Body-Oriented Psychotherapy

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy is a type of psychotherapy that treats the mind and the body as one and tries to bring them into balance. The basis for the approach comes from clinical psychology and the work of both Sigmund Freud and Pierre Janet. This therapy is also known as Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy is grounded in the belief that while our physical and mental selves should be in balance, that often there's a disassociation between them. Every time we feel a physical urge to do something like cry, laugh, or shout and we suppress that urge, we're putting a wedge between our mind and our body, and hindering ourself from experiencing a truly alive and vibrant state. More and more we're unable to experience a sense of well-being, feelings of contentment and security because we've hindered the flow of these feelings from a young age onward.

Once people begin to believe that being themselves isn't good enough or is somehow wrong and that they must suppress their actions, they begin to feel dissatisfied and look beyond themselves for comfort and happiness. That's when addictions, abusive relationships and codependency can take hold, and make life even more unpleasant.

Wilhelm Reich, the man who developed Body-Oriented Psychotherapy (then called Somatic Psychotherapy), was called a brilliant clinician by Freud, but other leaders in the field thought him too radical. He fled Europe, but the American government deemed his findings fraudulent, and seized and destroyed what they could find of his research. His belief in orgone energy (now called bioenergy) as the essence of life, and his belief that the scientific community's clinical view of sex, separating it completely from love, was evil, were seen as ridiculous. He was imprisoned in 1956 because of his political views, and died in prison the following year. His Body-Oriented Psychotherapy techniques didn't become widely known again until 20 years later.

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy can be different from therapist to therapist, in both the psychotherapy and the physical touch, because there are several different schools of thought within both of those fields. But therapists should “listen through their hands” and know when to touch, and how to do so. They should watch the patient's body signals and react appropriately to changes in demeanor. Not every session of Body-Oriented Psychotherapy will involve touch necessarily, sometimes there will be only talk therapy for various reasons, but even then the therapist will carefully observe the body language and notice the patient's tone of voice to determine how best to proceed.

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