Soul's Body: Active Imagination, Authentic Movement, and Embodiment in Psychotherapy

Author:   Tina Stromsted
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN:  

9781032885469


Pages:   274
Publication Date:   05 August 2025
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Not yet available   Availability explained
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

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Soul's Body: Active Imagination, Authentic Movement, and Embodiment in Psychotherapy


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Overview

Dr. Tina Stromsted introduces her Soul’s Body® approach in this extraordinary volume, engaging the body-psyche connection in psychotherapeutic work. Through compelling case studies, the author illustrates multidisciplinary concepts, therapeutic techniques, trauma-informed practices, and teaching guidelines essential for body-psyche-spirit healing. Stromsted’s method expands Authentic Movement, rooted in Jung’s Active Imagination approach, into a range of creative somatic practices within depth psychotherapy. Soul’s Body® fosters deeper self-awareness through bodily expression, dreamwork, creative imagination, empathic relationship, community engagement, and our connection with nature. This collection illuminates elements in the embodied healing process that can benefit professionals in the healing arts — Jungian analysts, clinicians, somatic psychotherapists, dancers, bodyworkers, artists, spiritual practitioners, and creative arts therapists. With over 45 years of clinical experience and decades of collaborations with pioneering clinicians Joan Chodorow, Janet Adler, Marion Woodman, and Stanley Keleman, Stromsted guides readers on an engaging journey toward conscious embodiment. This book is a welcome companion for anyone interested in Jungian depth work, embodied spirituality, and cultivating a vital, meaningful life.

Full Product Details

Author:   Tina Stromsted
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.453kg
ISBN:  

9781032885469


ISBN 10:   1032885467
Pages:   274
Publication Date:   05 August 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available   Availability explained
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1: Spirit in the Body: Beginnings 1. The Evolution of Soul’s Body Work 2. Healing Soul’s Body: Active Imagination in Movement Part 3: On the Journey: Core Elements 3. Embodied Imagination: From Emptiness to Form 4. Meeting the Shadow: Becoming More Whole 5. Witnessing Practice: Seeing and Being Seen 6. Reinhabiting the Body 7. Embodied Descent: Steps toward Transformation Part 3: Movement in Practice 8. The Moving Body in Psychotherapy 9. Working with Trauma: Awakening Psyche and Soma 10. Transforming Life: Movement as Meditation, Medicine, and Artistic Expression 11. Teaching Active Imagination in Movement with Neala Haze 12. Working with Authentic Movement in Groups Part 4: Embracing the Body, Healing the Soul 13. Embodied Alchemy: A Pathway to the Sacred 14. BodySoul Rhythms®: Marion Woodman and the Sacred Feminine 15. Dreamdancing®: Embodied Consciousness 16. Earth’s Body: Resonating with the Pulse of Life 17. Further Reflections and Looking Forward Glossary Resources

Reviews

'I have known and appreciated Tina Stromsted for many years and shared the podium with her in several major conferences, bringing together my own work on trauma’s defenses with her work on Authentic Movement. Here, she has collected important papers and presentations together with new material in the fine book you now hold in your hands. Her work has always been important to the field and is especially relevant now because we have finally come to understand that all trauma is an injury to the capacity to feel, and that early, unremembered trauma is encoded in the body where it remains inaccessible to rational or interpretive methods of psychotherapy. Learning how to work with the body on behalf of frozen or unconscious feelings is therefore crucial to the healing of early trauma, and Tina’s enlightening book explores many such methods and provides vivid case examples of her remarkable integrative healing approach. I highly recommend this book!' Donald Kalsched, PhD, Jungian analyst and author of Trauma and the Soul 'Over the years, Tina Stromsted, a pioneer in studies of somatic psychotherapy and scholar in Jungian theory, and I, in interpersonal neurobiology, have engaged in a mutually enriching interdisciplinary dialogue. We both share a common interest in the central themes of this remarkable book—the fundamental relationships between mind and body, the critical role of emotional processes, and the development of the unconscious mind. Other areas include trauma, metaphors, spontaneous gestures, and images, all essential processes of the right brain—the neurobiological locus of Jung’s anima, and the source of the feminine component of the personality. This remarkable book, the capstone of her prolific career, contains a treasure trove of fascinating case material and clinical wisdom. It is essential reading for anyone working with the deeper bodily-based strata of the human psyche.' Allan Schore, PhD, Neuroscientist and neuropsychoanalyst, author of The Right Brain and the Origin of Human Nature 'Soul’s Body is vital resource, blending Active Imagination, movement, and embodied practices with Jungian thought in ways that are profoundly applicable to our modern world. Whether you are a clinician, a health practitioner, a student, or someone seeking personal healing, you will find this book to be a wise and compassionate guide. Tina’s gentle yet penetrating curiosity invites you to join her exploration as she guides us in a living dance through a process of embodied consciousness—connecting us more deeply to ourselves, one another, and the Earth itself. I know of no one better to bring you this profoundly integrative healing work.' Joan Chodorow, PhD, Jungian analyst, author of Dance Therapy & Depth Psychology: The Moving Imagination 'You don’t have to be a dancer to explore the emotions, memories, and dreams trapped in the cells of your body. Soul’s Body invites the reader to tap into the story of your body through natural movement. Tina Stromsted has been a practitioner and teacher of Authentic Movement for decades, and this book charts her journey as well as the evolution of her integrative therapeutic approach. Through examples from her clinical practice with individuals and cross-cultural groups Tina demonstrates how following the imagination as it moves through the body heals the split between body and psyche. Soul’s Body is a masterpiece—a gift to us all, extensive in its scholarship and practical in its use.' Maureen Murdock, PhD, psychotherapist and author of The Heroine’s Journey 'You are truly fortunate to have in your hands this remarkably rich, creative, engaging synthesis of psyche and soma in transformative practices that transcends the usual therapeutic categories. Tina Stromsted masterfully returns an embodied, feminine intelligence to the world in the broadest sense. Personal, clinical, and environmental forms of healing are all explored in depth. A lifetime of gathering wisdom is alchemically distilled into this enlivening elixir of a book, to be savored and enjoyed repeatedly.' Joseph Cambray, PhD, IAAP, past-president/CEO, Pacifica Graduate Institute 'Tina Stromsted's long-awaited, beautifully written book is a valuable addition to the Jungian legacy that highlights the body's innate wisdom in analytic practice. Her case studies reflect her expertise and the attunement and care she provides to analysands and students on their individuation journeys. Decades of clinical experience, cross-cultural international teaching, and scholarship bear fruit in her integrative approach that combines somatic elements with the life of the psyche and the spirit. This collection offers a rich and creative perspective on embodiment, dreamwork, elements of group practice, and our essential resonance with nature.' Robert Hinshaw, PhD, Faculty, CG Jung Institute, Zürich; Publisher Daimon Verlag 'This book is a precious gift to us from a woman who has courageously followed the guidance of her heart. Drawing on Jung’s practice of active imagination and the experiences of mentors whose discoveries inspired her, this book is a symphony of her discoveries and the many creative practices she developed that heal both body and soul. Her approach offers a template for the teaching of moving and witnessing for adults, and in schools of the future where children could be taught the embodied wisdom our world needs.' Anne Baring, PhD, author of The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul, Divine Wisdom, and The Holy Spirit: The Forgotten Feminine Face of God 'This beautiful book, Soul's Body, by expert Somatic and Movement Psychotherapist Tina Stromsted, celebrates an amazing integration of several arenas of somatic work, including active imagination, dreamwork, authentic movement, and embodied psychotherapy. This work, the result of decades of clinical work, international teaching, and the publication of dozens of articles, provides an excellent guide for individuals and students in this rarely integrated field. It is well-designed, incredibly well-written, and contains many illustrative case vignettes. Backed up by detailed research references, this exceptional collection conveys her unique, subtle, yet powerful contributions to the various fields of professional work. Highly recommended!' Courtenay Young, UK Somatic (Body) Psychotherapist, editor and author 'Reading this collection enriches us with the author’s extensive knowledge and experience in depth-oriented embodied work. Here, Tina Stromsted explores the body as a vessel for memories and identity, drawing on renowned sources and detailed descriptions of the integrative work she has developed with individuals and groups. Her insights into conscious embodiment in the healing and growth process can benefit a range of professional disciplines!' Sharon Chaiklin, BC-DMT, Founding member of the American Dance Therapy Association, past president of the Marian Chace Foundation, co-editor of Dance and Creativity within Dance/Movement Therapy: International Perspectives with Hilda Wengrower 'Psychotherapy approaches limit their effectiveness when they fail to include the body, the soul, or the collective level of the psyche. In this rich book, the extremely talented, experienced, and creative Tina Stromsted makes significant theoretical and clinical contributions towards bridging the important links between the psyche, the body, the soul, and the collective and for embodying all levels of the psyche, through active imagination, authentic movement, and other embodiment tools. The book will be a valuable resource not only for Jungians but also for any therapist or lay person interested in ways to improve the outcomes of their work.' Dr. Raja Selvam, PhD, Senior trainer in Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing (SE) professional trauma training programs, the developer of Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP), and author of The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Guide for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes 'This book is a dance! It is a necessity: a multifaceted guide for those who have been wondering how to integrate movement and psyche to heal body, mind, soul, community, and Earth. Here you’ll find many compelling practices and experiences explored at a depth not easily found in books. Tina is a caring and supportive mentor whose guidance in this book can be used by someone who wants to explore but doesn’t easily have access to a personal teacher. This book will also be useful to more experienced practitioners, as her clinical examples reveal the potency of this body/mind integrative approach.' Judyth O. Weaver, PhD, Teacher of Sensory Awareness, T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Pre/Perinatal Psychology, Body/Mind/Spirit, and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from USABP 'I am in awe of the book’s depth, amazing research, and the remarkable explorations of others with whom Tina Stromsted has shared this journey. I’m likewise in awe as she ponders, with such love, the world of our dear souls and our remarkable bodies, telling the stories of our journeys of reconciliation.' Ann Skinner, Cofounder BodySoul Rhythms® with Marion Woodman and Mary Hamilton. Head of Voice Emerita at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and former Head of Voice at the National Theatre School of Canada 'Tina Stromsted’s long awaited Soul’s Body shows us how the adversarial events of life can be turned around to bring about great healing for both ourselves and the world. Her beautifully written, deeply accessible, heartfelt book is a gift to clinicians, body-oriented healing practitioners, artists, teachers, and laypeople. A groundbreaking collection, it ties together Jungian psychology, somatic psychology, dreams, developments in neuroscience, alchemical elements, community building, and applications in the natural world. Embodied wisdom essential for our time, and all times!' Donna Schindler, MD, Cross-cultural psychiatrist and author of Flying Horse: Stories of Healing the Soul Wound 'This book is essential for anyone concerned with the interaction between mind, body, and spirit. As a Jungian analyst and master teacher, Tina Stromsted is an authority in Authentic Movement, having trained extensively with and collaborated with its early pioneers, Joan Chodorow and Janet Adler. Another vital influence is Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, a pioneer in exploring the feminine and the body. In an engaging style, Stromsted invites us to ‘dance’ with her through her personal journey and guides us through the facets of her unique approach—multileveled and multidisciplinary, integrating movement, neuroscience, dreams, myth, art, and voice. While Stromsted provides essential information about the field’s history (‘herstory’), she also offers fundamental principles and creative practices vital for its future.' Meg Wilbur, Jungian analyst, professor emerita of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television, cofounder of the C. G. Jung Study Center-Southern California, & senior faculty Marion Woodman Foundation 'Soul’s Body is a profound and moving journey that engages body and psyche in both playful and impactful ways! Tina Stromsted’s kindness and creativity invite us to show up for life with full embodiment. A truly inspiring dance and read—highly recommended!' Machiel Klerk, psychotherapist and founder of Jung Platform 'Dr. Stromsted seamlessly integrates active imagination, movement, and dreamwork alongside diverse somatic practices to illuminate the deep interconnections between body, psyche, spirit, community, and the essence of the Earth. This book takes the reader on an empowering journey of self-discovery, healing, and alignment with the Earth’s sacred rhythms. An inspiring and transformative read!' Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, Professor of psychiatry and director, Clinical Research Program for PTSD in Mind-Body Medicine, and Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University of Canada. Co-author of Healing the Traumatized Self: Consciousness, Neuroscience, Treatment, with Paul Frewen


Author Information

Tina Stromsted, PhD, LMFT, BC-DMT, is a Jungian analyst, dance/somatic psychotherapist, public speaker, and author. Director of Soul’s Body® Center and cofounder of the Authentic Movement Institute, she teaches at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, Jung Platform, the Marion Woodman Foundation, and internationally. She has a private practice in San Francisco.

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