Learn everything you want to know about body psychotherapy: what it is, what its applications are, and why you should choose it as a method of psychotherapy.
Contents:
- What is body (somatic) psychotherapy?
- Why you should choose body psychotherapy?
- Applies of body psychotherapy
What is body psychotherapy ?
Body psychotherapy is an important branch of psychotherapy and constitutes a unique therapeutic approach with a broad scientific and theoretical basis. It has a long history, consisting of a wealth of scientific knowledge and publications based on valid theoretical positions.
► Although it is based on psychological and psychodynamic theories and uses concepts such as the subconscious, transference, defense mechanisms, etc., it focuses on the functional relationship between mind and body, taking into account the complexity of the intersections and interactions between them.
► A common belief of all its individual approaches is that the body reflects the entire personality and that there is a functional unity between the mind and the body.
In Somatic Psychotherapy the term “body” is not identified with the purely biological dimension of the body, and there is no hierarchical relationship between mind and body, between soul and body.
They are both functional and interacting aspects of the whole of human existence. While other psychotherapeutic approaches barely touch on this perspective, Somatic Psychotherapy considers it fundamental.
► Somatic Psychotherapy includes a developmental model, personality theory, hypotheses about the roots of pathogenic symptoms and dysfunctions, and a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques used within the psychotherapeutic relationship.
These techniques include looking at the body through observation, touch, movement and breathing.
► Body Psychotherapy is a discipline that has been developing, for more than seventy years, taking into account research in biology, anthropology, cultural history, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, evolutionary psychology, neonatology, and perinatal studies, as well as findings from the experience of its practice.
► There are many different and sometimes quite differentiated approaches within Somatic Psychotherapy, as is the case in the other disciplines of psychotherapy.
► Although Somatic Psychotherapy has commonalities with some somatic therapies, somatic techniques are also common in many other areas of psychotherapy.
► Somatic Psychotherapy has been scientifically recognised by the EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY and the professional qualifications required for its practice have also been scientifically defined.
Why choose somatic psychotherapy?
► Body Psychotherapy, more than other approaches, emphasises our ability to be our body, understanding it as a system of physical, mental and emotional functions.
► By using the vitality and wisdom of the body, we can endure and overcome difficulties such as anxiety, depression, panic, and trauma.
► Recent research into the neurophysiology of emotions justifies psychotherapeutic approaches that use the body.
► Famous researchers such as Gerald Edelman (Nobel Prize in Medicine), Henri Laborit, Antonio Damasio and others have shown the close relationship between bodily experiences and the unconscious functions of the lower brain. Our emotional and mental life, as well as the formation of the ego and consciousness, depend on and derive from them.
► The positive changes that any psychotherapy seeks in the mental-emotional world of the individual, when supported by the mobilization of the body, create deeper corrective experiences in a shorter time, as new learning is felt at more levels of the Self.
► Somatic Psychotherapy positively redefines our nature as part of the larger natural world (ecological dimension), in which the body is identified with the Self. Not only is it not an “inferior” part of it, but it is a safe place that connects us to life.
Applications of body Psychotherapy
Somatic Psychotherapy is a psychological and scientific approach, the origins of which lie in the discoveries of Wilhelm Reich, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, student and collaborator of Freud.
Reich’s theories, which he formulated and applied at the beginning of the last century, include, among other things, a special emphasis on the prevention of mental disorder through intervention in groups close to the infant, child and adolescent.
Another category, for which preventive intervention is very useful, is the groups of the population in a vulnerable situation, such as women, the unemployed, “traumatised” populations, etc.
The Somatic Psychotherapeutic Approach is as timely and useful in today’s difficult life circumstances of people as ever.
With the basic premise that our body reflects the whole person and that there is a functional unity and relationship between mind and body, psychotherapeutic work that combines mind and body is a great complementary fund of direct help for individuals, couples, parents, pregnant women, adolescents, the elderly, families and generally the most vulnerable groups in society.
Individual Body Psychotherapy
Individual psychotherapy is the most basic form of psychotherapy.
Individual psychotherapy requires the exploration and emergence of the past, various traumas and intra-psychic conflicts, so that on the one hand, repressed and forbidden emotions can be released and on the other hand, strengths and abilities that have been locked up can be utilized.
In the process of individual psychotherapy, individuals learn to come closer to themselves, to perceive and understand their real needs, their most authentic feelings and their deepest thoughts.
The role and personality of the psychotherapist-counsellor are extremely important and decisive factors in order to create the best therapeutic relationship with the person being treated. Necessary elements and conditions for a good therapeutic relationship between the two parties are confidentiality, safety, protection and warmth from the therapist and trust, good intention and acceptance from the therapist. These factors ensure the greatest possible cooperation and alliance to resolve the therapist’s basic requests.
In the individual psychotherapy of the somatic approach, the body with all its qualities, characteristics, memories and reactions is an additional excellent tool-means (with its many different techniques and exercises) for the more complete development and maturation of the individual.
Group Body Psychotherapy
Group psychotherapy is one of the most widespread and effective forms of psychotherapy today.
The authorship of group psychotherapy is claimed by many approaches, but no one holds it.
The group performs a very important therapeutic as well as social work since it helps the individuals involved to communicate and connect in a unique and profound way with others.
In the team the goals are:
- training people in new forms of communication, more human and more functional
- the acquisition of knowledge and the reception of new information and ideas through the sharing of stories and experiences of the members of the group
- the creation of an appropriate climate of confidentiality, safety and protection, without criticism and interference, prohibitive orders and instructions, in order to allow the free expression of feelings and thoughts
- the discovery of abilities, skills and personality traits in order to achieve the best use of them in everyday life with the aim of acquiring new positions and roles in the family and society
- the recovery of values such as collectivity, altruism and solidarity that have been neglected
In Somatic Group Psychotherapy the body is considered interconnected with the emotional life and therefore any approach to the state of our body is an approach to our whole being.
Through the many different techniques, as well as specialized exercises that activate the body, participants in a Somatic Group Psychotherapy group are helped to express and develop their emotional world in a context that enhances their communication and connection with others.
Some of the requests that lead individuals to the individual psychotherapy process include the following:
- Emotional symptoms – anxiety, fear, sadness, despair
- Negative self-image – lack of self-confidence, self-esteem
- Physical disorders in all systems – respiratory, circulatory, skin, visceral etc.
- Relationships with the environment – phobias, panic attacks, difficulty in communication and interpersonal relationships, etc.
Couples
Communication in the couple is one of the most important factors in the structure, functioning and development of the relationship.
Physical communication takes up a large part of the overall communication between individuals, especially in couples.
So by introducing the body into couple therapy, we greatly increase the depth of the experiential experience, adding another tool factor to the work on the mental and emotional realm.
Thus the exercises with the body and their various related techniques (breathing, grounding, relaxation, physical contact, eye contact, expression with sounds, etc.), in the context of a long-term therapy, help to change many factors in the couple’s relationship, such as:
- relax the psychosomatic defenses of the character
- gradually discover the way each partner seeks or avoids contact with the other
- observe in each other the movements of the body (infinitesimal, small, large), the posture and the asymmetries
- to allow their bodies to “tell” the story of their lives with immediacy and without mental “censorship”
- acquire more authentic relationships with each other
- express their creative skills and imagination more effectively
- to release the energy that has been trapped by commands, instructions, prohibitions, guilt, shame, fears that have immobilized their body and finally,
- gain the ability and strength to share their needs and desires with the aim of alliance, peace and joy in their relationship and in life
Parent groups
The role of the parent is one of the most important functional roles in terms of the healthy development and growth of the family and, by extension, of society as a whole.
The character, personality, knowledge, histories and experiences of parents largely determine the balance and maturity of the family system.
In parenting groups, we aim to provide a framework for education, wider knowledge, sharing of experiences and feelings among members.
These groups are experiential in nature.
They include activation and relaxation through physical “exercises”, guided visualizations, creative expression, etc. In this way, parents can allow themselves to “let in” to the group (through imagination) thoughts, images and memories of their inner child, so that there is greater and better communication between the parent and their child.
Third Age
It is an evolutionary phase of human life in which basic needs and existential issues are a constituent element.
Issues such as loneliness, loss of loved ones, loss of role within the family, physical condition, illnesses (dementia – depression – psychosexual dysfunction), the agony of death, etc. are some of the issues that concern older people.
There are many different approaches that touch on these issues.
The Somatic Psychotherapy approach helps in many ways, particularly with exercises of relaxation, reflection, ego strengthening and expression through movement, dance and creative expression.
Preparation Groups for Childbirth
A mother’s positive contact with her baby creates the conditions for a healthy and happy personality.
The groups of pregnant women, from the 3rd month of pregnancy to delivery, include:
- Information and exchange on pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum issues
- Information on natural childbirth
- Working through the particular issues of pregnancy: anxieties, identification with the “mother”, sexuality, body image, ambivalence towards the baby, etc.
- Physical “exercises” suitable for a good pregnancy and childbirth: widening of breathing, relaxation, preparation of the perineum, restoration of the tonicity of the areas that affect childbirth – pelvis, throat, mouth, eyes, feet
- Involvement and information of partners about childbirth and postpartum
Pre-teen and teen groups
Prepubescence, along with adolescence, as an evolutionary phase of a person’s life, is a passage. The passage from childhood to the now mature phase of life. Adulthood.
It is a period characterized by great changes and separations on both a physical-physical and mental-spiritual level.
How the pre-adolescent-adolescent perceives, accepts and copes with these changes is very much related to the care and attention he or she received in the early developmental phases of life and to the stimuli and circumstances that followed.
Some of the dominant themes of these ages are:
- The changes in the body
- The relationship with parents
- The relationship with the opposite sex
- Relationship with friends and social groups
- Fear of difference along with the need for uniqueness
- The need for support and guidance together with the need for freedom (insecurity and desire together)
Difficulty in this phase of life can manifest itself in a number of ways some of which are:
- Behavioural disorders (excessive closing or excessive opening with the feeling of anger underlying)
- Substance dependence (drugs, alcohol, etc.)
- Fanatical attachment to ideologies – groups
Somatic Psychotherapy groups enable young people to:
- To come in contact with their hidden emotions through physical exercises. To express them and recognize the energy of these feelings so that they can use it in a creative and non-destructive way
- To see and accept their body through its history and uniqueness
- To share their fears and concerns with peers in a context that mirrors and, as appropriate, reassures or troubles them
It is worth noting that apart from the physical exercises, the tools used in Somatic Psychotherapy groups (psychodrama, painting, expression with or without words, etc.) generally stimulate the emotion and spirit while mobilizing the body.
