Raja Selvam, PhD

Dr. Raja Selvam, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and the developer of Integral Somatic Psychology™ (ISP™), an innovative somatic therapy that helps clients fully embody their emotions to achieve optimal mental health. With over 25 years of teaching experience in more than 20 countries, Dr. Selvam is a renowned senior trainer at Dr. Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing® International and an Honorary Member of the Board of Directors of the Bodynamic Institute.

Dr. Selvam’s work draws from multiple Western and Eastern psychological, somatic, energetic, and spiritual approaches, including body psychotherapy systems such as Reichian Therapy, Bioenergetic Analysis, Bodynamic Analysis, and Somatic Experiencing, and bodywork systems such as Postural Integration and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. He also incorporates 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.

His book, The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Guide for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes, is currently being translated into multiple languages, and his therapeutic approach has been shown to shorten therapy treatment times internationally. Dr. Selvam’s work is ideal for therapists in all modalities who seek innovative, research-backed ways to help patients self-regulate and enjoy a wider range of emotional experiences.

Dr. Selvam’s trauma outreach work in India in 2005-2006 with survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and his work in Sri Lanka in 2012-2014 with survivors of war, violence, loss, and displacement, along with mental health professionals engaged in treating them, inform his practice. With his unique blend of experience, expertise, and innovation, Dr. Raja Selvam is a leading voice in the field of somatic psychology.