
Founded by Peter A Levine, PhD
Ergos Institute of Somatic Education
Dedicated to advancing SE principles, Ergos Institute of Somatic Education offers body-based healing programs, both in-person and online, designed to help trauma and stress disorder sufferers embrace their authentic selves with a greater capacity for resilience and joy.
Founded in 1972 by Peter A Levine, Ph.D., the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education is the leading Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) provider of SE Master Classes, Public Programming, and Community Outreach.
Dr. Levine, the Developer of Somatic Experiencing, is the President and Lead Faculty member, accompanied by an esteemed SE Faculty and a host of dedicated SE Practitioner Facilitators and Master Level Assistants.
The Ergos team delivers SE Master Classes, Case Consultations, Public Workshops, Immersive Retreats, and Community Health SE™ programs and participates in Psychotherapy Conferences, Webinars, and Podcasts worldwide.
Ergos' sister organization, Somatic Experiencing International (SEI), founded by Dr. Levine, provides the Somatic Experiencing Professional Certificate Training - learn more.
What does Ergos mean?
While working on starting a non-profit in British Columbia in 1972, Dr. Levine had a dream where the word ERGOS appeared in bright neon letters. Feeling the deep significance of the word in the morning, he noted that ERG is the unit of energy, EROS means love, and ERGO is therefore. ERGOS means to Peter that Love, Work, and Understanding should be the wellsprings of life, and they should also govern it.
This is the path we walk.
In the words of Wilhelm Reich, Love, work, and knowledge should be the wellspring of our life, they should also govern it.
Meet the Team
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Melissa Stager, SEP, MBA
Managing Director & Program Development
Vista, California -
Sherri Pula
Program Support
Peterborough, Ontario, CA -
Julie Macias
Personal Assistant to Dr Levine
Carlsbad, California -
Dave Berger, MFT, PT, LCMHC, MA, SEP
Ergos Faculty
Berkeley, CA -
Abi Blakeslee, PhD
Ergos Faculty
Bozeman, MT -
Ursula Funke-Kaiser
Ergos Faculty
Stuttgart, Germany -
Ian Macnaughton, PhD
Ergos Faculty
Vancouver, BC -
Euphrasia (Éfu) Nyaki, SEP
Ergos Faculty
Brazil -
Joshua Sylvae, PhD
Ergos Faculty
Portland, OR
Ergos Institute Faculty have studied under Dr. Levine for many years and are committed to preserving SE Master Classes and expanding Peter’s public programming worldwide.
If you're interested in having a Faculty member teach an SE Master Class, speak at your conference, or join your webinar or podcast, please contact us. When Dr. Levine’s schedule is unavailable, supporting Faculty programs ensures this vital work continues to grow and thrive!
Growing in Spirituality
Join Dr. Levine and two of his Faculty members, Sister Euphrasia Nyaki and Dr. Joshua Sylvae, as they discuss accessing our Spirituality and present moments in order to connect to our ancestors, our loved ones, strangers, and ourselves. Includes experiential exercises.
Recorded May 8th, 2020 with a focus on Covid-19.
In Loving Memory
Justin Reed Snavely, SEP
November 15th, 1978 - October 5th, 2019
Ergos Institute Staff for 15 years
Justin & Peter - March 2019