INTRODUCING
THE 
UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION FOR BODY PSYCHOTHERAPY

Welcome! We appreciate your interest in our professional organization. The USABP is the only national organization of its kind in the USA. We are a practitioner-centered, member-driven association that is committed to the goals of organizing, representing and shaping the emerging profession of Body Psychotherapy.

The USABP was founded in June 1996 by a steering committee of 20 clinicians and trainers representing most of the major modalities of the field. In April 1997, the USABP was incorporated as a nonprofit and the first Board of Directors was organized in September 1998.

Body Psychotherapy is an expansive field that draws from many eras and traditions -- the ancient traditions of intuitive and natural healing, the somatic psychotherapies developed by Wilhelm Reich and others, the American Dance Therapy tradition, the psychoanalytic field, and the more modern traditions of Humanistic, Existential, and Phenomenological psychology. The growing interest in holism and alternative and complementary medicine by society and the health care system underscores the need for healing the mind-body split -- which is the hallmark of our field -- and reflects the expanding interest in Body Psychotherapy. Our intention as an organization is to meet this new environment that we have helped create with greater self-awareness, greater unity and a more professional approach to our position and contributions. To this end, we wish to raise the profile of Body Psychotherapy within the health care and psychotherapy fields and within society as a whole. Internally, we seek to open discussion among modalities and schools of Body Psychotherapy, creating a language and a practice that distills the most effective elements from the diverse approaches to "embodiment" represented in our membership.

As a member-driven, volunteer-run organization, all of USABP's activities are generated by "us." The main policy making body is the 12-person Board of Directors, with day to day operations overseen by the Executive Committee of the Board. Organizational activity and development is carried out by the following committees: Ethics, Membership, Research, Communications, Conference, and Stategic Planning; as well as the Journal and Newsletter editors.

Thank you for your interest in our efforts. We are a growing and developing activist organization and we need the sustained interest and energy of all our members to succeed. If you are interested in USABP membership, please click here. For additional information about USABP, please click on one of the links below:

USABP Mission and Goals - Our guiding statements about USABP's purpose

Ethical Guidelines - USABP Professional Standards (PDF file - requires Acrobat PDF reader to view)

USA Body Psychotherapy Journal - The official journal of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy

Awards - USABP National Award Winners

Academic Council - [future article]

Contact USABP - Click here to send us your interests, ideas, and questions