ABOUT US
The Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy was founded by Katarina Gadjanski and Tasha Colbert. With over 40 years of combined experience of psychotherapy practice they both found that it has been working with the body that offered the most profound transformation and healing experiences for them in their own personal journeys as well as to their clients.
Sharing an enthusiasm for an embodied therapeutic approach and sharing their love of dance, movement and the creative arts they founded the Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy in response to an era when we are feeling increasingly disconnected from our bodies.
They met at a movement workshop that Katarina was facilitating and started their work together offering personal development courses - and workshops bringing their different skills together. They found that many of the participants that came to these events were therapists and enthusiastic about learning how to offer this more embodied way of working for their clients.
This led to starting to offer stand alone CPD workshops on working with the body in psychotherapy. As a result of the success of these offerings, they developed over time a comprehensive training for psychotherapists so that they could gain the skills and confidence to bring embodied approaches to their clients. The first certificate training was in 2016 and has continued to be refined and improved since then.
Katarina and Tasha are very enthusiastic about teaching their integrative embodied approach that they developed together - IEP Integrative Embodied Psychotherapy to equip as many therapists as possible with the skills to become embodied practitioners.
They are also really passionate about integrating transpersonal work (and spiritual practice) with deeply grounded embodied practices. They created together Embodied Soul - Soulful Body an embodied retreat where some of these practices can be experienced. This annual retreat offers a deep immersion for those embodied practitioners who would like to go even deeper with their own embodiment and spiritual journey.
OUR TEAM
Katarina Gadjanski BSc (Hons) PG Dip Psych UKAHPP
Co-Director/Main Trainer/Mentor/Supervisor
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 Higher Accredited Registered Member of UKAHPP. Her therapeutic background is in transpersonal psychotherapy, integrative psychosynthesis, body-oriented psychotherapy, movement & group facilitation.
She has originally trained in a traditional 'talking' psychotherapy – but due to her previous training in health sciences and homeopathy and her passion for dance & movement and other creative practices - Katarina has always had a special interest in the mind-body connection. Over the past 18 years she's undertaken extensive research and training in the area of somatic therapies & neuroscience in relation to somatic expression of emotional issues & trauma.
Katarina facilitates several psychotherapy groups and workshops, including an annual experiential group
'Embodied Approach to Working with Parts' aimed at therapists who are interested in exploring how to work with 'Parts' (IFS) using an embodied approach. She also facilitates Healing Through Voice, Breath and Sound workshop
She also facilitates sound and movement workshops, CPD trainings and embodied retreats in the UK and Greece.
Katarina has been practicing various forms of meditation for over 30 years, so is particularly interested in bringing the therapeutic elements of meditation, guided visualisations and spiritual practice into her work.
She also has a background in music and loves using creativity, music, voice work, dance & movement and creative arts - both in her teaching and therapeutic work.
Helen Farrell BA (Hons), MBACP (Accred), DipBSoM
Training Coordinator/Trainer/Mentor
Helen is a BACP accredited therapist 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
Co-Director/Main Trainer/Mentor/Supervisor
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-ordinated 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 facilitates an Online Embodied Supervision group for practitioners with an interest in creative and embodied approaches to supervision.
Tasha enjoys training groups, and regularly provides continued professional development trainings for psychotherapists on trauma and working with the body.
She also facilities women's groups including Embodied Woman - Online Group specifically designed for therapists, who are wanting deepen their own embodiment.
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.
Edina Matyas Dip Couns. MBACP
Admin Assistant/ Bookings Manager
Edina is one of the first therapists that did our one year IEP certification programme in 2017. She joined the Institute in 2021 and is an invaluable part of our team .
She is in charge of the day to day running of our office, deals with bookings and offers practical support to trainees and those that are interested in doing our courses.
Edina is also an Integrative Transpersonal counsellor trained at Re-Vision (Counselling and Psychotherapy with a Soulful Perspective). and is a registered member of BACP.
In her therapeutic approach she integrates wide range of approaches, such as humanistic, embodied, existential, psychodynamic, psychosynthesis, etc - with special emphasis on the Soul and the Soul’s journey.
In her clinical practice her main experience is within the field of trauma. Edina has been working with survivors of rape and sexual abuse where she also encountered other difficulties that had presented themselves as serious blocks for clients including depression, loss and anxiety.
In her work she also uses creative tools such as drawings and visualisation and likes to give space for spirituality where there is an interest.
Christina Argyropoulou BSc (Hons) RDMP, UKCP
Workshop Coordinator/ Training Assistant/Supervisor
Christina is a Movement Psychotherapist and workshops coordinator at the Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy. She supports the organisation as a facilitator and as an assistant, contributing to communications, coordinating the annual retreat, and bringing a grounded, creative presence rooted in her deep commitment to embodied practice.
Her therapeutic journey began over 25 years ago, sparked by an intuitive urge to study Psychology and Psychotherapy. This path led her through a profound and ongoing process of self-healing and discovery.
Christina recognised early the expressive and transformative power of embodiment and movement- a passion that shaped both her personal life and professional direction.
She trained in a variety of dance disciplines before studying
Psychology and Dance Movement Psychotherapy. Her work has been deeply influenced by her long-standing practice of Authentic Movement, including studies at the Institute of Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy and many years of practice with former students of Janet Adler.
Christina’s integrative approach draws from diverse influences, including mindfulness-based methods, trauma work, creative therapies, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in
Psychotherapeutic Supervision.
She has also trained in yoga and bodywork, exploring the interconnection of body, mind, and spirit across cultures and traditions.
Her therapeutic ethos is deeply human: she meets each client with presence, compassion, and deep respect for the courage it takes to engage in the healing process.
Christina is committed to creating safe, embodied spaces that support transformation and authenticity.