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| What
is Psychotherapy? |
We
all experience difficulties at some points in our lives and therapy can
help us understand what we are experiencing and how to find ways to
move forward. It is difficult to describe what happens in therapy as
each persons story is unique and his or her therapy will reflect that
uniqueness. For example, a therapy that addresses a current problematic
relationship may be quite different to one that deals with an emotional
crisis arising from loss or bereavement. Another persons' therapy may
be concerned with some re-occurring dynamic in his or her life whilst
yet another may want their therapy to address and engage with internal
experiences of anxiety, confusion, emptiness or feeling stuck.
What
happens in therapy is also influenced by cultural aspects. Cultural
values manifest in our relationships with ourselves and with others and
shape our experience of ourselves and others. To my mind, culture
includes ethnicity, colour, spirituality/religion or sexual
orientations.
But "therapy" also implies a relationship as there
is more then one person involved. Trust is crucial in providing a safe
and supportive space which allows us engage with difficult or
conflicted aspects in our life and the notion of a confidential
relationship forms the basis of any therapy. Trust is inspired by many
factors and not just confidentiality and I believe that the quality of
the relationship between therapist and client should be a central
concern for choosing a therapist. Research has indeed shown that the
quality of the therapeutic relationship contributes significantly to
therapy outcomes. |
| Body
Psychotherapy |
The
field of Body Psychotherapy emerged originally from the work of Wilhelm
Reich and forms a distinct branch of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.
Contemporary Body Psychotherapy is concerned with the integration of
physiological/somatic, emotional, mental, spiritual and
social/relational aspects of the individual. It involves a extensive
body of knowledge and explicit theories of mind-body functioning which
take the complexity of interactions and reciprocal relationships
between psyche and soma into account.
Body Psychotherapy
approaches share an underlying assumption that we are embodied beings
and acknowledge a functional unity between psychological and bodily
aspects of being. Instead of hierarchical relationships between mind
and body, we see dynamic correlations between bodily manifestations and
psychological processes we observe. Contemporary Body Psychotherapy
draws on both humanistic and analytic conceptions and promotes embodied
intersubjective engagement in the therapeutic relationship. In Body
Psychotherapy, therapist and client may at times agree to work with
touch, movement or breathing. |
| Relational
Body Psychotherapy |
Relational
perspectives in psychotherapy developed initially within Attachment
Based Psychotherapy and Self Psychology approaches. Relational
psychotherapy is supported by neuroscience research and has emerged as
a cross-platform or meeting place between theoretical models in recent
years. It is not associated with any particular school of psychotherapy
but a broad way of understanding human motivation and the therapeutic
process.
Relational psychotherapy is concerned with
understanding the therapeutic relationship and the uses of any
intersubjective space co-created within therapeutic relationships. From
a relational perspective, the therapeutic encounter impacts on, and
potentially changes, both participants. If this meeting is to be real,
the therapist must bring their vulnerability and humility to the
meeting as well as their knowledge, experience and strength.
Body
psychotherapy appears particularly suited to engage with the multiple
aspects of relational experience. Whenever two people meet or enter a
room, a relationship inevitably takes place that involves the organisms
of both participants. Two breathing systems and two sensory-motor
systems become aware of each other and begin to respond, interact and
relate in some way or form. Relationships rely on bodily experiences of
proximity and non verbal communication such as eye contact, facial
expressions and emotional or affective content of voice, postures and
gestures. |
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