Frequently Asked Questions

We offer executive and personal coaching for individuals either as part of an ongoing organizational program, or as a service to individuals. For individuals not connected to a program, the most effective structure for coaching is to purchase a quarterly package. We will coach the individual in three-month segments with clear promises in regards to outcomes. We have many very skilled coaches both on Strozzi Institute staff, and as Strozzi Institute Associates. Please contact Strozzzi Institute for more information.

Due to the custom nature of our programs, cost can be different from project to project. Things to be considered are length of training, number of participants, location (travel time), and design considerations. We also take into consideration budgetary restrictions.

We do both. We have a beautiful site here in Sonoma County that can facilitate groups up to 35, and other local sites that can accommodate more. There have been organizations as far away as the UK that have brought groups here due to the ambience of our location. We often do events on-site or retreat sites selected by organizations. We are very willing to travel to your location.

Our approach is built on the pioneering work of Dr. Richard Strozzi-Heckler whose in-depth studies in psychology, linguistics, philosophy, martial arts, and somatics resulted in a methodology that develops leaders who are confident, centered, authentic, and skillfully execute on their commitments. Our programs have demonstrated that leadership is a skill that can be learned, embodied, practiced and integrated within our lives and organizations. We are recognized for developing leaders that inspire trust and galvanize people into action - leaders people want to follow because they are inspired and mobilized by them, not because they are told to follow.

Strozzi Institute has developed and delivered innovative programs in leadership development and team building for over 30 years. Our research shows that great leaders are distinguished by who they are and their ability to inspire and mobilize others. When all else is equal, those that have a mastery of self and an embodied leadership presence are the most successful. This is the focus of Strozzi Institute.

Most of our organizational work is custom designed. We can organize a one-day to a multi-conference training over months for you. We can bring in one of our standard public courses directly into your organization. We also offer several trainings that can be shifted to fit the needs and concerns of the client.

The difference is in our method of training. Our programs use an embodied approach to learning. This is different than a more cognitive approach that is widely used in the training world. We know that taking in the whole person as a vehicle for change will produce more effective and sustainable change for individuals and organizations. Embodied learning is experiential in nature, using all of ourselves in the process. With this approach, people gain new skills and abilities, not just good ideas.

Yes. We have no requirement that you are a certified coach or currently in a certification program for you to learn this work. We have trained therapists, teachers, psychologists, counselors, physical trainers and group leaders. As long as you understand that our offer is the certification in Somatic methodology and not a certification as a coach, you are welcome to apply.

For answers to general questions about coaching, please see the International Coaching Federation website: http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF/

Strozzi Institute has a requisite level of quality that we expect in our Somatic Coaches and certification is never taken for granted. During the entire certification process there is an ongoing conversation that will take place between you as student and Strozzi Institute. We work out of a commitment to your learning and development. Through that conversation and our ongoing coaching we work with our students to achieve the level of competency that we expect in our certified coaches.

There are ongoing trainings throughout the year, but there is no formal requirement to continue training in order to keep your certification.

On the ‘Associates’ page of our website you may contact directly any associate who has provided their contact information. Alternatively you may phone or e-mail the office and ask to be placed in contact with someone with a specific background close to your own.

When you complete your certification with Strozzi Institute you will come away with:

• Skills and distinctions required for Somatic Coaching.
• The ability to create sustainable change within your coaching clients
• The ability to apply the Strozzi Institute methodology in working with individuals and small groups
• Certification as a Strozzi Institute Somatic Coach
• Membership in a community of somatic coaches around the country
• Opportunity of referrals from the above network or from Strozzi Institute

The cost of the full schedule of courses and fees for SI's Certification Program is as follows:

Discounts:

Early Registration Discount $150.00 - If you provide a $500.00 non-refundable deposit with your registration and pay your tuition balance in full 45 days (or more) in advance of the course start date you will receive a early registration discount of $150.00. Use of this discount voids other discounts. Applicable to Leadership in Action 1 & 2, Advanced Leadership, SOEL and Somatic Spirit

SISC PIF 20% Discount - If you know you are ready to commit to the full course of study you may be interested in our SISC PIF discount. If you pay in full for the entire coaching program before your first course, you will receive a 20% discount on all courses. The SISC program at list price is $13,450.00 (without any discounts) - if you pay in full for the entire program as you begin a course of study, you will pay $11,150.00.

The shortest possible time would be within one year; however our program also has been designed with the flexibility to meet your timing and schedule.

Strozzi Institute is currently approved for participants of Leadership in Action, Somatic Bodywork Seminar, and Advanced Leadership to receive CCEU’s with ICF. Participants in Advanced Leadership may also obtain core competency credits.

For therapists, we are not able to offer continuing education credits.

Strozzi Institute is not certified as an Accredited Coach Training Program with the ICF. This is because we do not train people how to coach; rather, we train coaches how to coach somatically.

The following passage is a quote from an article written by Richard Strozzi-Heckler Ph.D., in which he describes his Somatic Coaching work:

“The body is central to my coaching practice. When I say body I use it in the somatic sense of the word, which from the ancient Greek means the living body in its wholeness. This is not the sleek, airbrushed body on magazine covers or the Cartesian notion of body as beast of burden that ferries a disembodied mind to its intellectual appointments. Nor is it the mechanical, physiological body of modern medicine or the religious formula of flesh as sin. The body, in the somatic sense, expresses our history, commitments, dignity, authenticity, identity, roles, moral strength, moods, and aspirations as a unique quality of aliveness we call the ‘self’. In this interpretation the body and the self are indistinguishable. In my coaching I work with the self, the whole person, through the body. I ask my clients to commit to practices that allow them to embody new skills and behaviors; this is entirely different than having an insight or a cognitive understanding.”

The Strozzi Institute Somatic Coaching Program will not be a repeat of your current coaching certification. Our program is not about teaching basic coaching skills. The Strozzi Institute Somatic Coaching Program trains coaches in the relevance of the body. This is the only coaching program that uses somatics as THE basis for coaching. Why is that important? Because the body is the domain in which new actions can occur, and if you are missing that domain as a coach, you are missing possibilities for yourself and your clients. In addition working through the domain of the body enables you to develop practices with your clients that allow them to achieve sustainable change. Strozzi Institute certification in Somatic Methodology will enhance your offer as a coach.

This has worked very well for participants in the past. Participants come away having greater acceptance and connection to each other, plus learning distinctions of team and working as a high performance team that can be practiced as a team after returning to work. Teamwork, efficiency, and effective coordination will increase

The structure of our courses has been designed to offer flexibility in our course of study. The timing between sessions is dependent on several factors. For most people, anytime from two weeks to six months is good timing between the sessions of Leadership in Action. It is valuable to have some time to continue the practices from one course before the next course. Some people like to have more time to incorporate the learning into their lives. For most people, continuing in the course of study while there is a momentum to the learning and changes will be important.

Our public programs will have between 12 - 35 students. The ratio between students and teaching staff is approximately 1 to 10. We will often have a teacher student ration of 1 to 6.

Somatics is from the Greek word soma that literally translates as “the living body in its wholeness.” Wholeness in this sense includes the physical world of sensations, temperature, weight, movement, streaming, pulsation, and vibrations, as well as our images, thoughts, stories, attitudes, yearnings, dreams, and language. Somatics can also be referred to as the mind/body/spirit unity.

On our course offering page for public programs, the courses are listed in an order that will continually deepen your embodiment of leadership. For most people, Leadership in Action followed by Advanced Leadership has a natural flow of foundational learning and a continuation of distinctions and practices that build towards deeper insights and more leadership skills and abilities. We are available to customize a course of study for you that will best suit your needs and level of leadership competency. Our programs are designed with that flexibility in mind.

Most people start with Leadership in Action. This is a good lead-in course for many people as we spend considerable time with the foundational distinctions and practices of somatics and of leadership as practiced at Strozzi Institute. This course is not a beginner’s course in leadership in the broad sense of the word. Since our somatic approach is new for most people, it will be a rich and deep experience.

We are on a 13 acre ranch. Our site is in the beautiful rolling hills of Sonoma County, California, about 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Follow this link to our ranch protocols.

Strozzi Institute’s style of learning is different than most traditional workshops and courses. We have a very experiential atmosphere, so loose, comfortable clothing is useful. We will be up and moving in the room in practices for a lot of the time we will be together. At Strozzi Institute our conference facility is also a martial arts dojo, and participants don’t wear shoes in the dojo. In off-site conference rooms, people will wear shoes (optional), and flat soles are recommended.

Most courses begin at 9:00 AM each day and end between 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM daily, completing by 4:00 PM on the last day. School Of Embodied Leadership begins at 1:00 PM on Monday, runs 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily, and completes at 6:00 PM on Saturday.

The tuition is basically the cost of the course. At all of our courses, we offer a continental style breakfast. For courses at Strozzi Institute, lunch is also provided due to the distances to access places for lunch. Lunch is not provided for off-site courses. Tuition does not include lodging or transportation. Students attending our School Of Embodied Leadership program are welcome to stay on the property in our rustic lodging environment. Cell phone reception and computer access at the Strozzi Institute ranch is very limited.

San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport are about equal distance from Strozzi Institute, with driving time of 1½ hours. There is an airport shuttle that runs from either airport to Petaluma, and the shuttle runs more frequently from the San Francisco airport. There are car rental facilities at both airports. Most participants will rent a car due to our location a few miles out of town.

The coaching sessions offer a directed coaching process that builds and continues the learning from our courses. We know that time is an irreplaceable commodity in organizations. We see coaching as a way to continue the learning from Strozzi Institute while attending to the day-to-day demands of ones responsibilities. We offer coaches who have been certified in Somatic Coaching through Strozzi Institute and have attended all the courses in our Leadership Mastery track. Our coaches have years of experience and were skilled and successful coaches before achieving certification with us. We can assist in matching individual and coaches.

Most people start with Leadership in Action. This is a good lead-in course for most people as we spend considerable time with the foundational distinctions and practices of somatics and of leadership as practiced at Strozzi Institute. This course is not a beginner’s course in leadership in the broad sense of the word. Since our somatic approach is new for most people, it will be a rich and deep experience regardless of your previous leadership training.

On our course offering page for Leadership Mastery, the courses are listed in an order that will continually deepen your embodiment of leadership. For most people, Leadership in Action followed by School Of Embodied Leadership has a natural flow of foundational learning and a continuation of distinctions and practices that build towards deeper insights and more leadership skills and abilities. The coaching associated with this course of study is valuable placed either between courses and/or at the completion of the course work. Our programs are designed with flexibility in mind.

Our public programs will have between 12 - 35 students. The ratio between students and teaching staff is approximately 1 to 10. We will often have a teacher student ration of 1 to 6.

The structure of our courses has been designed to offer flexibility in our course of study. The timing between sessions is dependent on several factors. For most people, anytime from two weeks to six months is good timing between the sessions of Leadership in Action. It is valuable to have some time to continue the practices from one course before the next course. Some people like to have more time to incorporate the learning into their lives. For most people, continuing in the course of study while there is a momentum with the learning and changes is valuable.

This has worked very well for participants in the past. Participants come away having greater acceptance and connection to each other, plus learning distinctions of team and working as a high performance team that can be practiced as a team after returning to work. Teamwork, efficiency, and effective coordination will increase.

There are times, however, when it is best to have an individual not associate with colleagues. It is not a difficult determination, and we can assist in that process.

Our courses are unique and ultimately pragmatic in nature. We not about having good ideas - we are about embodying the skill of effective action. We are in the questions of “what can you do?”, and “who is the person doing it?”. You will be able to use what you have learned right away. Most participants see immediate changes in how they are seen by others, and the skills to be effective, accountable, and to build trust. We are not just another manual on the shelf. If you participate fully, you will be different and act differently post course.

We offer executive and personal coaching for individuals either as part of an ongoing organizational program, or as a service to individuals. For individuals not connected to a program, the most effective structure for coaching is to purchase a quarterly package. We will coach the individual in three-month segments with clear promises in regard to outcomes. We have many very skilled coaches both on Strozzi Institute staff, and as Strozzi Institute Associates. Please contact Strozzzi Institute for more information.

We do both. We have a beautiful site here in Sonoma County, California, that can facilitate groups up to 35, and other local sites that can accommodate more. There have been organizations as far away as the UK that bring groups here due to the ambience of our location. We often do events on-site or retreat sites selected by organizations. We are very willing to travel to your location.

Due to the custom nature of our programs, cost can be different from project to project. Things to be considered are length of training, number of participants, location (travel time), and design considerations. We also take into consideration budgetary restrictions. Please contact us for a conversation related to your organization.

Our programs in organizations are an investment, not an expense. We are not another “training manual” on the bookshelf. The skills and abilities we teach are immediately available to participants to use at work. Through ongoing practice in the workplace in the midst of day-to-day activities, the level of competency of the skills learned continually increases over time.

Recurrent practice is the path to mastery. We suggest recurrent training over time to produce the highest levels of excellence.

The difference is in our method of training. Our programs use an embodied learning approach. This is different than a more cognitive approach that is widely used in the training world. We know that taking in the whole person as a vehicle for change will produce more effective and sustainable change for individuals and organizations. Embodied learning is experiential in nature, using all of ourselves in the process. With this approach, people gain new skills and abilities, not just good ideas.

Most of our organizational work is custom designed. We can organize a one-day to a multi-conference training over months for you. We can bring in one of our standard public courses directly into your organization. We also offer several standard trainings that can be shifted to fit the needs and concerns of the client.

Our approach is built on the pioneering work of Dr. Richard Strozzi-Heckler whose in-depth studies in psychology, linguistics, philosophy, martial arts, and somatics results in a methodology that develops leaders who are confident, centered, authentic, and skillfully execute on their commitments. Our programs have demonstrated that leadership is a skill that can be learned, embodied, practiced and integrated within our lives and organizations. We are recognized for developing leaders that inspire trust and galvanize people into action - leaders people want to follow because they are inspired and mobilized by them, not because they are told to follow.

Aside from personal leadership, we collaborate and assist organizations in team building, effective communication, accountability, trust, commitment, grounded assessment practices, efficient action meetings, and in-house and out-of-house customer satisfaction.

Strozzi Institute has developed and delivered innovative programs in leadership development and team building for over 35 years. We bring to organizations the expertise to develop effective and efficient coordination between individuals and teams. This is a focus on day-to-day activities which, when done well, increase productivity, engagement, accountability, trust, and clear communication – ultimately affecting the bottom line of the organization.

On our course offering page for Personal Mastery, the courses are listed in an order that will continually deepen your embodiment. We are available to customize a course of study for you that will best suit your needs and level of leadership competency. Our programs are designed with that flexibility in mind.

Most people start with Leadership in Action. This is a good lead-in course for many people as we spend considerable time with the foundational distinctions and practices of somatics and of leadership as practiced at Strozzi Institute. This course is not a beginner’s course in the broad sense of the word. Since our somatic approach is new for most people, it will be a rich and deep experience.

Our public programs will have between 12 - 35 students. The ratio between students and teaching staff is approximately 1 to 10. We will often have a teacher student ration of 1 to 6.

The structure of our courses has been designed to offer flexibility in our course of study. The timing between sessions is dependent on several factors. For most people, anytime from two weeks to six months is good timing between the sessions of Leadership in Action. It is valuable to have some time to continue the practices from one course before the next course. Some people like to have more time to incorporate the learning into their lives. For most people, continuing in the course of study while there is a momentum to the learning and changes will be important.

There are occasions that either choice is correct. We can assist you in determining the best choice for each individual to have the best outcome possible. We frequently see partners take their first course separately and their second course together. There are other times when it is clearly best to attend together to maximize benefits.

Everyone attending is a distinct individual with very individual concerns. Each course has specific topics and modules; at the same time we work closely with individuals around their own issues and concerns. People attend who are in transitions: relationship beginnings and endings, career transitions, age transitions. People use our courses to assist finding their calling and purpose. People move from being stuck in life to being a person of action. We are not a therapy or process group – even so, we work on deep core issues to bring to light the how and what of ones actions, directly related to the concerns one brings. People attend to rediscover their aliveness and feeling. This is a natural outcome of working deeply in our somatic discourse.

The Strozzi Institute Somatic Coaching Program will not be a repeat of your current coaching certification. Our program is not about teaching basic coaching skills. The Strozzi Institute Somatic Coaching Program trains coaches in the relevance of the body. This is the only coaching program that uses somatics as THE basis for coaching, not as an add-on. Why is that important? Because the body is the domain in which new actions can occur, and if you are missing that domain as a coach, you are missing possibilities for yourself and your clients. In addition working through the domain of the body enables you to develop practices with your clients that allow them to achieve sustainable change. A Strozzi Institute certification in somatic methodology will enhance your offer as a coach.

The following passage is a quote from an article written by Richard Strozzi-Heckler Ph.D., in which he describes his Somatic Coaching work:

“The body is central to my coaching practice. When I say body I use it in the somatic sense of the word, which from the ancient Greek means the living body in its wholeness. This is not the sleek, airbrushed body on magazine covers or the Cartesian notion of body as beast of burden that ferries a disembodied mind to its intellectual appointments. Nor is it the mechanical, physiological body of modern medicine or the religious formula of flesh as sin. The body, in the somatic sense, expresses our history, commitments, dignity, authenticity, identity, roles, moral strength, moods, and aspirations as a unique quality of aliveness we call the ‘self’. In this interpretation the body and the self are indistinguishable. In my coaching I work with the self, the whole person, through the body. I ask my clients to commit to practices that allow them to embody new skills and behaviors; this is entirely different than having an insight or a cognitive understanding.”

Strozzi Institute is not certified as an Accredited Coach Training Program with the ICF. This is because we do not train people how to coach; rather, we train coaches how to coach somatically. We do, however, offer ICF continuing education credits.

Strozzi Institute is currently approved for participants of Leadership in Action, Strozzi Bodywork Seminar, and Art of Somatic Coaching.

The cost of the full schedule of courses and fees for SI's Certification Program is as follows:

Discounts:

Early Registration Discount $150.00 - If you provide a $500.00 non-refundable deposit with your registration and pay your tuition balance in full 45 days (or more) in advance of the course start date you will receive a early registration discount of $150.00. Use of this discount voids other discounts. Applicable to Leadership in Action 1 & 2, The Art of Somatic Coaching, and SOEL.

SISC PIF 20% Discount - If you know you are ready to commit to the full course of study you may be interested in our SISC PIF discount. If you pay in full for the entire coaching program before your first course, you will receive a 20% discount on all courses. The SISC program at list price is $13,450.00 (without any discounts) - if you pay in full for the entire program as you begin a course of study, you will pay $11,150.00.

The shortest possible time would be within one year; however our program also has been designed with the flexibility to meet your timing and schedule.

On the ‘Associates’ page of our website you may contact directly any associate who has provided their contact information. Alternatively you may phone or e-mail the office and ask to be placed in contact with someone with a specific background close to your own.

There are ongoing trainings throughout the year, but there is no formal requirement to continue training in order to keep your certification.

Yes. We have no requirement that you are a certified coach or currently in a certification program for you to learn this work. We have trained therapists, teachers, psychologists, counselors, physical trainers and group leaders. As long as you understand that our offer is the certification in somatic methodology and not a certification as a coach, you are welcome to apply.

For answers to general questions about coaching, please see the International Coaching Federation website: http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF/

Strozzi Institute has a requisite level of quality that we expect in our Somatic Coaches and certification is never taken for granted. During the entire certification process there is an ongoing conversation that will take place between you as student and Strozzi Institute. We work out of a commitment to your learning and development. Through that conversation and our ongoing coaching we work with our students to achieve the level of competency that we expect in our certified coaches.

When you complete your certification with Strozzi Institute you will come away with:

• Skills and distinctions required for Somatic Coaching.
• The ability to create sustainable change within your coaching clients
• The ability to apply the Strozzi Institute methodology in working with individuals and small groups
• Certification as a Strozzi Institute Somatic Coach
• Membership in a community of somatic coaches around the country
• Opportunity of referrals from the above network or from Strozzi Institute