The Body in Psychotherapy: Creating and Sustaining Integration of Body, Self, and Soul
January 1st, 2009 |
By Laurie F. Schwartz, L.M.H.C, M.S.
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In the ongoing practice of psychotherapy clients and therapists exchange many words in the often frustrating attempt to make the therapeutic conversation come alive. In the midst of all the verbal communication what is often missing is the sense of both people being fully engaged and focused. Therapy can often too easily become reduced to people talking, communicating with words, and often ignoring the intense sense of life that can emerge when we tap into our immediate emotional and body-centered experience.
While many forms of communication take place outside of verbal dialogue, many therapists have little knowledge how to bring the nonverbal, present moment experience into their work. Yet, with a few basic principles and methods, many of them drawn from body-centered experiential psychotherapy called the Hakomi Method, therapists can help clients in a different way, which enhances both the intensity and the effectiveness of psychotherapy. (Kurtz, 1990). Read the rest of this entry
