ABOUT US
The Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy was founded by Katarina Gadjanski and Tasha Colbert after many years of offering CPD courses and personal development groups together.
Decades of practice as psychotherapists and trainers has led them to believe that working with the body can bring profound healing and change in clients and trainees. Sharing an enthusiasm for an embodied therapeutic approach, they founded the Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy in response to an era when we are feeling increasingly disconnected from our bodies. They are passionate about offering an integrative somatic approach that enhances healing and equips psychotherapists with the skills to work in a more embodied way.
OUR TRAINING TEAM
Katarina Gadjanski BSc (Hons) PG Dip. Psych AHPP UKCP
Katarina is an Embodied and Transpersonal Psychotherapist, Supervisor/Mentor, Trainer and group facilitator. She is a co-founder of the Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy and a fully accredited member of AHPP/UKCP. Her therapeutic background is in transpersonal psychotherapy, integrative psychosynthesis, body-oriented psychotherapy, movement & group therapy.
Although originally trained in a traditional 'talking' psychotherapy approach – due to her medical background, training in homeopathy and interest in dance and movement - Katarina has always had a special interest in the mind-body connection and somatic expression of emotional issues and trauma. Over the past 15 years she's undertaken extensive research and training in the area of somatic therapies and neuroscience in relation to trauma work.
In addition to her private practice, Katarina facilitates many psychotherapy groups, personal development workshops, CPD trainings and both therapeutic and spiritual retreats in the UK and internationally.
Katarina has been practicing various forms of meditation for over 30 years, so is particularly interested in bringing the therapeutic elements of meditation and spiritual practice into her work. She also has a background in music and dance and loves using creativity, music, sounding, movement, creative arts and guided visualisations in her therapeutic work and teaching.
Helen is a BACP accredited psychotherapist with a background in Humanistic practice. She has worked as the lead counsellor and manager for the counselling service of a mental health charity, and as a counselling tutor for students in training up to qualification level. Helen has a special interest in the care and development of practitioners, and is passionate about her roles as a supervisor, mentor and trainer. Additionally she works as an assessor and external verifier for a counselling awarding body, supporting both teaching and training staff and student practitioners alike.
Helen came to embodied psychotherapy as a result of her own chronic and acute health conditions and her recognition of the interplay between her body and emotional experiences. Through learning how to process and heal difficult experiences in an embodied way for herself, she now supports clients to heal by working with the body, as well as through talk therapy. Helen finds this way of working is particularly effective for those with disordered eating, and compulsive and obsessive safety behaviours. As a meditation guide and nature informed practitioner, Helen incorporates forest bathing and walk and talk therapies into her practice with clients.
Tasha Colbert BA (Hons) PG Dip RDMP UKCP
Tasha is a co-founder of the Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy and a UKCP registered body- orientated psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer, who has been working therapeutically with adults and children for over 20 years. She specialises in working with anxiety and trauma and utilises somatic approaches in her practice.
With a background in dance movement psychotherapy and the creative arts, Tasha lectured and supervised for several years on the Dance Movement Psychotherapy MA training at Derby University and at Roehampton University. She continues to teach internationally and several years ago co-ordinating a post graduate DMP programme in Romania.
As well as her expertise in the field of psychotherapy, she is an experienced supervisor and has been supervising in private practice and the public sector since 2006,
Tasha also enjoys training groups, and regularly provides continued professional development trainings for psychotherapists on trauma and working with the body.
She enjoys collaborating with other creative professionals and has co-edited a book on the subject called:
’Working across Modalities in the Arts Therapies: Creative Collaborations’, Routledge 2017, as well as
'Embodied Approaches to Supervision: The Listening Body', Routledge 2022.
Ruth Allen is a movement-oriented eco-psychotherapist and geologist specialising in outdoor practice. She is accredited member of the NCS and offers workshops, coaching trail days and 1-1 eco-somatic sessions,
She mentors and trains therapists who are looking to take their work outside, and she offers monthly online ‘Embodied Animal’ movement classes - exploring creative movement and our connection to the more than human world, and the animal within us.
Ruth is the author of Grounded: How connection with nature can improve our mental and physical wellbeing, and her second book 'Weathering' will be published by Penguin Random House in 2024.
Ruth is person-centred by initial training, but her practice is deeply integrative and unique to each client, drawing on humanistic perspectives, ecopsychology, existential philosophy, depth psychology and somatic and movement practices. She is 'trauma-intuitive' and experienced in work with all sorts of trauma and PTSD.
In her spare time she enjoys adventuring, and is a big believer in inspiring women to build their confidence outdoors.