/1plT1lAPWEQ1oTRbWOiXm3?si=eAL08OJdT5-sJ6FwwZD50g