Raja Selvam, PhD, is the developer of Integral Somatic Psychology™ (ISP™), an advanced approach for integrating body, energy, and consciousness into psychological processes in all therapeutic modalities. ISP is a master training for experienced clinicians. ISP seeks to improve clinical outcomes through greater embodiment of all experiences and all levels of the psyche in the physical body of the individual. Raja Selvam is a Registered Clinical Psychologist, California PSY30233.
Raja’s eclectic approach draws from bodywork systems of Postural Integration, Biodynamic Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Polarity Therapy, body psychotherapy systems of Reichian Therapy, Bioenergetics, Bodynamic Analysis, Jungian and Archetypal psychologies, psychoanalytic schools of Object Relations and Inter-Subjectivity, Somatic Experiencing® (SE™), Affective Neuroscience, Quantum Physics, Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta.
Raja’s article on treating trauma symptoms among Indian tsunami survivors, Somatic Therapy Treatment Effects With Tsunami Survivors, was published in Traumatology in September 2008. Jung and Consciousness, based on his clinical psychology doctoral dissertation on Advaita Vedanta and Jungian Psychology, was published in the analytical psychology journal Spring in 2013.
For an interview with Raja Selvam on the theory and practice of Integral Somatic Psychology in Somatic Perspectives, please visit our blog, or listen to the podcast here.
Raja is also a senior trainer in Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing professional trauma training program and a former member of the board of the Foundation for Human Enrichment (FHE), also known as the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI).
Raja teaches Integral Somatic Psychology and Somatic Experiencing in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Russia, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, mainland China, South Africa, and Brazil.
Raja Selvam lead teams to India in 2015 and 2016 to treat tsunami victims and to train counselors to increase the local capacity for treating trauma. He led teams to Sri Lanka after the civil war in 2011, 2012, and 2013 to train local counselors to treat traumas of war, violence, loss, and displacement, in collaboration with Kindermissionwerk, Germany, and Don Bosco, Sri Lanka. He is currently involved in increasing trauma treatment capacity among mental health professionals working with underprivileged communities in India, in collaboration with Prafulta, a Don Bosco organization based in Mumbai, India.
Publications
Selvam, R. (2004). Trauma, Body, Energy, and Spirituality. Positive Health, May, pp. 15-18.
Selvam, R. (2005). Treating tsunami survivors for trauma: The effectiveness of a short-term psycho-physiological trauma treatment approach among South Asian tsunami survivors. Journal of Holistic Healthcare, Vol. 2, Issue 4, November.
Parker, C., Doctor, R. M., and Selvam, R. (2008). Somatic Therapy Treatment Effects with Tsunami Survivors. Traumatology, Vol. 14, No. 3, September.
Selvam, R. (2008). Advaita Vedanta and Jungian Psychology: Explorations Towards Further Reconciliation in East-West Dialogues on the Psyche (Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, California). Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Selvam, R. (2008). Embodiment Exercises: How to Sense the Body to Increase Its Powers of Self Regulation, Audio CD set, 5 CDs. Buy
Selvam, R. (2013). Jung and Consciousness. Spring, Vol. 90, Fall 2013, pp. 155-177.
Work Experience
Trainer, Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) Training Programs. From 2010.
Senior Trainer, Somatic Experiencing Professional Trauma Training Programs, The Foundation for Human Enrichment/Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, Boulder, Colorado, From 1997.
Adjunct Faculty, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA. 2000-2010.
Faculty Co-ordinator, Somatic Experiencing Professional Training Programs, The Foundation for Human Enrichment, Lyons, Colorado, 1999-2000.
Faculty, Bodynamic Analysis Character Structure Professional Workshops, Los Angeles, California, 1999-2001.
Faculty, Institute for Psycho Structural Balancing (IPSB), Los Angeles, California, 1998-2000.
Faculty, Bodynamic Analysis Psychology of Muscles Professional Classes, Los Angeles, California, 1996-1999.
Assistant Professor, Marketing, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 1989-1993.
Adjunct Faculty, Marketing, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1987-89.
Adjunct Faculty, Marketing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 1983-85.
Deputy Manager, Marketing, Management Services, Southern Petrochemical Corporation Limited, Madras, India, 1982-83.
Assistant Manager, Marketing, Management Services, Southern Petrochemical Corporation Limited, Madras, India, 1981-82.
Assistant Regional Manager, Marketing, Tirunelveli Region, Southern Petrochemical Corporation Limited, Madras, India, 1980-81.
Education
PhD in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, California, 2008.
PhD in Marketing. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1995.
MS in Applied Statistics. The University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1985.
MBA, Xavier Institute, Jamshedpur, India, 1980.
BA in Economics. Loyola College, The University of Madras, Madras, India, 1978.
Specialized Study in Psychology
Study of the Kleinian psychoanalytic model. Weekly study/supervision group with Jane Van Buren, PhD, Psychoanalyst, Los Angeles, 2002-2003.
Study of the Inter-Subjective psychoanalytic model. Weekly study/supervision group with Robert Stolorow, PhD, Psychoanalyst, Los Angeles, 2000-2002.
Study of affective neuroscience and early childhood development. Bimonthly study group with Allan Schore, PhD, Northridge, CA, 2001-2002.
Professional Education in Body Psychotherapy and Bodywork Systems
Biodynamic Cranio-Sacral Therapy Training Program, Santa Barbara, CA, 2002-2004.
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Training, Boulder, CO, 1994-1998.
Bodynamic Somatic Developmental Psychology Practitioner Training, Pescadero, CA, 1994-1996.
Bodynamic Somatic Developmental Psychology Foundation Training, Los Angeles, CA, 1993-1994.
BodyMind Integration Training, BodyMind Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 1993.
Reichian and Neo-Reichian Character Structure Course, BodyMind Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 1993.
