Blog Writer | United States Association for Body Psychotherapy

Ongoing nonverbal interactions with our primary caregivers during the first year of life set a relational
foundation that is apparent both in the everyday life of the adult and in psychotherapy. Even though our
adult postural attitudes, gestures, gait and breathing patterns have changed over time, the foundations
established in our first year remain readily observable and available. Attending to these patterns within
psychotherapy is especially powerful.

Edinburgh Gestalt Institute, June 8 – 11, 2015

Location: Edinburgh

For more information and to register email info@egi.uk.com

EVENT INFORMATION IS IN THE INSTITUTIONAL EVENTS

This workshop will approach the development of human connection by experiencing the role of the structure of the body in relationship. Posture, movement, sensorimotor development and kinesiology are rarely understood as important features in human bonding. Yet, it is through movement and touch that self-regulation develops, dyadic bonding is learned and a sense of self grows. Through lecture, experiential exercises and practice we will examine the primary structures of attachment and how shifting the structure can shift the relational field. Included will be exploration of 5 Early Primary Structures of Attachment, Developmental Movement Patterning, Polyvagal Theory in Early Relationship, Co-regulation and Self-Regulation, and Overview of Rupture and Repair Cycles and practice with Dyadic Somatic Tracking. **SEP’s, Advanced SE students, BASE-P’s, BASE students; others welcome on an individual basis**

December 4-7,2015 – Austin, TX

Download Flyer here:BASE™

We’ve heard and seen thousands of messages about what a “good” body is supposed to look like; now, experience ways to re-claim your body from inside out to promote health, happiness and make peace with the body. Drawing from her experience as a Yoga Instructor, personal trainer and Psychodramatist, Linda will lead the group in an experiential workshop that includes poetry, action methods, Yoga and meditation practice to re-pattern thinking about beauty, taking up space, having presence, and being at ease with the miraculous mind-body continuum that is our Selves.

DATE: Saturday, March 28, 2015
TIME: 1:00pm-3:00pm
PLACE: GoGo Guru 8289 Main Street, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Cost: $25 at the door ($20 in advance) To Register: http://www.gogoguru.net/yoga-studio-workshops.php

Share with Others, download PDF Flyer: Learn to Love Your Body thru Yoga

Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested….

Children coming from the tri-state NY, New Jersey Connecticut region and ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT….

SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Core For Kids “Playshop” in Manhattan
(download flyer)

with Neal Brodsky and Elaine Oswald

(8-10 Year Olds at this event)

$90 per child

Attendance is limited to 10

NOTE: Please contact us if you have a young person of another age as we see them in our private practices.

Find out more and Buy ticket(s) for the March Playshop on the Core For Kids Eventbrite page at https://core4kidzinfo.eventbrite.com

Many children experience individual challenges that include the empty feeling that they are “just not good enough” as themselves, and this often manifests as disturbances in relationships and behavior. We help children find their CORE or “Center of Right Energy” that leads to wonderful changes in their lives.

This Playshop will include expressive art-making and Core Energetics movement, opening young people to themselves in a safe, nurturing environment.

Note: The event is led by two seasoned therapists whose practices in body-centered psychotherapy address family and individual challenges such as: school adjustment, anger/aggression, attention issues, self-regulation, sleep problems, separation and divorce in family, adoption, sibling or parental conflict, family medical challenges, video/media overuse, and developmental delay.

About the Playshop Leaders:

Neal Brodsky LMFT, CCEP is the co-creator of Core for Kids and a holistic psychotherapist whose practice in Connecticut and Manhattan uses expressive therapies to help young people and adults create lives they love. He is licensed in Marriage & Family Therapy and presently interning on the Institute of Core Energetics faculty. Neal’s chapter “Emergence: A Tale of Two Boys” will be included in the upcoming book “Deep Play: Depth Psychology with Children.” Click here to learn more about Neal’s practice with children and families at www.CoreForKids.com

Elaine Oswald, LCAT, ATR-BC, CCEP is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Certified Core Energetics Practitioner with a private practice in Manhattan and Brooklyn. She has over a decade experience working with individuals, families and groups to address trauma, relationships, depression, anxiety and life transitions. She is dedicated to sharing the power of expressive and somatic process work to help people find greater vitality and authenticity. Click here to learn more about Elaine and her practice.

Also visit us on the Core For Kids Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/core4kidz

Buy ticket(s) for the March Playshop on the Core For Kids Eventbrite page at https://core4kidzinfo.eventbrite.com

Theory and Practice of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy

This training, intended for professionals and students in the mental health and human services field, provides a foundation in the theory and techniques of psychodrama, sociometry, and related group methods. The training, for individuals with up to 150 hours of prior psychodrama, is designed specifically to provide a solid foundation in the basic theory, concepts, and methods, along with skills practice and other experiential learning opportunities. Depending on participants’ interests, there may also be presentations and demonstrations on using action methods with populations and settings of interest, such as in the treatment of people with addictions, eating disorders, trauma and other mental health conditions, and in settings such as schools, other educational settings, faith communities, and organizational and community development.

Dates: The third Wednesday of each month, January through June 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with a 60-minute lunch break. February 18 March 18 April 15 May 20 June 17

Note: Participant are asked to make a commitment to participate in the entire series, and payment is expected for all six sessions. Location: Laurel, Maryland (near Route 29 and I-95)

Fee: $175 per session, for a total of $875. If you pay for the entire series in advance or on the first day, you will get a $75 discount ($800). Cash, check and credit cards are accepted. (Please note: If you pay by credit card, there is a 3% service charge.)

Continuing Education Credit/Psychodrama Training Hours: For each session, 5.5 hours are granted through NBCC, NAADAC, ASET, American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, and Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners.

Psychodrama Training Group Feb-June 2015 – DOWNLOAD HERE

A Graduate Workshop for Somatic Practitioners, Therapies and Healers who want to upsurge CONFIDENCE, CLIENTS and COMPEN$ATION so you feel respected and valued, feel eros for your work, ignite your creativity. Humanity and the planet need you in your greatness!

What you are meant to fulfill in Life is also what Life is meant to fulfill in you!

We came to this work
because we were in pain.

We believe in this work
because we transformed.

We share this work
because we love.

Member: Kate Holt

Here’s the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/accelerate-evolution-tickets-15479177637

March 7 & 8 @ 150 W. 28th NYC

Portion of the proceeds benefit the Institution of Core Energetics

DOWNLOAD THE PDF:

ACCELERATE EVOLUTION FLYER

Edwards, J. (2015). Exploring sensory sensitivities and relationships during group dance movement psychotherapy for adults with autism. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 10(1), 5-20.

The following study was conducted to explore the sensory experiences of adults with autism using Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). The author was interested in observing the attachment behaviors of adults with autism and finding out how they form relationships. The author used a case study design and justified using a qualitative design in order to explore human experience. As a result of selecting this design, only four participants were observed over an eight week period. To avoid bias, the researcher kept a reflexive journal and invited another researcher to observe the participants in order to compare findings. The researcher was aware that her extensive knowledge and experience working with autistic clients and her training as a dance movement therapist would potentially lead to bias. The researcher attempted to address this bias by asking a therapist with different training to be a co-researcher. Findings showed that participants experienced sensory sensitivities that influenced their relationships. The participants were able to adjust to each other’s sensory needs and become more aware of each other’s emotional and mental state. The researcher concluded that more research is needed for the autistic adult population.
The researcher did an excellent job in describing the literature available on autism, sensory integration and attachment theory. I was happy to see that she dispelled the myth that autistic children are the result of being brought up in an environment lacking emotional warmth. Instead, she mentioned new research that shows there is a neurobiological and sensory basis to autism. Also, she points out that a recent study shows that children with autism are able to form healthy attachments. The researcher also was thorough in describing the aim of her study and outlining her research questions. Often, in my experience, authors of research articles fail to put the aim of their study and research questions in clear terms. I appreciated that the researcher recruited another researcher to record observations in order to minimize bias. The researcher presented the findings with rich descriptions from the participants as well as entries from her journal and from the co-researcher.

The researcher states that a limitation of the study was the small number of participants and cannot be generalized. By choosing to conduct a qualitative study, a small sample size is justified. Case studies generally do not exceed a sample size of four or five cases (Creswell, 2007). A case study is a good approach when the inquirer seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of the cases (Creswell, 2007). I feel one of the limitations of the study was that only well-functioning individuals were selected. Perhaps different results would have arisen had the participants been lower functioning. I appreciate that notes on the contributor were included about the researcher and her background, however I would have liked to see something about the background of the co-researcher in this section to get a sense of the differences between them and how this may have informed the study.

This study contributes to knowledge in the field of body psychotherapy by using a somatic intervention with a population that experiences difficulty in communicating verbally. What is unique about this study is that it demonstrates a relationship between sensory processing and our ability to develop attachments and form relationships. As more research is conducted in this area, hopefully it will provide more evidence that somatic interventions provide a missing link that verbal therapies cannot regarding the brain and attachment.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Reviewed by Sharon Stopforth

Sharon Stopforth, MSW, RSW has been a counselor for 15 years specializing in anxiety, depression, addiction, abuse and trauma. Sharon is a Certified Integrative Body Psychotherapy practitioner and is currently working on her Ph.D. to further research in the field of body psychotherapy.

Advancing the Mind-Body Connection: Seeking Embodiment in the Psychotherapeutic Process

RECOVERING FROM OVERWHELMING EXPERIENCES
Bringing the Body Into the Work
March 7, 2015

The somatic, implicit, and nonverbal impact of overwhelming emotional and physical experiences will be explored in this seminar. Silent guided experiential processes will teach clinicians how to track somatic, emotional, and cognitive responses to clinical material, illuminating Bucci’s Multiple Code Theory as a theoretical model for understanding and treating trauma. Recent advances in the neuroscience of trauma will be explicated. Discussion of detailed clinical process will afford opportunities to identify the implications of Bucci’s model and enhance clinical skill in engaging the unspoken dimension in helping people recover from overwhelming experiences.

Dr. Frances Sommer Anderson, PhD, SEP, Psychologist, psychoanalyst, pain and trauma specialist, is recognized internationally for psychoanalytic publications about the body; books include Relational Perspectives on the Body (1998) and Bodies in Treatment (2007). Dr. Anderson and Eric Sherman, PsyD co-authored Pathways to Pain Relief (2013), a collection of case studies illustrating their psychodynamic treatment of chronic pain. She will give the 22nd Annual John Bowlby Lecture in London (April 2015), using clinical examples to elaborate how early attachment disruptions can be related to the development of chronic pain in later life; she will also give a workshop on Experiencing the Pain Matrix ® at the Bowlby Centre. She practices in Manhattan.

TIMH Series Feb 2015 – DOWNLOAD HERE

Full Time Faculty and Program Director
Somatic Psychology M.A. Program
Starting Date: July 1, 2015

The Somatic Psychology Program of the California Institute for Integral Studies announces an opening for a full-time faculty member who will also assume the role of Program Director at the end of the first year of the contract. The Somatic Psychology program at CIIS is an original one in the field, and one of four accredited clinical degree programs in the US that integrate both traditional and body-oriented approaches to psychotherapy. Students graduate with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Somatic Psychotherapy. It is one of five concentrations in The School of Professional Psychology and Health at CIIS that lead to the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology fulfilling the academic requirements for Marriage and Family Therapist licensure in the State of California.

From its creation 30 years ago, the program has served as a seedbed for the evolution of a now rapidly growing body of successful practitioners and scholars in the field. It now has a community of 80-120 students. The program creates an exciting learning environment that combines experiential work with didactic learning. New faculty will enter a community committed to discussion and forward-looking thought in the field of somatic psychotherapy. The program has an active interest in developing a larger research component in the program. The program has for many years supported a successful clinic where students earn practicum credits while doing and learning body-oriented approaches to psychotherapy under the supervision of licensed practitioners.

Duties Include: The Program Director will teach 12 units per year, organize Somatic Psychology program faculty and student meetings, recruit and train new program faculty, serve as liaison with the administrative departmental chair, collaborate with faculty and the Academic Vice-President, lead discussions about policy and training, and work with fellow Program Directors.

Minimum Qualifications: Successful applicants will hold a doctorate degree or equivalent. They will have broad and deep experience in the field of Somatic Psychology, graduate level teaching experience, and background in both family systems approaches and psychodynamic approaches to psychotherapy. Evidence of established research interest, cultural studies and community orientation will be enhancing. Applicants must also show evidence of administrative and leadership skills and experience.

Salary: At the Associate level and is commensurate with academic experience.
CIIS is committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and strongly encourages applications from minorities and individuals with disabilities. Early career professionals are also encouraged to apply.

Benefits: Excellent health benefits package.

You must apply online:

In addition to your online application, please forward your two published articles, and two letters of recommendation to jobs@ciis.edu.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

CIIS is committed to providing an open, fair, inclusive, non-discriminatory environment for all individuals across differences of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, socio-economic status, ethnicity, age, physical ability, or medical condition. We seek to increase the presence, representation and inclusion of U.S. historically under-represented people of color, international, bilingual and bicultural students, faculty and staff; and, to provide an environment that will attract and retain individuals identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex (LGBTQQI).

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION AND INFORMATION HERE

Lee, T. (2014). Trilogy of body imaginary: Dance/movement therapy for a psychiatric patient with depression. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 41, 400-408.

Reviewed by: Nevine Sultan, MA, LPC, NCC

Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) developed in North America around the early 1950s as an interdisciplinary practice integrating the creative expression of the body with verbal communication within a psychotherapeutic context. Expressive body movement allows clients to access both their inner and outer worlds, enhancing clients’ sense of self-in-relation. At this time, much of the empirical literature addressing DMT is Eurocentric (based on Western concepts and values) given that many of the research studies conducted on DMT take place in the Western world.

This case study examined the application of DMT with a 56-year-old Taiwanese woman diagnosed with major depression with psychotic features. The client reported experiencing physical fatigue, chronic insomnia, weight loss, and a suicide attempt. At the commencement of treatment, the client exhibited flat affect, and a number of dissociative symptoms including vocal monotony, glazed eyes, and low engagement with her physical surroundings, even with her therapist (the researcher). The intervention consisted of three phases of treatment designed to (a) build the therapeutic relationship, (b) enhance the client’s body awareness and allow her to create her own verbal interpretations of her bodily experience, and (c) facilitate the client’s embodiment of her imagination, enabling her to make contact with her inner conflict and reveal the true nature of her trauma.

Treatment involved weekly DMT 60-minute sessions over the course of two years, with a one-month annual pause during Chinese New Year. Phase one included 16 sessions in which each session opened with three movements of dharma discipline: Shuai Shou Tong Mai (moving hands to unobstruct meridians); Ti Jiao Tong Mai (stretching legs to unobstruct meridians); and Tian Di Zhen Dong (shaking all of the body). As the therapist facilitated the client’s release of muscular tension, the client voiced her experience to the therapist, thus enhancing the therapeutic connection, and allowing the client to access her trauma and bring it into the process of therapy.

Phase two included 30 sessions predominantly using the Rumba, the client’s preferred style of dance. The therapist noted that the client’s use of ballroom dance, and her description of her inability to dance without being led by her teacher, indicated her preference to be a follower versus a leader, and allowed her to engage her sensuality and femininity to attract the opposite sex in her desire for love. However, the therapist used this phase of the treatment to encourage the client to direct the therapeutic process through her knowledge of ballroom dance. The client’s taking on a teaching role enabled her to experiment with being the leader. The therapist also urged the client to free walk in order to explore her unintegrated parts, release her body from the restrictions of ballroom dance, break habituated movement, and become more grounded and embodied.

Phase three included 22 sessions using the flying dance, in which the client embodied fairies, flying birds, and other characters from her imaginary world played out through spontaneous and highly energetic body movement. Stepping away from the consistency of ballroom dance and into a more improvisational form of body movement helped the client release the need to see herself through the lens of observers (both real and imagined) and to instead see herself through her solitary experience, and through her experience directing the therapist. The client’s ability to embody her imagination and act out her fantasies through spontaneous body movement supported the release of repetition and dissociation. The client was then able to express her feelings and thoughts in an instinctive and unrehearsed manner, which ultimately paved the way for a connection between the client’s soma and psyche.

One of the limitations of case study research in general is the restricted transferability and/or generalizability of the findings. However, this case study had a number of strengths, including the rich descriptions of each of the client’s and the therapist’s experience, and the utilization of a culturally sensitive intervention designed to suit the demographic considerations of the client and the geographic location of the treatment. This case study and its findings provide a platform for further qualitative research in DMT, especially within multicultural settings. As we strive to establish an evidence base for body psychotherapy, it is important that our research efforts and findings reflect the knowledge, theory, and clinical practice of our discipline in as comprehensive and universal a manner as possible.

Nevine Sultan, MA, LPC, NCC

Nevine has a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from St. Mary’s University, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision with a concentration in Somatics. She lives and practices in San Antonio, TX, specializing in trauma, dissociative disorders, and grief. Nevine embraces an embodied phenomenological approach to counseling and psychotherapy, research, and teaching. She is especially passionate about the relationally shared experience between therapist and client, and the impact of the embodiment and somatic awareness of the therapist on empathic presence and therapeutic praxis.

Rechtschaffen, D. (2014). The Way of Mindful Education. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 318 pages. IBSN:978-0-393-7-895-0

Reviewed by: Alexa D’Angelo, Hunter College

In a time of increased state testing and common-core chaos, Daniel Rechtschaffen shares an alternative approach to education. The Way of Mindful Education, joins the mindfulness movement currently taking place across the globe, emphasizing the importance of mindful exercises, for both educators and students. Rechtschaffen claims that we expect high levels of attention and focus from students, but do not teach children how to focus (10). It is this oversight that the book attempts to correct. The Way of Mindful Education, highlights the need for mindful education, while offering sample curricula and exercises for a mindful classroom. Rechtschaffen has supplied all the tools a teacher would need to begin to apply to their classroom setting, and cultivate a mindful learning experience. This book is written primarily for educators, however anyone working with children could benefit from its teachings.

Rechtschaffen recognizes that a mindful education is entirely dependent on the mindfulness of teachers. In other words, teachers must practice what they preach! Part II asks teachers to focus on themselves and increase their own mindfulness (41). Part II asks teachers to take time to focus their attention inward in the hope of developing a mindful attitude, which they will inevitably pass onto their students (41). Through the cultivation of embodiment, attention, heartfulness, interconnectedness and emotional intelligence, teachers can better identify what is needed to creative a positive, mindful classroom (86). These tools could prove helpful not only for the wellbeing of one’s student’s, but for the well-being and consciousness of individual educators.

Part IV offers a myriad of different exercises for teachers to implement in their classrooms in the hopes of creating a mindfull and productive learning environment. The exercises range from stillness practice, to journal entries, dialogue prompts, along with drawing and writing activities (161). These simple activities are used to introduce mindful playing, eating, moving, breathing etc., in a manner that is engaging and exciting for students. Part IV also offers sample scripts to guide teachers through their introduction of mindful exercises (184).

The Way of Mindful Education encourages educators to improve their classroom experience using the various tools and exercises offered. It not only allows teachers to recognize an increasing need for mindful education, but also offers comprehensive and attainable methods as to how to go about introducing mindful education to their students. This book could greatly improve the academic experiences of children of all ages and backgrounds.

Caby, A. & Caby, F. (2014). The therapist’s treasure chest: Solution-oriented tips and tricks for everyday practice. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 345 pages. ISBN: 9780393708622

Reviewed by: Mona Zohny, Hunter College

In The Therapist’s Treasure Chest, translated by Jenny Piening, Andrea and Filip Caby have gathered a multitude of interventions designed to be used with children, adolescents and their families in therapy. The authors have gathered these techniques through their own training and experience as well as the experience of other professionals. This book is a practical tool designed to help therapists deal with a multitude of “psychological problems that have not yet become entrenched.” (56)

Part One serves as an overview of both the theoretical framework that the authors use and the therapeutic conversation. They explain their systemic, solution-oriented and resource-focused approach to therapy. The authors also provide examples of effective questioning techniques along with several case examples that help illustrate the concepts in this section.

Part Two describes dozens of therapeutic techniques. Each intervention follows the same format: idea, method, tips (in which the authors offer variations of the technique), indications, contraindications (when it doesn’t work) and the setting. Some techniques are designed to be used in the consulting room while others can be implemented by the client at home. The authors provide detailed descriptions of the purpose and application of each intervention along with case examples in which the technique is successfully implemented.

Part Three focuses on different disorders and behavioral problems clients may have and lists the interventions (found in Part Two) that can be used by therapists to help their clients find a solution. The issues addressed here range from anxiety to sibling rivalry and from intellectual disabilities to nail-biting. The authors provide a brief description of each problem and then list the suggested interventions, followed by general suggestions and/or a case example.

Part Four offers solutions to particularly challenging situations that a therapist typically has to deal with. These situations range from expressions of hopelessness from the client such as “Things are never going to improve!” (294) to arguments in the consulting room. In each scenario, the authors provide a list of helpful responses that a therapist can use to help the client deal with his or her problem.

The Therapist’s Treasure Chest is a valuable resource for therapists working with children and families. The interventions in this book are both creative and practical. The format makes it easy for readers to search for solutions to specific issues or browse through interventions to use in their practice. The authors offer variations for each skill and encourage readers to make adjustments in their own use of these techniques. The case examples provided throughout the text help to illustrate how these interventions can be implemented effectively.

Caputi, P., Viney, L., Walker, B., Crittenden, N. Personal Construct Methodology. Malaysia: Wiley-Blackwell. 348 pages. ISBN:9781119954163.

Reviewed by: Zachariah Calluori, Columbia University

Personal Construct Methodology provides a comprehensive look at the variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative, that the psychotherapist can use to evaluate the personal constructs of a patient. These methods hinge upon the work of psychologist George Kelly, an originator of constructivist theory, repeatedly cited in this book. In 1955 Kelly suggested that people are “adventurers who are capable of experimenting with how they make sense of their lives”. He formalized this notion in the concept of construing, which says that individuals have the ability to construct the meaning of their own lives. Individuals are constantly in the process of forming and reforming personal theories.

New experiences test and shape the individual constructs on which a personal theory is founded. Personal constructs are formed by contrasts known as bipolars. An individual has many personal constructs, some unique and some shared by others, but all important to construing one’s life. Idiosyncrasy arises in bipolars because they do not rely on dictionary antonyms. For example, two people may identify “fear” as an aspect, but identify a different complement, perhaps “courage” for one person, and “calm” for another. Reality is a hierarchical system of personal constructs, and the uniqueness of one reality from another is further compounded by variation in the ordination of constructs.

Constructivist assessments identify and explore personal narratives and constructions of experience. One such assessment invented by Kelly is the repertory grid, a structured interview that aims to investigate a patient’s construing process. This book covers the repertory grid and other quantitative grid-based methods. However, it also explores non-grid qualitative methods such as laddering and self-characterization.

Personal Construct Methodology presents many methodologies in detail, offering example charts for grid-based methods as well as step-by-step instructions for interactive approaches. Statistical evidence for the validity and success of each methodology is offered. The book deals with a field that owes much to the early work of pioneers, but contemporary progress is evident in the inclusion of chapters regarding computer-aids, new analytic approaches, and the integration of constructivism in a clinical setting. This book presents personal construct theory in a highly relevant way, weaving new analyses, presentations, and applications into recent and established methodologies with an eye towards clinical practice

Caputi, P., Viney, L., Walker, B., Crittenden, N. Personal Construct Methodology. Malaysia: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN:9781119954163.
Paperback. 348 pages. Includes general index and references for each chapter.

Johnston, A. & Malabou, C. (2013). Self and Emotional Life: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, and Neuroscience. New York, New York: Columbia University Press. 276 pages. ISBN: 9780231158312.

Reviewed by Sue Roh, Columbia University

Adrian Johnston and Catherine Malabou in Self and Emotional Life coalesce two seemingly contradictory disciplines: psychoanalysis and neurobiology. While, historically, the two were disparate fields, neurobiology has made innovations that psychoanalysists can no longer ignore. Johnston and Malabou hypothesize that in the future, the field of psychoanalysis will see dramatic changes due to innovations in the life sciences; but the sort of change that will take place is where they diverge in opinion.

For this reason, Self and Emotional Life is not presented in a typical manner. Instead, it switches between Malabou and Johnston’s different arguments. Malabou believes that the future of psychoanalysis will be cut and overrun by neurobiology, but Johnston maintains that psychoanalysis will take into account the impressive advances of neurobiology and incorporate them into their methods of analysis. This disaccord can be attributed to their diverging opinion on the key role of psychoanalysis: While Johnston claims that psychoanalysis can theorize but not treat, Malabou affirms that analysis can neither theorize nor treat.

Johnston and Malabou explore the example of neural plasticity, which demonstrates neurobiology’s inability to elucidate all aspects of the brain. Even Damasio, a contemporary neurobiologist, implies that neurobiology is insufficient in studying the brain to its full capacity. Rather, our subjective experiences shape our brain in a significant way that cannot be ignored. Reducing the body to the brain is disregarding the importance of subjectivity.
The dual approach of neuro-psychoanalysis reconciles these two seemingly divergent fields, and, as Johnston notes, its emergence is a recent innovation. Never before has a coalescence of psychoanalysis, neurobiology, and Continental philosophy occurred. This coalescence will result not only in a new field of psychoanalysis but also innovations in neurobiology, a field which Damasio and LeDoux have spearheaded.

Self and Emotional Life fuses two seemingly opposing fields and is presented vis-à-vis two seemingly opposing arguments. The way the two authors introduce and contest each other’s arguments offers a nuanced and comprehensive understanding that allows the reader to conceptualize his or her perspective on subjectivity. Furthermore, it reaffirms the fact that one does not have to relinquish his or her philosophical soul in order to be engaged with neurobiology or the other life sciences.

Johnston, A. & Malabou, C. (2013). Self and Emotional Life: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, and Neuroscience. New York, New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN: 978-0-231-15831-2.
Paperback. 276 pages. Includes index.

Ruden, R.A. (2011) When the Past is Always Present. 132 New York, NY: Routledge. 132 pages. ISBN:978-0-415-87564-6

Reviewed by: Alexa D’Angelo, Hunter College

Ronald A. Ruden offers biological explanations and therapeutic techniques for the treatment of traumatization in When the Past is Always Present. He expounds at length on the biological mechanisms that occur during the process of trauma encoding, and later offers techniques to reverse the trauma and consequently bring balance to the brain and emotions. This book is intended for therapists, as well as those suffering from trauma and looking to self-administer helpful, healing techniques.

Ruden begins his book by introducing a third pillar to the already existing psychological treatments: psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology. He proposes psychosensory therapy, as a method for treating traumatization (5). Emphasizing the utilization of human touch, psychosensory therapy uses the emotion linked to the trauma, in conjunction with a strategic application of human touch, to reverse the cognitive imbalance resulting from the traumatization (5). Psychosensory techniques treat the traumatization as a mind-body interaction rather than solely focusing on the mind and brain.

Ruden proposes “Havening” as a method to treat traumatization through the utilization of human touch and the re-exposure of a traumatically encoded emotion (95). This combination can help alleviate the trauma as it exists as an imbalance in the brain. Ruden explains the biological process of the reversal of the traumatization in Chapter Eight. Chapter Eight also includes a helpful guide to Havening, which could be easily applied by a therapist (109). However, if one is reading the book in the hopes of “Self-Havening”, Ruden has supplied a guide that does not require the assistance of another individual (113). These tools could prove very useful for an individual struggling with a traumatizing event.

Ruden fills the remainder of the book with anecdotal examples of trauma, along with several appendices intended to guide therapists though their use of psychosensory trauma techniques. Ruden’s appendices offer suggestions for therapists, along with circumstantial specifics relative to differing issues a therapist may be working with.

When the Past is Always Present offers an extensive amount of information on the causation and manifestation of trauma. Ruden has created a technical guide to understanding the mechanisms of trauma, along with a manual of psychosensory techniques. Through his many examples and step-by step instructions, one can feasibly perform psychosensory techniques on his/her patients, as well as self-administered havening techniques. Ruden’s text could also prove useful as a resource for students looking for a comprehensive explanation of the biological mechanisms that accompany an encoded trauma, as well as a window into possible trauma treatments.

Ruden, R.A. (2011) When the Past is Always Present. New York, NY: Routledge.
ISBN: 978-0-415-87564-6
Hardcover, 210pp. Index Included.

Rinpoche, A. & Zangmo, A.C.(2013). The Tibetan Yoga of Breath.
Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
132 pages.IBSN:978-1-61180-088-3

Reviewed by: Alexa D’Angelo, Hunter College

Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo collaborate on The Tibetan Yoga of Breath, offering insight and experience in relation to the importance of the breath. The book focuses heavily on the positive effects of yogic breathing on physical, mental and emotional health. It also touches upon the negative effects of improper breathing on our health, while offering suggestions to change our pattern of breathing. While this book is written to benefit and guide those interested in yogic breathing, it could easily generate an interest in the topic for a wider audience. The Tibetan Yoga of Breath, offers breathing techniques that require no additional time, only inward attention during one’s daily routine.

Yogic breathing can offer peace of mind through the control of the breath. The book illustrates how one is capable of responding with less agitation to external stimuli, through a conscious, inward focus on the breath during times of disorder or conflict. By slowing the breathing, and subsequently taking fewer, deeper breaths, the flow of air can calm the mind in those few breaths (17). This process can ease the experience of anxiety and depression through the learned techniques of wind energy training (46,47).

The second half of the book offers clear instructions as to how to practice wind-training techniques. We are given a step-by-step guide to the Nine Cycles of the Breath, accompanied by several images to enhance our understanding of the practice (64-65,71). Part II is entirely composed of the application of the breath to life’s varying circumstances. The authors attempt to ease the fear of impermanence, and suffering, along with the cultivation of healing and kindness. Part II aptly applies the breathing techniques to everyday life in a manner that is comprehensive and manageable.

The Tibetan Yoga of Breath, effectively and clearly outlines the positive effects of yogic breathing on our overall health and wellbeing. It does so through both a holistic and Western lens, utilizing the experiences of the Yantra, Yogi masters, along with science. Through the examples and exercises, the book allows us to experience the effects of the controlled or elongated breath while reading about their endless effects on our mind, body and emotions.

Rinpoche, A. & Zangmo, A.C. (2013). The Tibetan Yoga of Breath. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
IBSN:978-1-61180-088-3
Paperback, 132 pp., References and suggested further reading included.

Gignoux, J., 2013, An Insistence on life: Releasing fear of death to fully live, New York: FoulkeTale Publishing. 117 pages, 9781492745204

SPT

Reviewed by: Mona Zohny, Hunter College

At some point in our lives, all humans are forced to face the notion of death. An Insistence on Life: Releasing Fear of Death to Fully Live is a collection of stories that demonstrates various ways of dealing with death. The anecdotes in this book have been gathered and relayed by Jane Hughes Gignoux, an ordained certified Celebrant who has spent years studying healing and consciousness. She offers many workshops and courses about death, which several of the stories in the book are derived from. This book is ideal for anyone grappling with the concepts of life and death. In the Preface, Gignoux states that “life and death are inextricably connected to one another. Their dance is never ending, and the melody is pure love” (xvii).

The book consists of seventeen stories. Each chapter begins with a different segment of poetry that sets the tone for the story. Gignoux relays stories beginning from her experiences volunteering as a play therapist in the 1980’s for HIV/AIDS pediatric patients at Harlem Hospital. Some of these stories are about people accepting their own death while other focus on the experiences of people coming to terms with the death of a loved one. The title of the anthology was inspired by a friend of Gignoux who described her experience at the memorial of a loved one, stating that her friend’s house “’was filled with life. There was an insistence on that.”

Throughout the book, one of the major themes is the idea that releasing the fear of death does not necessarily mean that one can control it. Gignoux points out that one of the “…challenge[s] we all encounter in the face of death is the reality that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to change it.” (48). The acceptance of this statement by people throughout each of these stories is directly related to the transformation to a more peaceful state of mind.

An Insistence on Life is an inspirational anthology of moving and poignant stories that portray the acceptance of death as a way to embrace life. The stories cover a range of contexts in which death must be faced and provide alternative ways of doing so. The people in these stories all come from unique backgrounds but share the desire to embrace both life and death in order to live more fulfilling lives.

Dear family and friends and colleagues, and students of all generations,

As most of you know I have been practicing Reichian Therapy since 1986, having trained with Dr. Bernard Rosenblum at the Center for Reichian Character Analytic Therapy. I then created the combined modality of Reichian Character Analytic Mind/Body Therapy and Dance/Movement Therapy.

In connecting to the community devoted to conveying Reich’s work in an accurate way, I have had the pleasure of getting to know Kevin Hinchey, Co-Director or the Wilhelm Reich Institute (Museum).

Kevin, along with Mary Higgins, has devoted a good deal of his life selflessly to curating Reich’s archives and disseminating the truth about the theory and practice of the groundbreaking form of mind/body therapy Reich created, as well as his work as a scientist.

It feels like the right moment in history for this film to be made. The tide seems to be changing in many realms to start to take in who Reich really was and the profundity of his work. Kevin’s wonderful combination of brilliance and passionate devotion to accurately portraying Reich and his work makes it ‘beschert’ that he makes this film.

Please join the Kickstarter campaign to make this vision a reality.

Most warmly to you all,

Johanna Climenko LCSW-R, BD-DMT, LCAT, Certified Reichian Character Analytic Therapist

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/25874147/wilhelm-reich-documentary-film-project

Meck, Su & de Vise, Daniel. ( 2014) I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. 281 pages. ISBN: 9781451685817.

Reviewed by Kristina Flemming, Columbia University

(SPT) The events that happened in Su Meck’s life seem as if they were contrived as the plot of some drama filled film. Her initial accident and life thereafter is bewildering, especially when noting that she suffers from an unusual case of retrograde amnesia and she’s immediately thrust back into a world where her understanding of it is still very elementary. In Meck’s memoir, I Forgot to Remember, we see her frustration with life after her brain injury and her attempts to piece together everything she’s forgotten.

More than twenty years after a ceiling fan falls on Su Meck’s head, she writes about how she feels not being able to recall the first two and half decades of her life. Many of the events she describes are from secondary sources. Even though the memoir is primarily written in the author’s voice, other characters take over when they are quoted in the retelling of a story. This can be a bit confusing, but it’s definitely an interesting and different way to format a memoir. It’s structured in such a way that the readers feel like Meck interviewed her family members about her own life. Unable to recount it with any certainty, readers are able to feel the author’s frustration with never being able to know who she was and her personal beliefs about anything. This is a side of amnesia that I’ve never thought of. Of course, most people know that amnesia involves a loss of memory. However, I never included a person’s life goals as a part of his or her memory. It seems unimaginable to lose your closely held beliefs or to forget your aspirations completely.

Another major recurring theme throughout the memoir is the author’s dissatisfaction with her early premature release from the hospital. She consistently draws attention to discrepancies in the hospital records during her stay. Although the notes from the doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers show the breadth of work that go into recovering from a traumatic brain injury, they also show inconsistencies in her symptoms and the decision to let her leave the hospital early.

A person writing a memoir when they can’t remember their own life seems like an incredibly steep challenge. Through stories from friends and family as well as looking into medical documents from her hospital stay, Meck has assembled her life story. I Forgot to Remember is a heart wrenching and inspiring book that truly illustrates what it’s like to live with a traumatic brain injury.

Meck, Su & de Vise, Daniel. (2014) I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 9781451685817.
Hardcover. 281 pages. Includes index and references.
Key words: retrograde amnesia, traumatic brain injury, memoir, healthcare

Somatic Psychotherapy Today is designed to disseminate information about somatic psychology, body psychotherapy, and body/mind/spirit practices as well as information about psychotherapy in general. It provides a forum for sharing news and advances in clinical practice, research, resources, and policy as well as information about professional activities and opportunities in the field.

Its purpose is to bring concepts involved with somatic psychology, body psychotherapy, and body/mind/spirit practices to a larger public audience to capture their interest and support individual growth as well as collective growth in our local and international communities. While this publication cannot capture everything related to the immense field of psychotherapy and body-centered practices, we will strive to provide a venue for our readers (be it therapists, students, researchers, folks in waiting rooms) to experience different perspectives.

SPT was founded on the belief of the power of personal presence on the page in a community of acceptance. What we do individually has a collective impact on our world –its health and well being and on all living entities that dwell here. Voicing our truth is paramount and finding the right venue to speak is just as critical. SPT offers writers and readers the space to connect, to share thoughts, ideas, and opinions about what matters in the work we do and the impact on peoples’ lives and to further our field of study and practice.

Listed below are the current available online editions of the SPT magazine.

(Please note that you will need Adobe PDF reader to open the magazines, just click the link for the edition to open.)

Summer, volume 3, number 1 2013 – * Additional Resources

Fall, volume 3, number 2 2013

Winter, volume 3, number 3 2013

Summer, volume 2, number 1 2012

Fall, volume 2, number 2 2012

Winter, volume 2, number 3 2012

Spring, volume 2, number 4 2013 – * Additional Resources

Summer, volume 1, number 1 2011

Fall, volume 1, number 2 2011

Winter, volume 1, number 3 2011

Spring, volume 1, number 4– *Additional References

Contribute to Somatic Psychotherapy Today Deadlines below:

Spring 2014: The Body in Relationship (deadline closed)

Fall 2014: Eating Psychology (first deadline is March 15, 2014)

Winter 2015: Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology with guest editor, Kate White, co-editor of the APPPAH Journal (first deadline is October 15, 2014)

Spring 2015: Embodied Spirituality (first deadline is January 15, 2015)

Submission Guidelines for Being Published in SPT

Knipe, J. (2014). EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. ISBN: 9780826171269.
Paperback. 256 pages. Includes index and bibliography.
Key words: EMDR, trauma, states, adaptive information processing.

EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation provides a framework for employing supplementary Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) techniques to treat more complex disorders involving psychological defenses and dissociative symptoms, such as complex post-traumatic stress disorder. The book is meant to introduce additional techniques to therapists with prior experience in performing standard EMDR therapy.

Experienced practitioners can quickly and effectively treat clearly-recalled, single-incident traumas with standard EMDR procedures. However, many patients present with conditions that indicate internally discordant personality structures such as anxiety and depression. Distinct states of minds are activated at different times by certain memories, specifically the young emotional part (EP) and apparent normal part (ANP). The ANP attempts to maintain a sense of normality, while the EP is intrusive, recalling the fearful ego state at the time of the traumatic event.

EMDR therapy is founded on the adaptive information processing (AIP) model, which assumes that there is a human mechanism for processing and resolving disturbing life experiences that is natural and physical. The AIP model states that these memories, even if disturbing, are subject to the natural tendency of the mind to move away from a reactive response and towards “realistic” consideration. The book explains how AIP applies to the treatment in three parts, regarding complex PTSD, psychological defenses, and dissociative personality structure.

Author Dr. Jim Knipe, a practicing psychologist, has been using EMDR since 1992. Knipe, throughout the book, offers anecdotes from his practice, many pictorial aids, and even two patient session transcripts, thereby personalizing and clarifying the material. The professionalism and transparency in these details is important because, as Knipe writes, “this process is not primarily cognitive but occurs naturally, ‘off the radar’”.

EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation is a valuable resource, inviting and informative, for psychotherapists already trained in standard EMDR that desire to expand their practice and better treat complex patient cases.

Hefferon, Kate. (2013) Positive Psychology and The Body: The Somatopsychic Side to Flourishing. New York, NY: Open University Press. 254 pages. ISBN: 9780335247714.

Review by Kristina Flemming, Columbia University

According to Kate Hefferon, most of the literature on positive psychology doesn’t give fair mention to the body’s role in this field. Hefferon hopes to address this issue and illustrate how the two go hand in hand in her book, Positive Psychology and the Body. By integrating several perspectives to give an overarching view, she provides a clearly organized text introducing positive psychology and its relationship with various other fields of study.
Each chapter has a specific layout, which is succinctly explained in the preface of the book. There are mock essay questions located at the beginning of each chapter which hints that the book is mostly designed for students. The essay questions are only one example of the interactive content throughout the book. Case studies, fun facts, and suggested resources are just some of the many learning boxes within the text. These allow the readers to pause and really think about the material.
The first half of the book is practically an introductory course in psychology. It’s great if you want a refresher on a topic or be able to see the grand scheme of things as Hefferon connects everything to positive psychology and the body. I don’t think this text can stand alone, but I also don’t believe it was meant to. It’s a great supplementary text and definitely provides all the tools necessary for learning about positive psychology. The book is less about being introduced to new topics; it’s mostly about seeing how all the pieces connect together in a new and engaging way. Nevertheless, don’t be too quick to think that there’s nothing new the book has to offer. You might find a bit of information totally foreign to you. For example, I was introduced to health psychology and positive health.
Positive Psychology and the Body: The Somatopsychic Side to Flourishing is not supposed to be an all encompassing text.. Hefferon presents the relevant topics and provides a starting point. Now you have to do the heavy lifting and research it for yourself. Hefferon offers a lot of new topics to the conversation. She also notes the value that positive psychology holds for research in other unexpected fields. The purpose of the book may be not only to inform, but also to spark interest; something valuable to everyone not just the novice.

Hefferon, Kate. (2013) Positive Psychology and The Body: The Somatopsychic Side to Flourishing. New York, NY: Open University Press. ISBN: 9780335247714.
Paperback. 254 pages. Includes index and references.
Key words: positive psychology, the body, health, sexuality

Geller, J.D., Norcross, J.C., Orlinksy, D.E. (2005). The Psychotherapist’s Own Psychotherapy: Patient and Clinical Perspectives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 429 pages. ISBN:987-0-19-513394-3.
IJP
Reviewed by: Alexa D’Angelo, Hunter College

Edited by Jesse D. Geller, John C. Norcross and David E. Orlinsky, The Psychotherapist’s Own Psychotherapy tackles the topic of the psychotherapist as a patient. More specifically, the editors have gathered nearly thirty essays, written by a number of professionals in the field of psychotherapy, which explore the subjects of the psychotherapist’s experience in psychotherapy, as well as the impact and importance of therapy for the practicing psychotherapist or analyst. The Psychotherapist’s Psychotherapy is organized into three parts. The first is dedicated to “The Therapist’s Therapy in Different Theoretical Orientations”, the second discusses the therapist as a patient, while the third part is focused on the experience of the therapists’ psychotherapist (x-xii). Editors Geller, Norcross and Orlinksy have compiled a body of work that is deeply informative on the topic of the psychotherapist’s psychotherapeutic experience.
Chapter I, presents readers with a comprehensive introduction to the topic of the psychotherapist’s therapy, as well as the implications for both their personal and professional life. This includes the role of the psychotherapist’s therapist, as well as the largely limited guidelines and literature that refer to this relationship. The authors identify individual therapy as an important tool, which should be utilized by practicing psychotherapists “as the symbolic core of professional identity” (3). While personal experience in individual therapy is obligatory in clinical psychology programs in many European countries, the United States often does not require any experience in psychotherapy (with the exception of psychoanalytic training)(5).
Part II presents readers with autobiographical essays, which recount the psychotherapeutic experiences of several psychotherapists in differing theoretical orientations. Jesse D. Geller, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, recalls his time with five different psychotherapists in his essay, “A Patient in Five Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies” ((81). He delves into the successes, failures and difficulties he experienced in psychotherapy, beginning with his first psychotherapy experience at New York’s, City College (82). Geller offers a great deal of insightful and relevant information relative to his varying experiences in psychotherapy throughout his academic and professional life.
Geller, Norcross and Orlinksy have compiled a group of theoretically diverse essays that tackle the topic of the therapist’s psychotherapy from both the viewpoint of the therapist-patient, as well as the therapist’s therapist. Through various insightful and informative essays, readers are offered a great deal of information on the subject, as well as an emphasis on the importance of psychotherapy for the practicing psychotherapist.

Geller, J.D., Norcross, J.C., Orlinksy, D.E. (2005). The Psychotherapist’s Own Psychotherapy: Patient and Clinical Perspectives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN:987-0-19-513394-3.
Hardcover. 429 pages. References and Index included.
Keywords: Psychotherapy, Patient Perspectives, Autobiography

If you didn’t manage to get to the 2014 EABP-ISC Body Psychotherapy Congress in Lisbon, Portugal this September, there are still some copies of the pre-Congress book available from Body Psychotherapy Publications at £18.00, €22.00 or $30.00. This is a professionally produced and edited book, containing about 350 pages, with offerings from about 35 different presenters (some presentations are also in their language of origin). Please go to the BPP website (here) to order your copy. You can also buy a PDF download version for £15.00, €18.00, $24.00. Payment is by PayPal (or credit card).

Explore Somatic Psychology—a holistic form of therapy that recognizes the powerful connection between body, mind, and spirit—in this mini-conference presented by the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy.

This workshop showcases four distinct body-mind therapies within the field of somatic psychology–incorporating a dynamic blend of movement, mindfulness, and neuroscience. We are honored to feature Peter A. Levine with his groundbreaking Somatic Experiencing, Bo Forbes, founder of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics, and highly trained practitioners in the fields of Bioenergetics and Core Energetics. Read more online.

Discover what your body might be trying to teach you and experience the gifts of somatic psychology for your work and life.

Kripalu is the largest yoga-based retreat center in North America. While you are here, enjoy daily yoga classes, natural-foods cuisine, massage and healing arts, hiking trails, sauna, like-minded people, and extraordinary views—all in the natural beauty of the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

Copresented with

by Ilana Rubenfeld (Author), Joan Borysenko (Foreword)

The Rubenfeld Synergy Method is an elegant, powerful system that integrates bodywork, intuition, and psychotherapy. Memories and emotions stored in our bodies can result in energy blocks and imbalances. Rubenfeld Synergy utilizes talk, movement, awareness, imagination, humor, and compassionate touch as gateways — contacting and melting frozen tensions and emotions, freeing the body from pain and the mind from suffering.

The Listening Hand includes:

• Body-mind exercises designed to awaken awareness, free breathing, and reveal the body metaphors that tell your life story

• Guided steps that break through inner barriers and lead to concrete improvements in your daily life and relationships

• Energy explorations for contacting the energy field in yourself and others — and how you can use it to heal

• Experiments for couples that gently increase communication, intimacy, and sexual openness

• Practices that enable helpers to avoid physical, emotional, and spiritual burnout

• A complete 7-day Mind Your Muscles program for tension release, body alignment, and enhanced flexibility

This is to let you know about the new conversation in the “Somatic Perspectives on Psychotherapy” series. This month, it is with Pierre Morin, about health, sickness and Process Work.

The “Somatic Perspectives” series is edited by Serge Prengel, LMHC. Every other month, there is a new conversation. Each conversation lasts approximately a half hour. You can listen to it on the website, or download it as an MP3 audio file. You can also read it as a PDF transcript (available on the same page).

Pierre Morin, MD, PhD, is president of the International Association of Process Oriented Psychology (IAPOP) and a founding faculty member at the Process Work Institute Graduate School in Portland, OR. He was a clinical director of Switzerland’s leading rehabilitation clinic for brain and spinal injuries. After moving to Portland, OR, he studied health psychology and rehabilitation psychology. He currently works as a clinical director and supervisor in an outpatient mental health program and in private practice. Dr. Morin is a co-author of Inside Coma and author of Health in Sickness – Sickness in Health. He has written several articles on mind-body medicine and community health.

See: http://somaticperspectives.com/2014/09/morin/

If the above doesn’t show up as a link in your email, type the following address in your browser, then click on the link to the conversation of the month:

http://www.SomaticPerspectives.com

Dear member of the global embodied cognition community,

As an expert in the field of Embodied Cognition, you may be interested to know that our special edition “Embodied Cognition: An Applied Perspective” has recently been published in Sensoria: A Journal of Mind, Brain & Culture (formerly e-Journal of Applied Psychology).

With this edition we acknowledge long cultural, philosophical and scientific history of this field, and move to promote both cohesion and diversity among the wider contemporary Embodied Cognition program.

The collection of work in this edition demonstrates the diverse fertile relationships that are arising globally within this domain among theory, experimentation and application.

Sensoria has introduced an “add comment” function for individual articles, which we home scholars and professionals will utilise as a means of engaging in productive conversation among the global Embodied Cognition community.

We hope you enjoy this edition and share it with your network.

http://sensoria.swinburne.edu.au/index.php/sensoria/issue/view/56/showToc

Warm regards,

Special Edition Co-editors
Nuwan Leitan, PhD
Lucian Chaffey, PhD

The President of USABP, Beth Haessig, recently responded to an article in the New York Times magazine, about a body-centered approach to treating trauma.

I was happy to read the article entitled A Revolutionary Approach to Treating PTSD, referring to the Pesso Boyden System, used by trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, as one of many fabulous body-centered modalities whose aim is to bring people into direct contact with the experience their bodies are having in the very present moment. By helping people Be Here Now, rather than with the thoughts and stories of their minds, we as practitioners in the field of Somatic Psychology, are able to help our clients access a wisdom that goes beyond the conditioned, mind/thinking patterns–and land in the very present moment of body-based sensation, intuition, and awareness. Through body-based techniques and practices along with Pesso Boyden (such as Somatic Experiencing, Bioenergetics, Focusing, Core Energetics, Hakomi) the practitioner is able to guide the client in a process of knowing what is true, what was true (in a traumatic event), and what needs to be healed, at the very moment an event occurred…because the body remembers. The author calls this approach “revolutionary” but we have been around in various forms, for more than fifty years!

Young, C. (Ed.). (2014). The Body in Relationship Self – Other – Society. Body Psychotherapy Publications. 188 pages. ISBN: 978-1-908729-10-1.
Reviewed by Dawn Bhat, MA, MS, NCC, LMHC

The Body in Relationship Self – Other – Society, edited by Courtenay Young, is a blend of scholarly writings from almost forty presenters at the 14th European Association for Body Psychotherapy Congress held in Libson, Portugal on September 11 – 14, 2014. For many years, the EABP has been bringing together researchers, theorists and clinicians to engage and share the latest insights along with classical perspectives that characterize the field of Body Psychotherapy. The 2014 Congress is set to focus on the body in relationship and the interpersonal nature of human experience, which are undoubtedly integral and fundamental in Body Psychotherapy. This congress book touches on what attendees may anticipate but speaks more broadly to the dynamic and cultural nature of human relations. How relationships stretch and extend out in communities is content highly important in the work of the Body Psychotherapist and especially relevant in the role an individual plays in society.

Young opens with an outline highlighting main aspects of the congress and offers a warm, welcoming introduction to this publication. Young, calling himself a “compulsive editor,” shows that the writers – being diverse in culture, language, number of publication credits, etc. – collectively created a marvelous volume that is a glimpse into how sensational this Congress intends to be. The subjects contained in this volume include multiple body-oriented viewpoints on trauma and an assortment of specific modalities of Body Psychotherapy.

With an aim to further the exploration of the field of Body Psychotherapy, this new publication serves as a program to the Congress but encompasses much more. Anybody seriously interested in exploring the Body Psychotherapy, including its rich history and poignant perspectives today, may find this Congress book a must-have. In this volume, professional development, for new to advanced practitioners, spawns areas from enhancing clinical skills, including mind-body techniques, enhancing embodiment and understanding somatic psychology, to scholarly and academic writing in a Body Psychotherapy way. Attendees of the Congress would most certainly find this work useful in optimizing their experience by gaining a prelude and having a companion to the presentations and workshops held in Lisbon.

Young, C. (Ed.). (2014). The Body in Relationship Self – Other – Society.
Scottish Borders, United Kingdom
Body Psychotherapy Publications. 188 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-908729-10-1
Table of contents and references included

Author Archives: Blog Writer

Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy: An Introduction

Bodywork And Somatic Education™

LEARN TO LOVE YOUR BODY THRU YOGA

Core For Kids “Playshop” in Manhattan

Psychodrama Training Group

Theory and Practice of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy

Accelerate Evolution with Kate Holt

What you are meant to fulfill in Life is also what Life is meant to fulfill in you!

Exploring sensory sensitivities and relationships during group dance movement psychotherapy for adults with autism

Advancing the Mind-Body Connection: Seeking Embodiment in the Psychotherapeutic Process

Advancing the Mind-Body Connection: Seeking Embodiment in the Psychotherapeutic Process

CIIS – Job Posting

Trilogy of body imaginary

The Way of Mindful Education

In The Therapist’s Treasure Chest

Personal Construct Methodology

Self and Emotional Life: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, and Neuroscience

When the Past is always Present

The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

An Insistence on Life

Wilhelm Reich Documentary Film Project

I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia

Somatic Psychotherapy Today

Listed below are the current available online editions of the SPT magazine.

EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation

Positive Psychology and The Body: The Somatopsychic Side to Flourishing

The Psychotherapist’s Own Psychotherapy: Patient and Clinical Perspectives

EABP-ISC Body Psychotherapy Congress in Lisbon, Portugal

Sampler Series in Somatic Psychology – Kripalu

The Listening Hand: Self-Healing Through The Rubenfeld Synergy Method of Talk and Touch

Pierre Morin talks about Health, Sickness & Process Work

Embodied Cognition

Body-Centered Approach to Treating Trauma

The Body in Relationship Self–Other–Society