Somatic psychology

Somatic psychology is an interdisciplinary field involving the study of the body, somatic experience, and the embodied self, including therapeutic and holistic approaches to body. The word somatic comes from the ancient Greek root σωματ- somat- (body). The word psychology comes from the ancient Greek psyche (breath, soul hence mind) and -logia (study). Body Psychotherapy is a general branch of this subject, while Somatherapy, Eco-somatics and Dance therapy, for example, are specific branches of the subject. Somatic psychology is a field of study that bridges the Mind-body dichotomy.

Pierre Janet can perhaps be considered the first Somatic Psychologist due to his extensive psychotherapeutic studies and writings with significant reference to the body (some of which pre-date Freud). It is only gradually that the body entered into the realm of available techniques that could be used in a psycho-dynamic frame, following the explorations of Sándor Ferenczi and his friend Georg Groddeck, than Otto Fenichel and his friend Wilhelm Reich. Wilhelm Reich is the first who tried to develop a clear psycho-dynamic approach that included the body, but he soon found out that it could not be done.[1][2] He then developed his own way of combining body and mind and the somatic regulators that connect these two dimensions.[3] Reich was a significant influence in the founding of Body Psychotherapy (or Somatic Psychology as it is often known in the USA & Australia) - though he called his early work "Character Analysis"[4] and "Character-Analytic Vegetotherapy"). Several types of body-oriented psychotherapies trace their origins back to Reich, though there have been many subsequent developments and other influences (ref: entry on Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology is of particular interest in trauma work.[5][6]

There is increasing use of body-oriented therapeutic techniques within mainstream psychology (like EMDR, EFT, and Mindfulness practice) and psychoanalysis has recognized the use of somatic resonance, embodied trauma, and similar concepts, for many years.[7]

Historically, there are early practitioners, for example, the Persian physician Avicenna (980 to 1037 CE) who performed psychotherapy only by observing the movement of the patient's pulse as he listened to their anguish.[8] This is reminiscent of both traditional Tibetan medicine and current energy therapies that employ tapping points on a meridian. As a contrast to the Western separation of body/mind, some writers describe the "body as a slow mind" [9] and this re-examination of the fundamental mind-body dichotomy has coincided with research into neuroscience, embodiment and consciousness, and an unconscious mind that 'speaks' through the language of body.

Dance therapy or (Dance Movement Psychotherapy) also reflect something of this approach and are considered a study and practice within the field of somatic psychology.[10][11][12][13]

Principles

As a field of study, somatic psychology has been defined as: 'the study of the mind/body interface, the relationship between our physical matter and our energy, the interaction of our body structures with our thoughts and actions.'[14]

The primary relationship addressed in somatic psychology is the person's relation to and empathy with their own felt body.[15] It is based on a belief, from the principles of vitalism, bringing sufficient awareness will cause healing.

Applications

A wide variety of techniques are used in somatic psychotherapy including sound, touch, mirroring, movement and breath. An individual records life experience during a pre- and nonverbal periods differently than during a verbalized and personal narrative period. Working with the client's implicit knowing[16][17] of these early experiences, somatic psychology includes the non-verbal qualities that mark most human communication, especially in the first years of life. This understanding of consciousness, communication and mind-body language challenges some traditional applications of the talking cure.[18]

Practitioners in this field believe psychological, social, cultural and political forces support the splitting and fragmentation of the mind-body unity. These pressures affect an individual’s mental, biological, and relational health. For example, the writer Alice Miller in her recent book 'The Body Never Lies'[19] says, Ultimately the body will rebel. Even if it can be temporarily pacified with the help of drugs, cigarettes or medicine, it usually has the last word because it is quicker to see through self-deception than the mind. We may ignore or deride the messages of the body, but its rebellion demands to be heeded because its language is the authentic expression of our true selves and of the strength of our vitality.

History

Wilhelm Reich's pre-eminence as founder of the modern field is open to question. His teacher and the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, explored the role of body in neurosis, as well as undertaking research on the therapeutic effects of cocaine (beginning on April 24, 1884, when he ordered his first gram of cocaine from the local apothecary).[20][21] Freud also showed an interest in the nasal reflex neurosis and in vital periodicity, explored during a significant relationship with Wilhelm Fliess between 1887 and 1902.[22] Wilhelm Fliess believed that the nose was the centre of all human illness through its structural deviations to the passage of breath.[23][24]

In addition, the early history of clinical psychology points to somatic psychotherapy first practiced in Persia around 930 CE.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Heller, M. (2012) Body Psychotherapy, W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 9780393706697
  2. ↑ Geuter, U., Heller, M. C., & Weaver, J. O. (2010) “Reflections on Elsa Gindler and her influence on Wilhelm Reich and body psychotherapy”, Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, vol. 5, 1, pp. 59–73
  3. ↑ Boadella, D. (1991). “Organism and organisation: the place of somatic psychotherapy in society”, Energy & Character, vol. 22, pp 21-23
  4. ↑ Reich, W. (1933/1974). Character Analysis, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, ISBN 9780374509804
  5. ↑ Moskowitz, A., Schafer, I., & Dorahy, M.J. (Eds)(2008) Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation: Emerging Perspectives on Severe Psychopathology. Wiley, Blackwell.ISBN 978-0-470-51173-2 (See esp. Chap. 7., re P. Janet on hallucinations, paranoia, & schizophrenia.)
  6. ↑ Ogden, P., Minton, K. & Pain, C. (2006) Trauma and the Body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-70457-0
  7. ↑ Church, D. (2013) The EFT Manual, 3rd ed. Energy Psychology Press, pp. 74-8. ISBN 978-1-60415-214-2
  8. ↑ Afzal Iqbal & Arberry A. J., 'The Life and Work of Jalaluddin Rumi' page 94
  9. ↑ Friedman, L., Moon, S.I.S. & Friedlander, L. (1997) Being Bodies: Buddhist women on the paradox of embodiment. Second Story Press, ISBN 978-1-57062-324-0
  10. ↑ Meekums, B. (2002) Dance Movement Therapy: a Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. London: Sage, ISBN 978-0-7619-5767-6
  11. ↑ Chodorow, J. (1991) Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology. London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-04113-3
  12. ↑ Lewis, P. (1991; 1988) Theoretical Approaches in Dance Movement Therapy. Vols I & II, USA: Kendall/Hunt, ISBN 978-0-8403-3994-2 & 978-0840346483
  13. ↑ Payne, H.(ed).(2006)Dance Movement Therapy: Theory, Research and Practice (2nd edn). Tavistock/Routledge, ISBN 978-1-58391-703-9
  14. ↑ C. Caldwell. (1997) ‘This body opens,’ in C. Caldwell (Ed.) Getting in touch: The guide to new body-centered therapies. Wheaton, IL: Quest, (p.1).
  15. ↑ Gendlin, E 'Focusing-oriented Psychotherapy' Guilford Press 1996
  16. ↑ Rolf 'Two Theories of Tacit and Implicit Knowledge' retrieved from May 20, 2007
  17. ↑ Knowledge (Implicit Explicit) Philosophical aspects retrieved from , May 20, 2007
  18. ↑ Wilberg, P 'From Psycho-somatics to Soma-semiotics' New Gnosis Publications 2003
  19. ↑ Miller A. 'The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effect of Cruel Parenting' W. W. Norton & Company (May 2, 2005) ISBN 0-393-06065-9 ISBN 978-0-393-06065-2
  20. ↑ Freud and Cocaine -- The Deal retrieved from May 22, 2007
  21. ↑ Freud and cocaine
  22. ↑ Chiriac J translated by Mihaela Cristea retrieved from May 22, 2007
  23. ↑ Louis Breger. Freud: darkness in the midst of vision. John Wiley & Sons, 2000
  24. ↑ Dominic Streatfeild. Cocaine: An unauthorized biography. Dunne Books, June 2002