Dear Colleagues,

Happy Fall! This newsletter comes at the onset of autumn - hoping that you found time for relaxation and rejuvenation over these recent summer months!

As a brief update:



• We are so pleased to have many new MABT trainees from our 2024 and 2025 Level 1 courses continuing on for advanced MABT education. Our community of practitioners is growing with representation in more areas of the country - very exciting!

Here is a picture of some of us from the spring 2025 MABT Level 1 course

MABT Level 1 Trainings in 2026

• The next training is in Seattle in the spring (see below)
• Register Now for Early Bird Discount!

• We are in the midst of scheduling other Level 1 trainings, including one in Europe, stay tuned!

MABT-Related News

• The Massage Therapy Foundation's (MTF) Research Conference spring conference was an engaging event - there was a lot of interest in MABT and in the interface between mental health and bodywork. Katy Hansen and Cynthia Price (pictured here) presented on our implementation study of MABT for chronic pain, and MABT was also featured in two other presentations: on the outcomes of the NIH-funded study of MABT for medication treatment for opioid use disorder, and also on the current MTF-funded study of somatic awareness for victims of torture with chronic pain.

• Drs. Cynthia Price and Sarah Fogarty were guest editors of a special issue of on massage and mental health in the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (IJTMB) - check it out!

• Related link to a 'Research Perch' podcast with Sarah and I.

• Two Newly Published Research Articles!

1.This article describes the final results from our study of MABT for those on medication for opioid use disorder. This study was multi-site and lasted about 7 years from start to finish (what a labor of love by myself and our terrific research team)!

Price, CJ., Pike, K., Merrill, J. Longitudinal effects of interoceptive awareness training as an adjunct to medication treatment for opioid use disorder: A randomized clinical trial of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2025.

Also, a nice press release put out by the UW School of Nursing about this project: Feeling to Heal: Mindful Awareness Training Shows Outcomes for Addiction, Pain, Trauma Recovery - UW School of Nursing

2.This article describes the results of a mediation study to see if changes in interoceptive awareness facilitated decreased anxiety and depression among Latina immigrants. The study examined a group mindfulness meditation approach that included a focus on body awareness that I helped design.

Ornelas, I., Nelson, A., Price, CJ., et al., Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma (ALMA): Increasing Mindfulness and Social Support to Reduce Depression and Anxiety in Latina Immigrant Women. Mindfulness, 2025. Full text here.

• Cynthia will be a keynote presenter at the upcoming online conference on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and the Body, put on by the Society for DBT in Europe. This is a wonderful opportunity to share information about the importance of somatic awareness to this community of therapists.

• Cynthia is a now a member of the Board of Trustees of the Massage Therapy Foundation - supporting research, education and service in the massage and bodywork profession! More funding is now available for grants for community service projects and research - consider applying!

• Cynthia and Aaron Freedman are the new co-chairs of the Research Committee for the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy (USABP). We would love to have your involvement in the Committee if you're interested (email me if so) and also please check out USABP and consider becoming a member if you're working in the body psychotherapy realm (this includes bodyworkers)!

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