What does Somatic Experiencing training cost, and who can apply?

In the United States, Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) charges $1,180 per Beginning or Intermediate module and $1,650 per Advanced module, or $50 less with early registration, at the prices checked on October 10, 2026¹. To apply, you need a certificate, certification or license in a healing-arts profession with professional oversight, plus clients you already see².

Who can apply to SEI's professional training?

SEI's Training Policy Handbook asks for a healing-arts certificate, certification or license, professional oversight such as a governing ethical board, an active client base and good ethical standing in your field². Its own examples of eligible professionals include coaches, physical therapists, yoga teachers and massage therapists, next to mental health practitioners². SEI wants clients "to work with throughout the entirety of the training program", and it requires an active practice on the day you apply².

Master's students have one exception. SEI may waive the first three rules if your degree program will license you by the end of the second training year and gives you clients through a practicum. The ethical-standing rule still applies². US admission also costs a $49 application fee, which SEI does not refund¹.

How long does Somatic Experiencing training take?

SEI's professional training teaches the SE method, which Dr. Peter Levine developed and founded². Graduates become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP)³. SEI usually teaches eight modules of four to six days each, spread over 2.5 to 3 years². The SEP certificate requires 216 contact hours of training, delivered in 6 to 8 modules depending on the country⁴. Some SEI modules run online and others in person. Advanced training is almost always in person, so plan for in-person attendance, and possibly travel, in your last year¹.

SEI currently sets no fixed deadline for the personal-session and consultation requirements after Advanced II. You send SEI your completed logs once you have the hours, and SEI then awards the certificate⁴. If you want pre-approval before a US Advanced II module, your complete SEP Approval Packet is due at least 4 weeks before the module starts. Only the group consultations held at Advanced II may still be open then⁴.

Before you commit, you can attend SEI's 3-hour Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing webinar, which gives an overview of the model³. The handbook gives people who attend the "Basic Principles of SE Workshop" a $50 discount code for Beginning I, and the code combines only with the Early Bird price².

What does Somatic Experiencing training cost?

The worksheet lists the main costs that SEI names on its tuition page and in its handbook. Write your own figures in the right column.

The early price applies when you register more than 30 days before a module starts².

SEI awards scholarships of 25%, 33% or 50% off tuition, and only for US-based trainings¹. SEI runs scholarship rounds in cycles. The round after Fall 2026 is the 2027 Winter Scholarship Cycle¹.

How many personal sessions and consultation credits do you need?

The SEP certificate requires 12 hours of personal sessions and 18 credit hours of case consultation, all with approved providers⁴. Of the 18 credits, at least 4 must be individual and at least 6 must be with faculty⁴. Group work converts at a fixed rate: 3 hours of group case consultation count as 1 credit hour⁴.

Faculty credits count inside the 18, not on top of them. Group consultations at your Advanced II module, for example, may also complete the faculty requirement⁴. The example column below applies SEI's rules to one possible mix.

Credits start counting on the first day of Beginning I, so sessions you had before the training do not count. Demonstrations done in class do not count either⁴. These sessions and consultations also earn no continuing education credit¹.

How do you find an approved consultant or session provider?

For students with an SEI scholarship, SEI caps the fee at $100 for a personal session or individual consultation worth 1 SE credit. For group hours that count toward the 18-credit minimum, the cap is $75 per credit hour, which SEI converts to $25 per hour in the room⁴. The scholarship rates end when you graduate². Without a scholarship, ask each provider for the rate before the first session.

SEI lists approved providers by level on its credit-providers page. Before you book, check that the provider is approved for your current training level and for the type of session or consultation⁵. SEI warns that "some providers may believe and promote that they are approved for a particular level, when they are not approved", and it makes the check the student's responsibility⁴.

Can you call SEP a certification?

No. SEI's handbook calls the program a certificate program and says you may not document or call the SEP a certification². During training you may advertise as an "SE Student". SEI reserves "SE Practitioner" for people who finished the full program, including the consultations and personal sessions⁴.

SEI states that it is "neither a regulatory nor licensing organization", and that the SEP certificate "does not confer the right to diagnose or treat any medical or mental health condition"². The same handbook says people without a license or certification to treat mental health conditions may want to avoid titles such as "therapist" or "counselor"². What you may do with SE skills depends on the law in your state. The guides for California, Colorado, New York, Oregon and Washington name the statutes.

Who should choose a different training?

Our reading of SEI's rules above:

• If you have no healing-arts credential with oversight, or no clients yet, SEI's entry rules exclude you unless the master's exception fits². The somatic coaching certification guide compares programs with other entry rules.
• If you cannot travel in your final year, check the Advanced module locations first, because SEI runs them almost always in person¹.
• If you are still choosing between methods, start with which somatic certification to choose.

If you already see clients with a completed somatic training, you can claim a free OneSomatic profile now, with no card required. Sign-up is not open in Washington or Nevada at this time.

Sources

1. Somatic Experiencing International, "Tuition and Support". Checked October 10, 2026.
2. Somatic Experiencing International, "Training Policy Handbook" (October 2025). Checked October 10, 2026.
3. Somatic Experiencing International, "Training". Checked October 10, 2026.
4. Somatic Experiencing International, "Graduation Requirements". Checked October 10, 2026.
5. Somatic Experiencing International, "Credit Providers". Checked October 9, 2026.