Category: Body Psychotherapy
The Good Therapy Blog
June 9th, 2011 |
Over the course of the last year I have had the pleasure of being around a group of people that have a genuine sense of kindness and respect for one other and for others, and a positive attitude even in extremely trying situations. So much so that I have wondered ‘how do they do it”? Abigail Washburn and the Village is a new band from Nashville. Abigail has had several other successful bands including Uncle Earl and Abigail Washburn... Read More
February 16th, 2011 |
In the last couple of weeks I have had two different people come in that I hadn’t seen for a while and in whom I sensed a recognizable shift. The first thing I noticed with each of them was a gentle radiance around their body, the coloring in their faces was different, not the skin itself, but there was just more color, more light around them. They both also appeared calm, contained. I discovered that both of these women had been undergoing a cleansing diet under the supervision of their Naturopathic doctors. They had both cut out meat and fish and many other foods for a short period of time.... Read More
November 30th, 2010 |
So far this series has explored how the body-mind reacts to situations in early life where there is stress from external tension or inconsistent care. But what happens when care is forthcoming to the point where a growing child feels stifled? Let’s conjure up a scenario to explore this.
Imagine a child who is oohed and ahh-ed over. This is a good thing right? Right, but the saying “everything in moderation” has merit even here. When a baby is fondled and oohed and ahh-ed over, it is meant as encouragement and an exchange of joy- this is essential for healthy development. But for... Read More
September 27th, 2010 |
Oddly enough, a recent ant bite has got me thinking about human behavior and psychotherapy! The little guy lived in the dessert where survival skills are paramount and he got me a good one, it hurt like the dickens for about 5 minutes. Then I forgot about it. But days later the site around the bite was swollen in a circle nearly 3 inches across. It was hard, and hot and itched- itched- itched- itched- itched. Scratching made it itch even more. Scratching also tore up the skin that was stretched tight over the inflamed tissue which could cause problems of a different nature.
You see the problem... Read More
September 9th, 2010 |
“It feels heavy right here,” Rebecca* said, crying and touching her chest, “like a huge rock is sitting on me. It’s like that old cartoon, where a boulder would fall off a cliff and pin the roadrunner to the ground – it feels like I can’t move.” Rebecca had come to see me last year, a 32 year-old successful marketing professional, whose older sister had recently been diagnosed with a psychotic condition. She seemed lost in grief. Fluctuating bewilderment, sadness, fear, anger, tenderness, and love were tying knots in every part of her.
I thought that untying some of the knots in... Read More
July 19th, 2010 |
My last article discussed the physiological reaction of a young infant to external stress. As this infant grows and develops coordination and strength he will have new and different ways to meet the world. But if he had prolonged reactions to external stimuli, the early reaction pattern may stay buried in his system only to be triggered in the future; it creates a vulnerability and sets him up for perceiving the world in a certain way where trust is a big issue. Stress on a newborn can lead to particular psychological stressors... Read More
April 2nd, 2010 |
Last month’s article noted that “as the body reacts to external situations we have internal reactions. The degree to which we can allow the “charge” from the external stimulus to be expressed, to “discharge”, determines the degree that the experience stays with us.” This month let’s look at this physiological response in more detail.
When something occurs in the environment, let’s call it the “stimulus”, we have a corresponding reaction that we can call the “charge”. The charge can be any type of reaction to a stimulus, be it excitement, anger or fear. It is a preparation,... Read More
January 4th, 2010 |
Before we go further into the theory underlying Core Energetics, Core Evolution and other body-psychotherapies, I want to discuss the therapeutic relationship. This is a subject I feel very passionate about!
We use labels to try to understand something, or to communicate about our experience. Sometimes people come in and repeat to me what other therapists have told them, they may have a page full of western mental health diagnosis' or they might say, “I am a rigid... Read More
December 21st, 2009 |
1. What does the name “Hakomi” mean?
Early in the development of the work, one of Ron Kurtz’ colleagues had a dream in which Kurtz handed him a slip of paper with the words “Hakomi Therapy” written on it. “Hakomi” (sometimes spelled “Hakimi”) was later discovered to be a Hopi Indian word with two related meanings: “who are you” (current) and “how do you stand in relation to these many realms” (archaic) (Kurtz, 1990). Since then, the word has been discovered to have meanings in several other languages as well. Read More
November 16th, 2009 |
Prospective clients often ask what first drew me to study Hakomi therapy. My answer: the principles. (And a touch of fate or providence.)
I first encountered Hakomi by way of a lucky accident. Someone left a copy of Ron Kurtz’ book (Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method) on a windowsill in a house I moved into. I quickly read it from cover to cover. As a body-worker at the time, I was interested in the relationship between body and mind, but the main thing that... Read More
October 16th, 2009 |
Human beings are fascinating bio-psycho-social organisms. What makes up a person? Traditional psychotherapy works toward congruence in a person’s thinking, emotions, and actions/reactions. There are many therapeutic techniques that have been developed over time to explore and improve these aspects of our life. We do exist on several levels simultaneously, but are we limited to thoughts, emotions and actions? If we look at life and the human experience we see that there are five basic levels on which we function. There is the Intellect/Thought, and the Emotions and Actions as mentioned above,... Read More
