In addition to methods based solely on the conversation between the psychologist and the patient, there are techniques in psychotherapy designed to work with the body. To help you navigate these methods, we have divided them into five groups.
Only in the 1960s did psychologists begin to pay serious attention to the human body. And although some of Freud’s followers – Georg Groddeck, Wilhelm Reich, Otto Rank – always gave him his due, the opinion that body and soul were independent of each other was still more popular.
Everything was changed by the sexual revolution and the emergence of hippies – a subculture that calls for emancipation and naturalness. In the United States, groups of scientists began to emerge who wanted to go beyond the too narrow Freudian approach, but not fall into the other extreme – behaviorism, whose followers were literally obsessed with physiology. The researchers wanted to create techniques close to the very essence of man.
Particular enthusiasm reigned on the west coast of America, in particular, at the Esalen Institute, where the principles of body-oriented therapy were laid. Alexander Lowen developed the method of bioenergy analysis, Fritz Perls proposed Gestalt therapy, Ida Rolf created the Rolfing technique.
These and other scientists paid attention primarily to the bodily side of life. They talked about the pleasure of being in one’s own body, emphasized the importance of physical contact, and engaged in deciphering body messages in response to mental experiences, which was later called psychosomatics.
From the many modern techniques, we will choose a little more than twenty – designed to work with the body and help to release hidden experiences and alleviate mental suffering.
Feel and relax
The oldest techniques fell into this category: for example, the method of self-hypnosis appeared at the end of the 1920th century, not to mention meditation, which was practiced by the ancient Indians, and relaxation – its “official” version was presented to the world back in the XNUMXs.
All three techniques are aimed at restoring inner balance, allowing you to feel better in your own body, learn to control mental impulses and, most importantly, cope with stress. They cannot be called methods of therapy; rather, they contribute to the development and personal growth.
Self-suggestion (self-training)
Its creator, the French pharmacist Emile Coué, after observing the clients of his pharmacy for a long time, came to the conclusion that the patient, who remains indifferent to what is happening to him, recovers much more slowly. Then he suggested that clients, while taking medication, say a simple phrase: “Every day it becomes easier for me.”
The effect of the treatment was amazing – the patients stopped feeling pain, although they actually took glucose tablets. So the pharmacist was able to prove the real power of self-hypnosis: a person is healed by the confidence that he will definitely get better. That does not cancel, of course, the treatment itself.
You need to repeat a positive attitude in a dream state of consciousness (between reality and sleep – in the evening, falling asleep, or in the morning, waking up) – at this time, the unconscious is most receptive to information.
Relaxation
The method, which became the basis of all subsequent relaxation techniques, was developed in the 20s of the twentieth century by the American physiologist Edmund Jacobson and was called “progressive relaxation”. The main principle of the technique is to reduce muscle tension.
The muscle being trained gets tired and after the tension is released, it becomes even more relaxed.
To do this, you need to alternately strain and relax different muscle groups. For example, the patient clenches his fists tightly and holds them in tension for a while. The muscle being trained gets tired and after the tension is released, it becomes even more relaxed than before the start of the exercise. The rest of the muscle groups are worked out in the same way.
Meditative psychotechnics
The essence of meditation is to temporarily suspend intellectual activity and concentrate on the perception of the senses. Sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste are the keys to meditation practice.
Many are sure that this is some incredibly difficult task that requires knowledge, special training, a special place and time. In fact, meditation is not at all an occupation for the elite.
Any simple actions – for example, savoring chocolate, listening to birds singing, stroking a smooth stone – if carried out slowly and consciously, can turn into real meditation, become one of the ways of relaxation, recuperation, harmonization of soul and body. The main thing is to do it regularly, in the morning or in the evening, at about the same time.
Breathe, sing and listen
Breathing, singing and music have always been used for therapeutic purposes. Harmonization of soul and body was seen as a way to comprehend spiritual truth. Everyone knows breathing exercises in yoga, a special timbre in the performance of Hindu and Buddhist mantras, the intoxicating music of shamans… Not so long ago, experts began to rediscover these techniques.
Rebefing
The name comes from the English rebirthing – “birth again”. American psychotherapist Leonard Orr developed this technique in the early 1970s, laying the foundation for the technique of “connected” breathing – when there is no pause between inhalation and exhalation.
Task: to completely relax the body in order to first restore negative experiences (in particular, those experienced by the body at the time of birth), and then get rid of them. The method allows you to open and eliminate the centers of suppressed experiences, release energy, get a charge of activity, joy and pleasure.
Holotropic Breathwork
One of the creators of transpersonal psychology, American psychiatrist Stanislav Grof developed a technique that combines intensive breathing, leading to hyperventilation of the lungs, specially selected exercises and music. The method helps to remove bioenergetic and emotional blocks.
During music therapy sessions, attention is paid not only to hearing, but also to physical sensations, breathing, movements
As a rule, it is practiced in group sessions, where participants pair up and take turns acting as a breather and an “observer”. During the session, they draw mandalas in which they express their experiences. And then, in small groups, they talk about their experience of diving into the unconscious. In the world, the technique is treated with caution. In Russia, only a few certified specialists practice it.
Hakomi Method
The creator of hakomi therapy is body-oriented therapist Ron Kurtz, a specialist in recognizing the psychological state of the structure, postures and movements of the body. His method is called the response of the West to the spiritual wisdom of the East: the hakomi method is in many ways consonant with Buddhism and Taoism with their gentleness, compassion and following the nature of things. To work through problems, therapists work with three states: awareness, strong emotions, and childish spontaneity.
Music therapy
In Western culture, the healing power of music was recognized in the mid-twentieth century. Today, music is part of the treatment for childhood autism, depression, and many mental illnesses. During music therapy sessions, attention is paid not only to hearing, but also to physical sensations, breathing, and movements.
Our body itself is like an orchestra: if the rhythms of external life are aggressive, its work is disturbed, but if they correspond to our biorhythms, we feel harmony. Related to this is the soothing effect of relaxation tunes: the intensity of brain activity slows down enough that we can fall into deep sleep.
Vote
Popular training in oratory, the art of voice control, singing. Working with the voice helps to relax or, conversely, cheer up. It allows you to comprehend the depths of your own “I”, to enter into a dialogue with others.
Tomatis method
In the 1960s, otolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis found that listening to high-frequency sounds – 5000-8000 Hz – activates brain activity and improves memory. Vibrations seem to feed the brain, and with it the body, there is a feeling of security, wholeness and well-being. The Tomatis method is effective for attention disorders, speech disorders, and depression in adults.
understand the body
Our body remembers: it “records” everything that happens to us. By working with the body, we can deal with the consequences of mental trauma from the distant or recent past.
Vegetotherapy by Wilhelm Reich
Psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich was the first to point out that repressed emotion causes muscle contraction. Chronic stress Reich called “muscle shell” or “character shell”, because they also reflect the human psyche. After this discovery, he moved away from psychoanalysis and created vegetotherapy based on the free circulation of vital (vegetative) energy.
Integrative kinesiology
Like other methods of body-oriented psychotherapy, kinesiology works with experiences imprinted in the body. The method is aimed primarily at working with the consequences of psychological trauma. Special exercises “remove” the automatic reaction that prevents you from being aware of the situation and acting adequately. The patient learns to listen to bodily sensations, to be aware of impulsive reactions and to distinguish them from genuine feelings.
Thanatotherapy
In the 1980s, this method was created by the psychotherapist Vladimir Baskakov. Thanatotherapy considers death (thanatos) as a state of complete relaxation and peace. During the classes, special conditions are created for deep relaxation. Body work helps to cope with four types of problems: excessive control (in the body projection it is the head), communication problems (chest and arms), sexual difficulties (groin), stability problems (legs and feet).
Bodynamic analysis
Danish psychotherapist Lisbeth Marcher developed this method in the 70s. Patients are recommended special relaxation exercises, and for those who are too relaxed, on the contrary, ways to tone the muscles.
Move
Many methods of healing the soul, known since antiquity, can be called “global gymnastics.” Modern techniques for working on posture and movements, helping to relieve bodily tension, are also able to eliminate emotional blocks.
Feldenkrais method
The movement practice of the physicist and physician Moshe Feldenkrais, created by him in the 1930s, allows you to achieve a pleasant sense of self through mastery of your own body. The patient is not shown specific movements, but only those that do not suit him are removed. The main goal of the technique is to move with comfort.
Dance Movement Therapy
Dance is a communication that takes place on three levels: dance with oneself, with other people and the world. The task of the therapist is to create a safe space in which, by analyzing relationships through the example of movements with a dance therapist or partners, a person learns to interact with others and with himself. He also has the opportunity to understand the cause of symptoms, pain, bodily discomfort or movement restrictions.
In addition, in the process of dancing in the body, all internal rhythms are coordinated and tension is relieved.
Biosynthesis Boadell
In the 1970s, body-oriented psychotherapist David Boadella began to develop a technique that relieves tension in the body with the help of special exercises and massage, allows you to feel your own body in a new way, to evaluate yourself and the world around you in a different way. In terms of bioenergetics, feeling good means being free, without muscle clamps.
Mandala Dance
Women’s practice, through which harmony is achieved between the body and emotions. During the dance, there is work with energies, restructuring and transformation of the body in accordance with the natural forces of a woman.
touch, massage
Christian culture has never approved of physical contact. Moreover, there were times when she imposed the strictest ban on any touch, treating them as an act of aggression. The denial of the body was aggravated by Freud’s theory, which saw sexual connotations in any thought and any act.
It took a long time before humanity recognized the healing effect of touch and massage. Today they, in various forms, have become part of therapeutic treatment.
Rolfing
This method was developed by Ida Rolf, Doctor of Biochemistry, in the 50s. Rolfing relieves muscle tension through deep muscle work, namely, strong and often painful stretches of the connective tissue and fascia of the body that connect the human skeleton and its muscular system.
A balanced body adapts better to stress, which often causes diseases of the mind and body.
According to the author of the methodology, in order to maintain health, a person should pay attention to his gait, posture, manner of sitting … The goal is to achieve bodily balance, since a balanced body adapts better to stress, which often causes diseases of the soul and body. On the basis of Rolfing, other techniques have been developed: Dani Boyce’s fasciotherapy and Pierre Hammond’s cranial osteopathy.
Psycho-organic analysis
Inspired by the work of Wilhelm Reich, the Norwegian psychologist Gerda Boysen formulated the principles of the new method. It is based on the statement that massage enhances the effect of the therapy. Subsequently, her son Paul Boysen introduced elements of psychoanalysis into his mother’s technique. Today, this method combines face-to-face consultation between therapist and client with massage.
California massage
The technique is designed to completely relax the muscles. Smoothness and continuity (with an enveloping effect) have a great effect on tense muscles. Massage is carried out to specially selected music, and all techniques – rubbing, stroking and pressing – are performed in time with the melody.
Haptonomy
In other words, “the science of emotional attachment.” This method was developed by the Dutch scientist Frans Veldman. Helps future parents to establish contact with the child while he is in the womb.
Communication is established through voice and the laying on of hands on the stomach. The child feels these touches and responds to them. The same method is used to build relationships between children and parents and also to accompany a person in the terminal stage of the disease.
Alexander’s method
Matthias Alexander developed his method in the 1920s. Its principle is to correct the posture and the manner of movement developed over the years. The method is simple: pay attention to how we manage our body in everyday life, how we stand, sit down, lie down … And learn to do it right.