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.
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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 - 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.
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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 (expanded consciousness) with deeply grounded embodied practices. They created together BodySoul Movement where some of these practices can be experienced and they also offer an annual Embodied Soul - Soulful Body retreat - 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/Trainer/Mentor/Supervisor
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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 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 and she specialises in an embodied approach to trauma healing.
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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 sound and movement workshops, CPD trainings and embodied spiritual retreats in the UK and internationally.
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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/movement and loves using creativity, music, sounding, movement, creative arts and guided visualisations in her therapeutic work as well as in her teaching.
Helen Farrell BA (Hons), MBACP (Accred), DipBSoM
Training Coordinator/ Trainer/Mentor
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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.
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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/Trainer/Mentor/Supervisor
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Edina Matyas Dip Couns. MBACP
Admin Assistant/ Bookings Manager
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.