ABOUT ISMETA

Our Mission

The International Somatic Movement Education & Therapy Association (ISMETA) promotes a high level of standards and professionalism in the field of somatic movement education and therapy through advocacy and maintaining a registry of professional practitioners.

ISMETA is committed to:

• Establishing a forum for the common goals of our individual members and member organizations;
• Developing and upholding standards of excellence in education, training, and practice;
• Increasing professional and public awareness of the techniques, methods, goals, and benefits of the practices of somatic movement education and therapy;
• Encouraging the integration of somatic movement education and therapy into the fields of health and human services, the performing arts, wellness education, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM);
• Representing ISMETA registered practitioners in professional, governmental, political, legal and other arenas;
• Protecting ISMETA registered members' right to practice;
• Promoting and supporting research in the field and the dissemination of results in professional publications and meetings;
  

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Who Does ISMETA Represent?

In describing our organization’s purpose and activities to the broader public and in legislative settings, it has come to our attention that we need to clarify for our membership what our mission and goals are as they are expressed through our public use of language.

To review, part of ISMETA’s mission is to promote high standards and professionalism among registered Somatic Movement Educators and Somatic Movement Therapists. ISMETA strives for excellence and rigor among it's professional members and also invites a wide dialogue with all people and organizations interested in somatic movement. To these ends, we support the growth of Somatic Movement Education and Therapy through dialogue and advocacy, and by maintaining our registry of professional practitioners. We have both individual members and organizational members. Our individual professional members may select to receive a professional identity as a Registered Somatic Movement Educator (RSME) and/or Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT). Our organizational members are either approved training programs or professional associations who identify with Somatic Movement Education and Therapy. We have some organizational members that are schools or training programs that have contingencies on their approval. We also have Associate Members from related professions who are not part of our professional registry

In fulfilling ISMETA’s primary purpose of representing and advocating for Somatic Movement Education and Therapy, and for its registered members - [Registered Somatic Movement Educators or Registered Somatic Movement Therapists], it has come to our attention that ISMETA may at times be perceived as an umbrella organization for all disciplines of somatic education. We are clear that we Do NOT serve as an umbrella organization for all disciplines of somatic education. ISMETA only represents those professionals that choose to identify with Somatic Movement Education and Therapy by becoming registered as a (RSME) and/or (RSMT) and those professional somatic movement organizations that have become organizational members of ISMETA, thereby demonstrating affiliation with Somatic Movement Education & Therapy.

Regarding our organizational membership, ISMETA does not represent any discipline per se, but supports our various organizations in advocating for Somatic Movement Education and Therapy. Each member organization speaks for its own discipline. ISMETA therefore does not represent, for example, Body-Mind Centering® or Continuum unless specifically asked to do so but rather represents somatic movement educators and therapists registered by ISMETA who are trained in those disciplines. An extension of this is that ISMETA does not represent the Alexander Technique, the Trager® Approach, or the Feldenkrais Method® even though individual graduates of these disciplines may join ISMETA. A complex consideration is that some somatic organizations have different roles as training programs, professional organizations, and advocacy groups. ISMETA may be linked to only one part of such an organization. Specifically in the case of the Rolf Institute® ISMETA only represents the Rolf Movement practitioners that have become registered with ISMETA. Another complexity is that the Alexander Technique has several professional organizations. Again, the only organizations in these instances that ISMETA represents are those that have chosen to apply, and have been accepted, as members of ISMETA such as the Rolf Movement Practitioner Training Program of the Rolf® Institute and Alexander Technique International.

ISMETA represents its individual professionals– Registered Somatic Movement Educators (RSMEs) or Registered Somatic Movement Therapists (RSMTs). There are two avenues for individual professionals to satisfy the educational requirements to qualify for this registration – they can fulfill the requirements of an approved training program or they can submit a detailed portfolio of their “independent route” training. The “independent route” process allows any somatic movement specialist who has studied somatic movement principles and practices for 500 hours (inclusive of Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method® and TRAGER® practitioners) to submit a dossier of their studies or video tapes of sessions with their application for the membership committee to review. Since there is this “independent route,” it is possible for instance for Trager® and Feldenkrais® practitioners to apply to become registered by ISMETA. ISMETA then represents these practitioners as Registered Somatic Movement Educators or Therapists. As a more specific example, Trager® Practitioners who show verification that they have amassed 500 hours of training and supervised sessions and describe their backgrounds in movement
studies that supports their work in Mentastics® movement education can become registered with ISMETA, and ISMETA would then represent these individual practitioners as Registered Somatic Movement Educators as well.

Who Does ISMETA Represent? To reiterate, ISMETA does not represent all practitioners of all somatic movement disciplines. If one is certified by the Feldenkrais Guild®, the Rolf Institute® or the United States TRAGER® Association, one is represented by those organizations. However some individual practitioners choose to also be registered by ISMETA and in this way their identification with Somatic Movement Education and Therapy is represented as well by ISMETA. As further examples we do not represent the Alexander Technique per se, however we do represent those individual professionals that are Alexander teachers who have registered with ISMETA as Somatic Movement Educators, and we advocate for the concerns of our organizational member, Alexander Technique International, one of the Alexander Technique organizations. We also do not represent the entire scope of the Rolf Institute® or Rolfing® Structural Integration yet we do represent the Rolf Movement Practitioner Training Program of the Rolf Institute® and Rolf Movement Practitioners within their work as Registered Somatic Movement Educators and/or Therapists. Of course, The Rolf Institute®, continues to represent all Rolf Movement Practitioners as well. Each of the programs, schools and professional associations that are members of ISMETA work together with ISMETA to promote their own training as well as the work of RSMEs and RSMTs. By being specific about our scope of work we intend to be more respectful of the definition and work of our colleagues and their associations and schools.

As part of our efforts to support and advocate for Somatic Movement Education and Therapy, ISMETA meets with the Federation of Therapeutic Massage, Bodywork, and Somatic Practice Organizations. Our peer organizational representatives within the “Federation” include AmSAT (American Society for the Alexander Technique), AMTA® (American Massage Therapy Association), AOBTA™ (American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia™), APTA (American Polarity Therapy Association), FGNA (Feldenkrais Guild® of North America), Rolf Institute, IASI (International Association of Structural Integrators), and the United States TRAGER® Association. Along with each of these Federation Members, ISMETA has a representative on the JGRC (Joint Government Regulations Committee), the committee of the Federation that participates in legislative activities happening across the U.S.A. It has been extremely helpful to work with these organizations and their representatives to foster greater understanding of our respective missions and goals.

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A Brief History

The Formation of a Professional Organization:
The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA)

ISMETA was first formed in 1988 in California as the International Movement Therapy Association (IMTA) by a small team of people who shared the vision of Jim Spira, Ph.D., founding president from 1988 -1990. The goal was to establish a professional association for somatic practitioners who valued movement as a key force – emphasizing the importance of movement as an active method of working with the soma. This formation included a board of directors and an advisory council, by-laws, a not-for-profit membership organization, and a professional journal based in research. Jim Spira, Ph.D. began the association for the following reasons:

• There are fundamental underlying principles shared by somatic movement disciplines (and dance therapy)
• Any active movement discipline is distinct from the passive somatic disciplines -- (tablework methods, bodywork, massage, chiropractic, etc.)
• Working together allows us to better reach the populations that can benefit from somatic movement approaches
• Better outreach to licensed professionals and insurance companies is possible
• The potential for cross-training amongst the somatic movement disciplines is tremendous.
• He wanted to leave a legacy to the field as he shifted into full-time work in psychology.

(Adapted from Personal Correspondence, August 2004)

Accomplishments of ISMETA under the guidance of each President

Jim Spira: (1988 – 1991) Director of Educational Therapy, Psychologist

• Enhanced communication amongst the disparate “active” somatic movement disciplines by establishing a professional organization, a registry, and the professional title of Movement Therapist with the U.S. Department of Labor.
• The acronym of IMTA-RMT (International Movement Therapy Association – Registered Movement Therapist) was copyrighted.
• An advisory council was established that included David Zemach-Bersin, Suzanne Youngerman, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, and Neala Haze. (The advisory council has grown to also include Judith Aston, Don Hanlon Johnson, Eleanor Criswell Hanna, Seymour Kleinman, Vivian Jaye, and Hubert Goddard.)
• Developed a professional journal published (1989 – 1991) as well as a brochure
• Over one hundred individual members were registered
• Training programs that included at least 500 hours of professional movement education were invited in as “Approved Training Programs.” including Alexander Technique, the Feldenkrais Method, Laban/Bartenieff Studies, The Halprin’s Life/Art process taught at Tamalpa, and Spira’s own training program – Educational Therapy, among others.

Carlos Velazquez (1990 – 1992) Feldenkrais Practitioner

• Helped the main office to become settled on the East coast, and began the process of incorporating on the East Coast
• Recruited board members who were practitioners of Body-Mind Centering® and Laban Movement Analysis
  
• Initiated ISMETA newsletter, which included more governmental and organizational reporting, replaced the journal.

• Built up membership, improved response time, revised the organization’s name, and infused purpose and identity at the national level
• Established contact with somatic movement leaders in Toronto -- Monica Gray, Rae Johnson, Paul Overly, Mari Namovski, and Susan Sinclair -- set a model of regional exchange
• Evaluated each somatic discipline’s level of involvement with ISMETA
• Name changed to be more inclusive: The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA)
  
• Created the option to be represented as a Registered Movement Educator as well as a Registered Movement Therapist.

Ellen Barlow (1998 – 2001) Teacher of Body-Mind Centering®

• Deepened the communication between individuals and organizations from different disciplines
• Defined the criteria for registration more fully and reached out to the practitioners for further self-definition
• Led the organization in the process of joining the Federation of Therapeutic Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Practices
• The field became known as somatic movement education and therapy supported by the development of its scope of practice and ethical code
• Regular communication with offices in the United States Departments of Education and Labor.
• Led a period of language definition and collegial interaction with other professional organizations
• Development of Standards of Practice.

Joan Whitacre: (2001 – 2002) Body-Mind Centering Practitioner®

• Initiated ISMETA’s strategic planning process and greater growth for the organization.

Martha Eddy, Ed.D. (2002 – 2005) Director, SOMAction Movement Therapy Training at Moving On Center

• Guided development of promotional materials, and outreach within the somatic movement community and to the general public
• April 2004, ISMETA became incorporated in New York State and received its status as a 501c6 Trade Organization.
• Established the ISMETA Member Council which is comprised of one representative from each Member Organizations and approved training program
• Continued Outreach to other potential Member Organizations
• Along with other Board members, revitalized the ISMETA website
• Reinstated the ISMETA Newsletter

Mary Abrams (2005 - 2009) Authorized Continuum Teacher

• Re-established, with participation of board member Megan Reisel, regular monthly ISMETA email newsletter publication
• Represented ISMETA on the Joint Government Relations Committee of the
  Federation of Therapeutic Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Practice Organizations
• With detailed board support produced a celebration event for ISMETA's 20th
  Anniversary including the first ISMETA Membership Conference
• Updated, with support of board member Elisa Cotroneo, ISMETA By-laws and Scope of Practice
• Re-established Annual Membership Meetings and Membership Vote
• Actively recruited new board members and established regular rotation, building the board from three members to seven members
• Developed a grievance procedure with board participation
• Organized redesign of website with Megan Reisel overseeing process
• Established protocol for the Application Review Committee for reviewing and accepting Individual and Member Organization applications
• Established the position and hired ISMETA's first Member Services and Communications consultant to oversee office
  

1 RMT could not be copyrighted because it is too generic a description

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Scope of Practice

The professional field of somatic movement education and therapy spans holistic education and complimentary-alternative medicine. The field contains distinct disciplines each with its own educational and/or therapeutic emphasis, principles, methods, and techniques.

Practices of somatic movement education and therapy encompass postural and movement evaluation, communication and guidance through touch and words, experiential anatomy and imagery, and movement patterning. These practices are applied to everyday and specialized activities for persons in all stages of health and development.

The purpose of somatic movement education and therapy is to enhance human processes of psychophysical awareness and functioning through movement learning. Practices provide the learning conditions to:

Focus on the body both as an objective physical process and as a subjective process of lived consciousness;

Refine perceptual, kinesthetic, proprioceptive, and interoceptive sensitivity that supports homeostasis and self regulation;

Recognize habitual patterns of perceptual, postural and movement interaction with one's environment;

Improve movement coordination that supports structural, functional and expressive integration;

Experience an embodied sense of vitality and extended capacities for living.

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ISMETA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Elisa Cotroneo, RSME & RSMT

President

East Greenbush, NY
518-477-9512
ecotrone@nycap.rr.com

Mary Abrams, RSME

Vice President

Moving Body Resources

112 West 27th Street, Ste. 400

New York, NY  10001

212-206-7542

mary@movingbodyresources.com

www.movingbodyresources.com

Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell, RSME & MA

Secretary

New Paltz, NY

845-891-1808
ohsogood@verizon.net

Mark Taylor, RSMT

Treasurer
Center for BodyMindMovement
7010 Thomas Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
mark.c.taylor@verizon.net

www.bodymindmovement.com

www.bodymindmovement.mx

Teri Carter, CMT, RSME & RSMT
Los Angeles, CA
310-488-9879
teri@tericarter.com
www.tericarter.com

Linda Jantz, CMA, RSME & RSMT
New York, NY
212-684-3767
offbyheart@earthlink.net

Jaime Ortega, RSME & RSMT
New York, NY
347-342-8131

jaime_ortega11215@yahoo.com

Crystal Davis, CMA
Chelsea, MA

252-314-3711
crystaludavis@gmail.com

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ISMETA Advisory Council

Emilie Conrad
Continuuum Movement

Eleanor Criswell-Hanna
Editor of Somatics

Hubert Godard
Director of Dance and Movement
Analysis Department
University Paris VIII, France
Adjunct movement instructor,
Rolf Institute

Vivian Jaye
Instructor, Rolf Movement Integration
Rolf Institute

Don Hanlon Johnson

Seymour Kleinman
Professor Emeritus at
Ohio State University

Ronald Lavine, D.C.
Private practice of chiropractic
New York, New York

James L. Oschman, Ph.D.
Nature's Own Research Association
Dover, NH

Don Schwartz, Ph.D.
Actor/Writer

DrDonSchwartz@yahoo.com

www.DonSchwartz.com

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

School for Body-Mind Centering®

Martha Eddy

SOMAction© Movement Therapy Training

The Center for Kinesthetic Education

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