A legacy of somatic therapy integrating talk & touch
About Ilana Rubenfeld
Ilana Rubenfeld is the creator of the Rubenfeld Synergy Method® of touch-talk therapy. She is the author of The Listening Hand published by Penguin Random House and co-author of “Somatic-Emotional Release Work among Hands-on Practitioners” published in The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology. When she passed away in December 2022, she left behind decades of instructional videos and training curricula teaching how to integrate therapeutic talk with empathetic listening touch. Her lifelong contribution to somatic therapy liberated both therapists and clients from sitting in chairs talking about emotions while suppressing the natural impulse to move their bodies, to touch and to be touched, while providing self-care tools anyone can use to improve mindbody integration.
Rubenfeld Synergy Method®
Listening Hands
Gentle touch engages the body in the therapeutic and educational process.
Bodymind Dialogue
What would your body say if it had words? Listen to the crosstalk & reflect.
Emotional Release
Memories stored in the body discharge somatic-emotional energy.
Bodymind Integration
Synergize body, mind, emotions and spirit into healthier happier harmony.
The Listening Hand Video Collection preserves Ilana Rubenfeld’s legacy.
Ways to connect.
Participate in a workshop
Attend an Introduction to the Rubenfeld Synergy Method® workshop. For therapists, bodyworkers, educators and anyone seeking mindbody integration.
Get certified in RSM
Take the Rubenfeld Synergy Training program and become a Certified Rubenfeld Synergist. Learn to integrate listening touch and compassionate talk.
Attend a demo
Watch from the side or volunteer for a chair or table session to experience the Rubenfeld Synergy Method® for somatic-emotional integration.
Donate
Donate
Help us spread the word about an integrative approach that talks to the brainbody connection by touching it directly.
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Yes it is. The Ilana Rubenfeld Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.
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You can donate any time you are ready and still have an impact. The Ilana Rubenfeld Foundation is committed to our mission for the long haul. Subscribe to our email list and we’ll be in touch.
Words of wisdom from Ilana Rubenfeld
Mirror Exercise
“The body tells the truth.”
“The use of talk and listening touch supports clients in their efforts to deeply change.”
Floor exercise
“Emotions reside and are held in the bodymind.”
“Our way of thinking has been inaccurately based on the separation of mind, body, emotions and spirit.”
“The body metaphors tell your life story.”
Session
“I learned to use my hands to listen to the story told in the bodymind.”
A legendary healer
She was called a “Genius of Touch,” an “Innovative Trailblazer,” and the “Grand Dame” of body-oriented psychotherapy. Watch her explain her work.
Read about her breakthrough method and try it yourself.
“Touch is a viable, accurate system of communication. It is a sophisticated language that can both listen and communicate. It bypasses words and rational concepts and supports the growth of the nervous system, inducing the development of the five senses, and the abilities to orient in space, move and think. Touch is crucial to life itself, not only in infancy, but through all your years. The message and quality of touch depends on the intention of the toucher. Touch that evokes trust and safety can create dialogues with the client’s unconscious mind. In early infancy, the baby receives and understands the nonverbal language of touch long before it understands words. With an adult, the combination of touch and words represents the highest form of communication.”