The specialisms I practice and the organisation’s I belong to can be classified under the umbrella term ‘Body Psychotherapy’ this term points tries illustrate that the work here isn’t simply talking or retelling our stories, though that is important, what we are doing involves all of us. ‘Psyche therapy’ is therapy for the Spirit, but by ‘spirit’ we might also be saying bodymindspirit, or ‘all of ourselves’. This is important because to get at deep underlying issues we work at the space on the ‘edge of awareness’ (Gendlin) and to do this we need to be embodied and present.
Being more embodied (in our bodies) is a skill which can be learnt, it is a natural state of a living thing, but trauma, pain and stress may have caused us to sensibly need to not be here, in our bodies, in ourselves. In sessions we can learn to be here more and as we do this we get to experience more of ourselves and to be in relationship with ourselves. We learn to do this best with a trusted guide and later learn to do it for ourselves.
Focusing, Brainspotting and Deep Brain Reprocessing are all modalities which use our embodied ‘felt sense’ to help us as much as our thinking mind, which is why a therapeutic conversation is different from an ordinary conversation.
Body Psychotherapy also points to more than just our ‘skin envelope’ (Gendlin) but to being part of the larger system of living bodies, the earth, the elements, of constellations and of spirit, so without any dogma or theological perpective we can invite links between ourselves and the greater whole and this brings us to a holistic, ecological, bodymindspiritlandcosmic psychotherapy. Therefore while we might associate Therapy with helping us our of stuck, traumatised places there is also the invitation for growth, expansion and connection with all of life.
In Bodypsychotherapy no belief system is needed, Deep Brain Processing is informed by the latest neuroscience, Focusing originates from a philosophical place, this is a very person centred way of working and the invitation is to take the understanding that fits with you knowing that as trauma is held in the body the body is going to be a relevant part of this work and you are free to take or leave what fits at the conceptual level.