Somatic Sexology® · Practitioner Training

Become a Professional
Certified Somatic Sexologist

A 9-month, certified and accredited pathway for bodyworkers, coaches and therapists ready to expand their scope, with the ethics, credentials and clinical practice to back it up.

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Short application · No payment required · We'll call you back

Accredited with Think Tree UK Registered & Insured through BGI · UK & Europe-wide Training practitioners since 2002 Culture of Care trained Accredited with Think Tree UK Registered & Insured through BGI · UK & Europe-wide Training practitioners since 2002 Culture of Care trained

Before anything else

What Is Somatic Sexology?

Somatic sexology is the meeting of somatics, working with awareness through the body, and sexology, the scientific study of human sexuality.

Our training brings together person-centred coaching, embodied consent, safety and resilience building, and therapeutic touch where appropriate, always guided by the client's own learning goals.

Somatic sexology develops healthy, erotic embodiment, presence, and self-understanding. This work is powerful. It's here to support people in living their happiest, healthiest, most intimate and sexual lives.

What's the Difference? A Quick Guide

Somatic Sexology

A body-based approach to sexual health, intimacy and relationships, combining sexology with embodied awareness.

Sexological Bodywork

A body-based practice combining touch where appropriate, embodiment, and sexological education.

Somatic Sex Education

Teaching and coaching clients using somatic and sexological principles.

Sex Therapy

A talking therapy for sexual concerns, intimacy and relationships.

Somatic Therapist

Uses body-based approaches for emotional wellbeing, trauma recovery, and nervous system regulation.

Relational Bodywork

A unique approach used by Julian in his practice, combining somatic sexology, therapeutic touch, embodiment, consent, and nervous system awareness.

This isn't

A weekend certificate or a quick credential
Traditional talk therapy or a medical intervention
Recreational, life coaching or bedroom technique advice
Something you build alone: it's a supervised, community-based training
An online self-study program: you will work with self, other practitioner-learners online, in person, and with volunteers and real clients to ensure confidence and competency

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What you'll get

Everything you need
nothing you don't.

9-Month Certification

A structured, accredited pathway from foundations to supervised clinical practice.

Full Teaching Faculty

11 expert teachers across curriculum, ethics and clinical supervision, not one instructor stretched thin.

In-Person Immersion

Three residential weeks in the Algarve, Portugal, with hands-on practicum and real client work.

Externally Accredited & Insured

Think Tree UK accredited, BGI insured across the UK and Europe, Culture of Care trained.

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Julian Marcus · Founder & Director

The Founder

Meet Julian Marcus.

Julian trained as a Therapeutic Bodyworker in 2001, and has been practising, studying and teaching at the intersection of touch, nervous system regulation and relational ethics ever since. What began in the clinic, working directly with the public, became a lifelong commitment to a modality he knows to be some of the most rewarding and necessary work in the field.

He built this training to be the clinically effective pathway he wished existed when he was starting out: rigorous, ethically contained, and built for real client work, not just theory.

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The Path

Nine months, five modules.

A blended arc of online community learning, three residential weeks in the Algarve, and a supervised practicum with real clients, leading to certification.

Sep – Jan · Online community

The biology of wholeness

Learning about your own body as a biology of wholeness. Building your personal foundation in somatic sex education.

One week · In-person, Algarve, Portugal

Embodiment week one: embodied consent

Moving from self-awareness into touch, connection and service with others.

Jan – Mar · Online community + practice sessions

Practice with volunteers

Continuing online community learning, alongside structured practice sessions with volunteers to build competence and confidence.

Two weeks · In-person, Algarve, Portugal

Embodiment weeks two & three

A rest and integration day sits between the two weeks. The second week is pure clinical practice in the supervision clinic: real, authentic sessions.

Apr – Jun · Supervised practicum

Real client work & certification

A minimum of 25 real client sessions under supervision, leading to certification. Working with real clients puts everything you've learned into real-life practice.

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Fit

This training is built for:

Established bodyworkers and massage therapists whose clients already bring up sexuality and intimacy in session.

Coaches and therapists wanting a trusted, accredited way to deepen the client journeys they're already leading.

Practitioners based in Portugal looking for an internationally respected qualification close to home.

Anyone newer to practice who feels a genuine calling toward this work, and is ready to commit to it properly.

The Faculty

Learn from our experienced faculty: decades of clinical experience and real success with clients.

School Leadership Team

Julian Marcus

Founder & Director of Trainings

Ella Mesma

Consent Curriculum Director · Wheel of Consent® Facilitator

Liz Ray

Curriculum Designer · PhD · 25 years in body-based practice

Teaching Team

Julia Pessis

Bodyworker & Somatic Sexologist

Christopher Gladwell

Awareness & Breath-work Educator

Nicola Garrett

Bodywork Educator · Pelvic & Scar Tissue Remediation

Svitlana Textoris

Trauma-Informed Practice + Somatic Sexology

Senior Practitioner Mentors & Curriculum Advisers

Ellen Heed

Anatomy, Physiology & Scar Tissue Remediation

Betty Martin

Creator of the Wheel of Consent®

Philip Shepherd

Author & Embodiment Coach

Carol M. Davis

DPT, EdD, MS, FAPTA · USA

Dirk Oellibrandt

Taoist Practice & Bodywork Mentor

The Shift

What changes.

The same practitioner, before and after nine months of training.

Before The starting point

Practising within a limited scope, redirecting clients when sexuality or intimacy comes up
Unsure what to do when trauma arises, or when a client shares a trauma background
Feeling a ceiling in the modality you already trained in
Limited to talk or touch alone, wanting to bridge the two with clarity, ethics and confidence
Curious about this kind of work, but unable to find a training that feels clinically legitimate
Sensing there's a deeper level to reach with your clients that you don't yet have the tools for

After Nine months in

A certified, accredited and professionally insured practitioner able to work ethically with individuals, couples and LGBTQ+ clients
Practising within a clear code of ethics and scope, backed by supervision and an international community of care
Finally doing the work you've been circling for years
Guiding clients from their inner resources, health and agency toward the most rewarding relationships and intimacy
Truly helpful to those seeking support to move through dissatisfaction, growth edges or gaps in embodied education
An in-demand sexologist and clinician able to support lasting change, healing and transformation

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Skills & Competencies

What this training equips you to do.

A body-based (somatic) intake that maps the arc of a client's journey in a wholistic, attuned way.

Transform habituated patterns and limiting beliefs, yours and your client's, into healthy habits that support their most authentic desires.

Move from treatment-model thinking into client-led coaching, for better outcomes and easier wins for your clients.

Manage relational dynamics with clear agreements that protect you and your client, and ensure the best outcomes for all.

Integrate personal process into professional presence, working outside attraction or repulsion, and sit beside intensity without dysregulation.

Guide powerful transitions that bridge session time into real, lasting change in the way clients live their lives.

An ethical framework for meaningful, well-rewarded work, with a typical practitioner rate of €100 / $100 / £100 per hour.

Certification

This training offers a
certification to practice.

Upon successfully meeting the core competencies for safe and ethical practice, you will receive your certificate — enabling you to gain insurance, professional modality recognition and the ability to practice.

Consult your local requirements and laws for scope of practice guidelines.

Certificate of Completion — The School of Relational Bodywork

Investment

Two ways in.

The training itself: organise your own accommodation for the in-person weeks.

€3,900 Early Bird

~~€4,400~~ regular price

Full 9-month blended curriculum
Three in-person weeks in the Algarve
Supervised practicum with real clients
Accredited certification on completion

Full Package · Food + Accommodation

The training plus 19 days of food and accommodation in the Algarve.

€6,000 Early Bird

~~€6,500~~ regular price

Everything in Tuition & Certification
19 days of food and on-site accommodation
No logistics to arrange yourself
Same accredited certification

Portugal-Based Applicants

Please contact us to find out more about our plan for assisted places for residents who qualify for support.

Local pricing · being finalised

Early Bird Deadline

To be confirmed before applications open.

Date · to be confirmed

Payment Plans

Available: contact us to discuss what works for you.

Dates

1 September 2026 – 25 June 2027. Three in-person weeks in the Algarve, Portugal.

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Short application · No payment required · We'll call you back

Questions

Before you apply.

This is a clinical, educational training. Every practice is client-led, consent-based, and in service of a mutually agreed client-led learning goal. It is not a sexual or pleasure service, and it does not prepare you to offer one.

Tuition, supervision and certification is €3,900 early bird or €4,400 regular. A full package including 19 days of food and accommodation in the Algarve is €6,000 early bird or €6,500 regular. Payment plans are available.

Up to 20 practitioners. On-site accommodation during the in-person weeks holds 14; the remaining spaces stay off-site nearby.

Plan for around 25 hours a week, spread across 9 months, with three in-person weeks in the Algarve, Portugal.

Most practitioners come in with 2 to 10 years in a related field: bodywork, massage, coaching or therapy. If you don't have that background but feel a genuine calling toward this work, we still want to hear from you. Apply and we'll talk it through on the call.

Yes. The training is externally accredited with Think Tree UK, insured through BGI, and Julian is Culture of Care trained.

You'll be invited to an enrolment call with the team to talk things through, answer your questions, and confirm next steps. This call will offer you some practices to experience the work you are curious to learn, so you can both think and feel if this is for you.

Become a Professional
Certified Somatic Sexologist