Santa Barbara Graduate Institute offers MA, PhD, and Certificate programs in Clincial, Somatic, and Pre- and Perinatal Psychology within both Distance Formats and Monthly-On-Campus Formats.

The foundations of psychology are shifting as new information arises from diverse fields such as quantum physics, neurobiology, infant mental health and complementary medicine. Our current knowledge of trauma, early attachment, and brain development is changing psychotherapeutic practice. A new synergy is being created as leading-edge science, ancient wisdom and concepts of spirituality coalesce.

This new research and clinical practice puts Santa Barbara Graduate Institute (SBGI) on the forefront of the next wave of consciousness, health and body-mind-spirit healing. We see an increasing need for professionals equipped with knowledge, skills and vision to help sculpt this new territory.

Within the context of clinical psychology, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute offers comprehensive, integrated graduate programs in the dynamic fields of somatic psychology and prenatal and perinatal psychology. Our weekend and distance formats make it possible for students and faculty from all over the world to gather and hone the tools for these emerging, vital disciplines.

Please visit www.sbgi.edu, then call us at 805.963.6896 so that we may explore your interests.

Santa Barbara Graduate Institute gathers a community of distinguished faculty—pioneers, leading-edge practitioners and researchers—and mature adult learners who work together to bring scientific rigor and the latest theoretical knowledge to the practice of clinical, pre- and perinatal, and somatic psychology. Consult the SBGI website for a complete list of current faculty.

Faculty includes: Susan Aposhyan, MA; Christine Caldwell, PhD; Raymond Castellino, DC; David Chamberlain, PhD; Dyrian Benz-Chartrand, PsyD; William Emerson, PhD; Marti Glenn, PhD; Jill Kern, PhD; Aline LaPierre, PsyD; Peter Levine, PhD; Bobbi Jo (“B.J.”) Lyman, PhD; Wendy Anne McCarty, PhD; Stella Resnick, PhD; Allan Schore, PhD; Judith Schore, PhD; Raja Selvam, PhD; Michael Shea, PhD; Michael Seick, PhD; Paula Thomson, PsyD; Thomas Verny, MD; Judyth O. Weaver, PhD and other renowned scholars.

We provide synergistic education that nurtures the innate wisdom of the whole person, the development of their strengths, knowledge and skills and the expression of their unique contributions in the world.

Santa Barbara Graduate Institute offers several formats for graduate study: The original programs that meet on campus one weekend per month throughout the year; Professional Specialty Programs (PSP) that meet on campus for two one-week sessions annually; a Somatic Psychology Certificate Program co-sponsored by and held at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and the Distance Learning Certificate Program in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology.

For further information and to browse or download the Academic Catalog
Visit our website www.sbgi.edu

The admissions process focuses on the student’s potential to succeed in his or her chosen program. Emphasis is placed on the student’s capacity for self-reflection, intellectual curiosity, mature scholarship, and an ability to contribute to and benefit from a community experience. Students must have a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited or state approved institution. No GRE is required. PhD program applicants may possess a Master’s Degree or a Bachelor’s Degree. The Institute welcomes all qualified persons and does not discriminate in any of its admission policies or procedures, or any other academic activities.

Earn doctoral credit while participating in a professional training program.

To meet the growing demand for specialization in specific therapeutic modalities and flexibility in educational programs, SBGI brings together state-of-the-art professional training with solid academic programs that fulfill requirements for graduate degrees as well as clinical licensure, where desired.

Students in Professional Specialty Programs take up to 18-quarter units with approved training institutions. In addition, they take their core courses through a hybrid format in which part of the coursework is completed via distance learning and part takes place on campus at SBGI during two six-day (for non-clinical) or two eight-day (for clinical) sessions per year.

Degrees offered through the Professional Specialty Programs:

MA or PhD in Clinical Psychology

(specialty in prenatal and perinatal psychology)

MA or PhD in Clinical Psychology

(specialty in somatic psychology)

MA or PhD in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology

MA or PhD in Somatic Psychology

Visit www.sbgi.edu for approved PSP training programs.

The Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology Programs focus on how our earliest developmental experiences shape our relationships and lives. Students learn about conception, life in the womb, birth and bonding and how these impact our physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual selves. Important components of the curriculum include the latest developments in embryology, neurobiology, attachment theory, trauma therapies and the origins of psychopathology. Classes highlight extraordinary new discoveries, and students learn how to do groundbreaking clinical work and research.

These programs provide an exquisite opportunity for students to help babies get the best foundation possible. The programs also prepare our students to help clients at any life stage ameliorate less than optimal beginnings. At SBGI, we train toward work in treatment and prevention modalities with families, infants, children and adults. Graduates can apply their skills in a broad range of professions, including education, infant mental health, individual and family therapy, obstetrics and midwifery, to name a few.

Choose your format:

On campus one weekend per month,

two one-week sessions on campus per year (PSP)

or distance learning certificate.

Degree Programs:

MA and PhD degrees in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology

MA and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology (specialty in prenatal and perinatal psychology)

Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology
Distance Learning Program

This self-paced and self-directed distance learning program is designed to meet the needs of professionals, including childbirth educators, lactation consultants, parenting coaches, doulas, nurses, midwives, caseworkers, infant/child/family therapists and psychologists. It provides a solid foundation in the field of prenatal and perinatal psychology. It may be taken for a professional certificate or for credit toward a graduate degree as part of the Professional Specialty Programs.

Visit www.sbgi.edu for more information about Distance Learning Programs.

The Somatic Psychology Programs bring the body, somatic awareness, and personal experience into the foreground of psychotherapeutic inquiry and training. These programs are based on successful, established psychological/somatic practices, contemporary psychotherapy, the latest research findings and time-honored skills from the global wisdom traditions. Our focus is on the integration of body, soul and self.

From a somatic psychology perspective, life experiences are embodied experiences; breath flow, movement habits, musculature tone, cognitive style, affective expression and relational patterns are shaped by past and present. The somatic psychology curriculum emphasizes study and research within fields of biopsychology, affective neuroscience, energy medicine, attachment and early development. This provides graduates unique expertise and a specialized role within the field of psychology. Students learn to integrate body, mind and spiritual practices and to incorporate these into their professional lives in a personally meaningful way.

Become an effective therapist and educator grounded in a firm understanding of the person as an essential embodiment of mental, emotional, social and spiritual life.

Choose your format:

On campus one weekend per month

two one-week sessions on campus per year (PSP)

or certificate programs at Esalen Institute.

Degree Programs:

MA or PhD in Somatic Psychology

MA or PhD in Clinical Psychology (specialty in somatic psychology)

Embodied Psychotherapy:
Relational Somatic Psychology Training
at Esalen Institute

This training, which is designed to meet the needs of professionals and practitioners, provides a solid foundation in somatic psychology. It may be taken for a professional certificate or for credit toward a PhD as part of the Professional Specialty Programs.

Visit www.sbgi.edu for more information.