Gregory Nye, former Psychotherapist in Toronto
has posted this article as found on Wikipedia as being of interest to those who
are searching for more information on the subject.
Body psychotherapys
reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Psychotherapy#History
Body psychotherapy, also called body-oriented psychotherapy, is a branch of psychotherapy which applies basic principles of somatic psychology. It originated in the work of Pierre Janet,
Sigmund Freud and particularly Wilhelm Reich who developed it as vegetotherapy.
History
Wilhelm Reich and the post-Reichians are considered the central element of body psychotherapy. From the 1930s Reich became known for the idea that muscular tension reflected repressed
emotions, what he called 'body armour,' and developed a way to use pressure to produce emotional release in his clients.[7] Reich was expelled from the psychoanalytic mainstream and his
work found a home in the ‘growth movement’ of the 1960s and 1970s and in the countercultural project of 'liberating the body. Perhaps as a result, body psychotherapy was marginalised
within mainstream psychology and was seen in the 1980s and 1990s as ‘the radical fringe of psychotherapy'. Body psychotherapy's marginal position may be connected with the tendency for
charismatic leaders to emerge within it, from Reich onwards.
Alexander Lowen in his Bioenergetic analysis and John Pierrakos in Core energetics extended Reich's finding of the segmented nature of body armour: "The muscular armour has a segmented
arrangement...always transverse to the torso, never along it".[10][11] Lowen claimed that "No words are so clear as the language of body expression".[12] Subsequently the Chiron approach
added influences from Gestalt therapy.[13]
The early 2000s saw a 'renaissance of body psychotherapy' which was part of a broader increased interest in the body and embodiment in psychology and other disciplines including
philosophy, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.[14] Object relations theory has arguably opened the way more recently for a fuller consideration of the body-mind in
psychotherapy.[15]
BranchesEdit
There are numerous branches of body psychotherapy, often tracing their origins to particular individuals: for example, 'Bioenergetic analysis' to the work of Lowen and Pierrakos; 'Radix'
to the work of Chuck Kelley; Organismic Psychotherapy to the work of Malcolm and Katherine Brown;[16] 'Biosynthesis' to the work of David Boadella;[17] 'Biodynamic Psychology' to that of
Gerda Boyesen; 'Rubenfeld Synergy' to Ilana Rubenfeld's work;[18] 'Body-Mind Centering' to Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen's work, and 'Body-mind Psychotherapy' to Susan Aposhyan.[19]
Gregory Nye, former psychotherapist in Toronto is active in research and development in this field. His contact information can be found below.
Many of these contributors to body psychotherapy were influenced by the work of Wilhelm Reich, while adding and incorporating a variety of other influences.[20] Syntheses of these
approaches are also becoming accepted and recognised in their own right (e.g. The Chiron Approach: Chiron Association of Body Psychotherapists).[21]
Alongside the body psychotherapies built directly on the work of Reich, there is a branch of post-Jungian body psychotherapies, developed from Jung’s idea of the ‘somatic unconscious’.[22]
While many post-Jungians dismiss Reich and do not work with the body,[23] contributors to Jungian derived body psychotherapy include Arnold Mindell with his concept of the ‘dreambody’ and
the development of process oriented psychology.[24][25][26][27] Process oriented psychology is known for its focus on the body and movement.[28]
Body psychotherapy and dance movement therapy have developed separately and are professionally distinguished, however they have significant common ground and shared principles including
the importance of non-verbal therapeutic techniques and the development of body-focused awareness.[29]
A review of body psychotherapy research finds there is a small but growing empirical evidence base about the outcomes of body psychotherapy, however it is weakened by the fragmentation of
the field into different branches and schools.[30] The review reports that one of the strongest studies is longitudinal (2 year) outcome research conducted with 342 participants across 8
different schools (Hakomi Experiental Psychology, Unitive Body Psychotherapy, Biodynamic Psychology, Bioenergetic Analysis, Client-Centred Verbal and Body Psychotherapy, Integrative Body
Psychotherapy, Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, and Biosynthesis). Overall efficacy was demonstrated in symptom reduction, however the study design limited further substantive conclusions.[31]
If you wish to discuss this article with Gregory Nye or similar articles, you can reach him through his website at Gregorynye.com
The review of outcome research across different types of body-oriented psychotherapy concludes that the best evidence supports efficacy for treating somatoform/psychosomatic disorders and
schizophrenia,[32] while there is also support for ‘generally good effects on subjectively experienced depressive and anxiety symptoms, somatisation and social insecurity.’[33]
TraumaEdit
Body psychotherapy is one modality used in a multi-modal approach to treating psychological trauma, particularly PTSD and C-PTSD.[34][35][36]
Recovering a sense of physical boundaries through sensorimotor psychotherapy is an important part of re-establishing trust in the traumatised.[37] Blending somatic and cognitive awareness,
such an approach reaches back for inspiration to the pioneering work of Janet, as well as employing the more recent work of António Damásio.[38]
The necessity of often working without touch with traumatised victims presents a special challenge for body psychotherapists.[39]
OrganizationsEdit
The European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP) and The United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) are two professional associations for body psychotherapists.
The EABP was founded in 1988 to promote the inclusion of Body Psychotherapy within a broader process of professionalisation, standardisation and regulation of psychotherapy in Europe,
driven by the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP).[40] The EABP Board committed to meeting the EAP standards for establishing the scientific validity of psychotherapy modalities
and achieved this in 1999/2000 for Body Psychotherapy as a whole, with individual modalities subsequently also achieving this recognition.[41] The EABP provides a searchable bibliography
of body-psychotherapy publications, containing over 4,000 entries.[42]
The USABP was formed in June 1996[43] to provide professional representation for body psychotherapy practitioners in the United States. The USABP launched a peer-reviewed professional
journal in 2002, the USA Body Psychotherapy Journal, which was published twice-yearly from 2002 - 2011.[44] In 2012, the sister organisations, EABP and USABP, together launched the
International Body Psychotherapy Journal.[45]
Gregory Nye has posted the link to this article as interesting reading.
If you would like to contact him please visit his website at http://gregorynye.com
You can also follow him on social media on the following sites:
https://www.facebook.com/gregory.nye.526?fref=ts
https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=nav_responsive_tab_home
https://plus.google.com/104515518103148989217/posts
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/gregnye
http://gregorynye.wordpress.com
http://gregorynye.weebly.com
http://twitter.com@gregorynyetor
has posted this article as found on Wikipedia as being of interest to those who
are searching for more information on the subject.
Body psychotherapys
reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Psychotherapy#History
Body psychotherapy, also called body-oriented psychotherapy, is a branch of psychotherapy which applies basic principles of somatic psychology. It originated in the work of Pierre Janet,
Sigmund Freud and particularly Wilhelm Reich who developed it as vegetotherapy.
History
Wilhelm Reich and the post-Reichians are considered the central element of body psychotherapy. From the 1930s Reich became known for the idea that muscular tension reflected repressed
emotions, what he called 'body armour,' and developed a way to use pressure to produce emotional release in his clients.[7] Reich was expelled from the psychoanalytic mainstream and his
work found a home in the ‘growth movement’ of the 1960s and 1970s and in the countercultural project of 'liberating the body. Perhaps as a result, body psychotherapy was marginalised
within mainstream psychology and was seen in the 1980s and 1990s as ‘the radical fringe of psychotherapy'. Body psychotherapy's marginal position may be connected with the tendency for
charismatic leaders to emerge within it, from Reich onwards.
Alexander Lowen in his Bioenergetic analysis and John Pierrakos in Core energetics extended Reich's finding of the segmented nature of body armour: "The muscular armour has a segmented
arrangement...always transverse to the torso, never along it".[10][11] Lowen claimed that "No words are so clear as the language of body expression".[12] Subsequently the Chiron approach
added influences from Gestalt therapy.[13]
The early 2000s saw a 'renaissance of body psychotherapy' which was part of a broader increased interest in the body and embodiment in psychology and other disciplines including
philosophy, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.[14] Object relations theory has arguably opened the way more recently for a fuller consideration of the body-mind in
psychotherapy.[15]
BranchesEdit
There are numerous branches of body psychotherapy, often tracing their origins to particular individuals: for example, 'Bioenergetic analysis' to the work of Lowen and Pierrakos; 'Radix'
to the work of Chuck Kelley; Organismic Psychotherapy to the work of Malcolm and Katherine Brown;[16] 'Biosynthesis' to the work of David Boadella;[17] 'Biodynamic Psychology' to that of
Gerda Boyesen; 'Rubenfeld Synergy' to Ilana Rubenfeld's work;[18] 'Body-Mind Centering' to Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen's work, and 'Body-mind Psychotherapy' to Susan Aposhyan.[19]
Gregory Nye, former psychotherapist in Toronto is active in research and development in this field. His contact information can be found below.
Many of these contributors to body psychotherapy were influenced by the work of Wilhelm Reich, while adding and incorporating a variety of other influences.[20] Syntheses of these
approaches are also becoming accepted and recognised in their own right (e.g. The Chiron Approach: Chiron Association of Body Psychotherapists).[21]
Alongside the body psychotherapies built directly on the work of Reich, there is a branch of post-Jungian body psychotherapies, developed from Jung’s idea of the ‘somatic unconscious’.[22]
While many post-Jungians dismiss Reich and do not work with the body,[23] contributors to Jungian derived body psychotherapy include Arnold Mindell with his concept of the ‘dreambody’ and
the development of process oriented psychology.[24][25][26][27] Process oriented psychology is known for its focus on the body and movement.[28]
Body psychotherapy and dance movement therapy have developed separately and are professionally distinguished, however they have significant common ground and shared principles including
the importance of non-verbal therapeutic techniques and the development of body-focused awareness.[29]
A review of body psychotherapy research finds there is a small but growing empirical evidence base about the outcomes of body psychotherapy, however it is weakened by the fragmentation of
the field into different branches and schools.[30] The review reports that one of the strongest studies is longitudinal (2 year) outcome research conducted with 342 participants across 8
different schools (Hakomi Experiental Psychology, Unitive Body Psychotherapy, Biodynamic Psychology, Bioenergetic Analysis, Client-Centred Verbal and Body Psychotherapy, Integrative Body
Psychotherapy, Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, and Biosynthesis). Overall efficacy was demonstrated in symptom reduction, however the study design limited further substantive conclusions.[31]
If you wish to discuss this article with Gregory Nye or similar articles, you can reach him through his website at Gregorynye.com
The review of outcome research across different types of body-oriented psychotherapy concludes that the best evidence supports efficacy for treating somatoform/psychosomatic disorders and
schizophrenia,[32] while there is also support for ‘generally good effects on subjectively experienced depressive and anxiety symptoms, somatisation and social insecurity.’[33]
TraumaEdit
Body psychotherapy is one modality used in a multi-modal approach to treating psychological trauma, particularly PTSD and C-PTSD.[34][35][36]
Recovering a sense of physical boundaries through sensorimotor psychotherapy is an important part of re-establishing trust in the traumatised.[37] Blending somatic and cognitive awareness,
such an approach reaches back for inspiration to the pioneering work of Janet, as well as employing the more recent work of António Damásio.[38]
The necessity of often working without touch with traumatised victims presents a special challenge for body psychotherapists.[39]
OrganizationsEdit
The European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP) and The United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) are two professional associations for body psychotherapists.
The EABP was founded in 1988 to promote the inclusion of Body Psychotherapy within a broader process of professionalisation, standardisation and regulation of psychotherapy in Europe,
driven by the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP).[40] The EABP Board committed to meeting the EAP standards for establishing the scientific validity of psychotherapy modalities
and achieved this in 1999/2000 for Body Psychotherapy as a whole, with individual modalities subsequently also achieving this recognition.[41] The EABP provides a searchable bibliography
of body-psychotherapy publications, containing over 4,000 entries.[42]
The USABP was formed in June 1996[43] to provide professional representation for body psychotherapy practitioners in the United States. The USABP launched a peer-reviewed professional
journal in 2002, the USA Body Psychotherapy Journal, which was published twice-yearly from 2002 - 2011.[44] In 2012, the sister organisations, EABP and USABP, together launched the
International Body Psychotherapy Journal.[45]
Gregory Nye has posted the link to this article as interesting reading.
If you would like to contact him please visit his website at http://gregorynye.com
You can also follow him on social media on the following sites:
https://www.facebook.com/gregory.nye.526?fref=ts
https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=nav_responsive_tab_home
https://plus.google.com/104515518103148989217/posts
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/gregnye
http://gregorynye.wordpress.com
http://gregorynye.weebly.com
http://twitter.com@gregorynyetor