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Theory into practice II
Published in Michael Dixon, Kieran Sweeney, Sir Denis Pereira Gray, The Human Effect in Medicine, 2017
Michael Dixon, Kieran Sweeney, Sir Denis Pereira Gray
Many complementary therapies involve a lot of touching. Touch is almost always emotionally significant. Being touched is, for most, a pleasant experience in itself and carries the implication of feeling accepted. The old, the unloved and the chronically sick have been described by Bernie Siegel, as being `skin starved’. As one patient put it to the author recently: `I’ve got no one to hug me’. Touch is particularly important for these patients. Many of them may be in need of urgent `body psychotherapy’. This may explain why massage for their musculoskeletal pains often seems to be more effective than evidence-based medical remedies. Yet we relentlessly push a whole host of medications at them in order to try and cure their ailments and unhappiness. Those kitchen cupboards full of unused pills are testimony that we got it wrong – the patient wanted caring not medicines.
The Body-Mind Connection
Published in Shamit Kadosh, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar, Incorporating Psychotherapeutic Concepts and Interventions Within Medicine, 2019
Shamit Kadosh, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar
Body psychotherapy is a distinct branch of psychotherapy with a long history and a large body of literature and knowledge based upon a sound theoretical position. Originated with a few students-turned-colleagues of Freud who felt that psychological issues were both manifesting in, and were deeply entwined with, physiological processes and that separating the two was an ill-advised and inefficient practice (Ferenczi, 1929; Groddeck, 1931; Reich, 1933). It includes a variety of theoretical and clinical methodologies, as well as different styles of therapeutic interventions and toolkits based on a theory of mind-body functioning, which takes into account the complexity of the intersections and interactions between the body and the mind. The common underlying assumption is that the body is the whole person, and there is a functional unity (in Reich’s 1933, terminology) between mind and body. Body psychotherapy views the relationship between corporal and psychological processes as both unified and complementary, that is—it is not a hierarchical relationship, but two manifestations of the same organism. Body (somatic processes) and mind (cognitive emotional processes) are both seen as functioning and interactive aspects of the whole human being, while the body is involved in the process of making meaning. Body psychotherapists use somatic attunement skills to deepen their awareness of themselves and their patients’ bodies; they cultivate the process of bridge building, and connecting body and mind, feelings, sensations, and thoughts; they perceive bodily symptoms as carrying emotional and cognitive meaning, and use a number of bodily interventions (breathing techniques, mindfulness, grounding, and centring) for coping with stress, pain, and other symptoms (Bucci, 1997; Lin & Payne, 2014; Rolef Ben-Shahar, 2014; Young, 2011).
Potential Applications of Somatic Experiencing® in Applied Sport Psychology
Published in Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 2023
In recent years, applied sport psychology (ASP) consultants have become more open-minded to third-wave therapies (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness) that focus on the holistic promotion of psychological and behavioral processes associated with human well-being over the reduction of psychological and emotional symptoms. This approach often uses psychoeducation to teach athletes how the human brain works and why people experience certain thoughts and emotions (Birrer & Röthlin, 2017). In this article, a relatively new type of body psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing® (SE™), is discussed. We begin by explaining the basic tenets of SE™ and presenting research that supported its effectiveness. Then, we discuss context and ethical considerations of SE™-based intervention and provide an example of this process. We conclude by discussing guidelines for how practitioners can adapt the intervention to their circumstances and evaluate its effectiveness.
Exploring clinical reasoning in Austrian mental health physiotherapy: the physiotherapist´s perspective
Published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 2022
Stefan Perner, Louise Danielsson
Similar efforts are currently taken in Austria (Perner, Kundegraber, and Jelem-Zdrazil, 2021), where PTMH was inspired by: Swiss and German traditions of psychiatric physiotherapy (Blankenburg, 1983; Braun, 1983; Perner, 2016; Scharfetter and Benedetti, 1978); movement therapies and reform gymnastics (Arps-Aubert, 2012; Ehrenfried, 1957; Heyer-Grote, 1970; Kohler and Kiesel, 1972; Krietsch and Heuer, 1997; Steger and Heyer-Grote, 1970; Wilda-Kiesel, Tögel, and Wutzler, 2011); relaxation techniques (Haase, Ehrenberg, and Schweizer, 1985; Jacobson, 2017; Schaarschuch, 1993; Vaitl and Petermann, 2000); and dance therapy (Espenak, 1985; Laban, 1999; Schoop, 2010). Scandinavian methods such as Basic Body Awareness Therapy and Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy are on the rise in the clinical field. Physiotherapists make frequent use of physical activity, exercises, mindfulness-based interventions and other far-eastern approaches. PTMH in Austria shares some aspects with body psychotherapy, such as the aim to link bodily patterns with emotions and life history. Although being different professions with different educations, body psychotherapy and PTMH have some historical roots in common (Bartuska and Bartuska, 2015; Geuter, 2005; Langfeld and Rellensmann, 2007; Petzold, 1979; Reich, 2009; Röhricht, 2000; Rümmele, 1990).
Anxiety management: Participants’ experiences of a physiotherapeutic group treatment in Swedish psychiatric outpatient care
Published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 2020
Helena Ölund, Louise Danielsson, Susanne Rosberg
Psychiatric physiotherapy focuses on movements and bodily sensations and connects nonverbally to psychological and existential dimensions (Danielsson, 2015). The aim of psychiatric physiotherapy is “to empower the individual by promoting functional movement, movement awareness, physical activity and exercise” (International Organization of Physical Therapists in Mental Health, 2017). Eastern traditions of Zazen and T’ai Chi Ch’uan and body-oriented psychotherapy traditions have influenced the development of body awareness exercises used in Swedish psychiatric physiotherapy (Ambolt, Gard, and Sjödahl Hammarlund, 2017). Treatment methods such as basic body awareness therapy (BBAT), physical exercise, relaxation therapy, and affect-focused body psychotherapy are used in Swedish psychiatry (Danielsson, 2015; Gyllensten, Ekdahl, and Hansson, 2009; Levy Berg, 2009).