Stirring the Depths Transference,
Countertransference and Touch
In print - In: Energy &
Character |
| Touching
is not just a skin to skin meeting but involves and affects psyche and
soma far below the surface. Tactile contact and touch embody essential
aspects of human existence and development. Touch directs our attention
both outwards and inwards. Perceptions and sensations of the external,
the 'not I', mingle with sensations of the living body and awaken the
body-mind to itself. Developing our awareness and sensitivity for
intersubjective engagement with touch and associated transference
phenomena allows their meaning and creativity to come alive in the
therapeutic relationship. |
Learning
through Embodiment and Movement
In print - In: Self Awareness:
Learning from Others, Rose C. (ed.) Macmillan |
| Self
awareness and learning through
others involves examining our ways of being in the world, within
ourselves and with others, the impact of personal and cultural
experiences, our values and beliefs and our patterns of communication.
All these dimensions of being invariably include bodily aspects - our
self placement in the world is necessarily and irreducibly embodied.
Paraphrasing Simone de Beauvoir (1989), our body is the primary
instrument of our grasp upon the world. In this chapter, I will explore
the body as an agency for self-discovery and learning and introduce
some physiological aspects of mind-body relations to de- mystify and
make psyche-soma dynamics accessible. |
The
Therapeutic Modality of Touch and Statutory Regulation
In: Self & Society, Vol
37-2, 2009 |
| Perceptions
of touch and tactile contact are permeated by associations with
nurture, care and healing on the one hand, and with erotic pleasures,
sexual taboos and abuse on the other. With the prospect of statutory
regulation looming, do we need to review touch as a therapeutic
intervention? |
The
Well Tempered Therapist - Psychotherapy Integration and the Personality
of the Therapist
In: British Journal of Psychotherapy
Integration, Vol 5-2, 2008 |
| Integration
is inherent to the art and science of psychotherapy and constitutes a
core function of the psychotherapeutic process. But integrative
processes not only facilitate our clients' process of change but also
crucially contribute to the development of psychotherapists. This paper
is about the integration of the therapists personality with his or her
clinical approach as a necessary aspect of professional individuation
and maturation. (Download
as an Acrobat PDF document) |
The Borderline Relationship
In: Contemporary Body Psychotherapy:
The Chiron Approach;
Ed. Hartley, Routledge 2008. (Flyer
in Acrobat PDF format) |
| Borderline
personality disorder (BPD) has always been considered an elusive and
puzzling phenomenon. Concept and theory are indeed anything but
straightforward. The ‘personality disorder’ construct appears to
suggest a pathological condition located solely in the client. At the
same time, the borderline dynamic is most famously associated with
difficult or unstable relationships and evokes images of harassed and
tormented therapists. But borderline relationships are challenging for
clients and therapists alike. Both may feel attacked, invaded,
helpless, misunderstood or unappreciated by the other. Borderline
patterns of organisation are evidently active across the continuum of
intrapsychic and interpersonal fields. The word borderline - ‘a line
that indicates a boundary’ - incidentally names what is most lacking in
the borderline dynamic. But
the borderline dynamic is also particularly apparent as a bodily
experience for both client and therapist. Hyperarousal and catastrophic
anxieties, both cardinal features of BPD, suggest disturbances of very
basic functions and indicate that the organism is in a state of somatic
disorganisation. Body and psyche of the
therapist are impacted by and respond to disorganized or dissociated
psyche and body states of borderline individuals. In this chapter, I
propose clinical perspectives to psychological and somatic phenomena
and disturbances commonly experienced by borderline individuals and
their therapists. |
The Borderline Experience - A
Somatic Perspective
A presentation given at the AChP
AGM in 2004. Published in: British Journal of Psychotherapy
Integration, Vol 4-1, 2007 |
| Abstract:
This
paper explores a therapeutic approach to BPD that integrates somatic
and relational aspects. From
a somatic perspective, the Borderline dynamic is characterised by
chronic dis-regulation of the autonomic nervous system, inadequate
muscular structuring and a lack of surface boundaries. In the
therapeutic relationship with BPD clients we are confronted with
episodes of catastrophic anxiety which the borderline body-ego is
unable to contain or defend against. Such catastrophic anxieties
constitute states of unintegration which manifest at times as
despair, rage, clinging or self-destructive pathologies. The
therapist is frequently experienced as either ‘too close’ or ‘too
far away’. Somatic dimensions of BPD are equally evident in the
transference relationship. The ruptures and dissonance typically
associated with Borderline relationships reflect the extend of
somatic dissonance, arousal and affect dis-regulation of the fragile
Borderline structure. Our bodies constitute our primary means of
dialogical engagement with the world and the complexities of BPD are
best met by engaging with both dimensions. (Download
as an Acrobat PDF document) |
Some thoughts on involuntary
muscle
Published
in: AChP Newsletter, No 25, 2003 (Download
as an Acrobat PDF file) |
Biosynthesis - a body centred
psychotherapy
Published
in: London & South East Connection, No 23, 1999 |
|
