Cliff Smyth

Cliff Smyth PhD, GCFT, NBC-HWC

Faculty Member, Department of Mind-Body Medicine, College of Integrative Medicine and Health Science

Cliff Smyth joined Saybrook University as a student, later becoming a student mentor and adjunct faculty, then a Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellow, and he became a faculty member in 2019. He has taught in the introductory mind-body medicine and coaching classes, Movement Modalities for Wellbeing, Somatics - Body-based Approaches to Mental Health, and the Masters capstone class. He has taught the Advanced Methods class in Hemeneutic Phenomenology and IPA, and has a passion for qualitative research, especially phenomenological and heuristic approaches. He has also been involved in reviewing syllabi and program learning outcomes, participating in Doctoral committees, and in department and university anti-racism initiatives. His research interests focus on mindfulness, bodily self-awareness, and the lived experience of bodily being and well-being.

Cliff has taught and practiced the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education since 1991, and currently teaches classes at Feldenkrais Movement and Awareness, in San Francisco. He specialized in working with clients dealing with stress, chronic pain, and helping people finding new more comfortable ways to move in their lives. He was President of the International Feldenkrais Federation (IFF) for six years, and is a member of the IFF Research Steering Committee and Editor of the Feldenkrais Research Journal. He was a Lecturer at San Francisco State University, teaching Somatics: Body Awareness, Movement and Well-Being, for four years. Cliff practiced as a health and wellness, and life coach for over 10 years, and has used hypnosis in with clients in various contexts for pain management and surgery preparation. He has a background in teaching English as a second language, teaching writing, community arts, and community development. He is a long term meditator and somatics practitioner.