USABP Book Reviews

The Art and Science of Embodied Research Design: Concepts, Methods and Cases

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 04:34:36 GMT

The Art and Science of Embodied Research Design: Concepts, Methods, and Cases offers original perspectives that situate embodiment as a necessary element in human research. It brings together philosophical foundations of embodiment research with application of embodied methods from several disciplines. Part I suggests ways that embodied epistemology may bring deeper understanding to current research theory, and describes the ways in which embodiment is an integral part of the research process. In Part II, chapters propose novel ways to operationalize embodied data in the research process, and include Somatic Systems of Analysis, Movement Systems of Analysis, Embodied Interviews and Observations, and Creative and Mixed Methods. Each chapter proposes a method case; an example of a previously used research method that exemplifies the way in which embodiment is used in a study.

It is suited for many fields of study such as psychology, sociology, behavioral science, anthropology, education, and arts-based research. It will be useful for graduate coursework in somatic studies or as a supplemental text for courses in traditional research design.

Jennifer Frank Tantia, PhD is a somatic psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. She has been teaching somatic psychology and embodied research at universities and training programs in the US and internationally for the past 18 years. Dr. Tantia also co-edited The Routledge International Handbook on Embodied Perspectives in Psychotherapy: Approaches from Dance Movement and Body Psychotherapy (2019) with Helen Payne, Sabina Koch and Thomas Fuchs.

The Art and Science of Embodied Research Design: Concepts, Methods and Cases
ISBN: 9781138367081

Annals of the Institute for Orgonomic Science

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 01:19:41 GMT

The Annals is published annually or on an as-needed basis by the Institute for Orgonomic Science (IOS) which was incorporated in September 1982 as a non-profit organization. The IOS serves as an educational and scientific organization, which conducts regular seminars by orgonomic therapists, scientists, and other professionals for discussion of clinical and scientific matters. This journal has functioned to provide information to the public concerning relevant clinical issues in orgonomic therapy, as well as reports of experimental studies of biogenesis, the Reich blood tests, and of biological and physical effects of the orgone energy accumulator and the medical DOR-buster. The IOS is also involved in the training of qualified mental health professionals in orgonomic therapy, and provides occasional lectures and symposia on various orgonomic topics. Volumes 1-10 of the Annals, including some free downloads, may be ordered from the Institute for Orgonomic Science website.

Order recent issues of our journal, Annals of the Institute for Orgonomic Science, https://www.magcloud.com/browse/magazine/502067

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/magazine/502067

Emotional Armoring

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 01:12:33 GMT

About Emotional Armoring

Orgone is the name that Wilhelm Reich gave to the energy that moves us. Reich believed that where there is emotional repression there is a concomitant protoplasmic contraction in the body. Because this physical tension tends to become chronic with time, binds energy, and constricts the free pulsation of our bodies, it is truly an armor that imprisons us for life.

If we are all so armored – and we are, according to the author – then the history of humanity has been the history of an emotionally and physically crippled animal. Our revolutions and our religions cannot liberate us because after we have struggled to free ourselves we still find ourselves within the cocoon that we continuously weave.

Psychiatry explores the immense and fascinating complexity of how we function – a journey we need to continue. But the key to a person’s deep understanding of the point of deviation from one’s nature may lie with psychiatric orgone therapy. Though it is not a cure-all or appropriate for all patients, psychiatric orgone therapy can effect significant changes in emotional disorder and open lives. Emotional Armoring was written to disseminate this knowledge.

The author, a pupil of Reich’s, presents the fundamentals of orgone therapy. He shows how, through armoring, innocent impulses become cockeyed impulses, and eyes that linger and look deeply, as a young child’s, turn into eyes that look sidelong and turn away. Over time, our bodies lose their ease and grace and become stiff, dyspeptic, and constipated; armoring disfigures us literally and spiritually.

The author uses case studies and clearly wrought, unpretentious explanations of how an understanding of armoring, the nexus between biology and psychology, can be used to evaluate human events and see man in relation to his universe. We can relieve 70 percent of depressions with antidepressant drugs; neuroleptics can ameliorate the hallucinations and delusions of psychotic patients; and we can pinpoint the metabolic deficit in a specific area of the brain to mark a particular psychiatric syndrome.

Even so, today’s patient is mistakenly looked at as the bearer of symptoms rather than a dynamic, pulsating human being. The authors volume breathes new life into the study of psychiatry. It calls for psychiatry to reach beyond the treatment of isolated symptoms and begin to reveal – to borrow from literary references – why we are a “madding crowd” and too often live “lives of quiet desperation.”

Get details and buy Dr. Herskowitz’s book, Emotional Armoring, https://orgonomicscience.org/emotional-armoring/

Releasing Toxic Anger for Women: Somatic Practices & CBT Skills to Let Go of Negative Thoughts, Soothe Stress, and Stay True to Yourself

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 20:22:24 GMT

Dr. Wilner has done it again. Her new book is now available for pre-order. It goes on sale December 1, 2024.

About the book:

Discover powerful CBT and somatic practices to help you release toxic anger and find lasting emotional balance.

Do you ever feel guilty for being angry? If so, you aren’t alone. We live in a culture that doesn’t support the open assertive expression of anger among women. Women and girls are often taught that we are overreacting, or just being too sensitive or unreasonable when anger arises. This bottled-up anger can then lead to inner criticism, self-doubt, resentment, emotional avoidance, and conflicts with others. This repressed anger can also cause a ripple effect throughout the body, affecting our heart, brain, nervous system, immune system, and gut.

In this much-needed guide, a clinical psychologist and somatic therapist reveals how anger—whether it’s repressed or misdirected in harmful ways—creates stress in the body and mind, and offers powerful body-based, somatic practices and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help you let go of internalized anger for greater health, vitality, and purpose.

With this go-to guide, you’ll also learn to:

Find validation in your anger and other intense emotions

Move past negative thinking, destructive aggression, and repressed hostility to express anger in healthier ways

Increase body awareness through movement and breathing practices

Stay grounded in moments of anger using mindfulness techniques

Communicate with intention and an openness to others’ perspectives

Anger can be a powerful barometer in our lives, indicating when we care passionately about something; but too often it’s misunderstood, misplaced, and mismanaged. This book will help you gain control of your anger—rather than let it control you—so you can think clearly, communicate effectively, and channel your emotions in ways that can improve your life!

Details and Ordering

Physical Touch in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Transforming Trauma through Embodied Practice

Edward Novak — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 23:24:30 GMT

This groundbreaking book presents a new model for incorporating the human body, and specifically physical touch, into psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, particularly for patients who have experienced trauma.

Novak’s model of informed and disciplined touch articulates five categories of touch and three phases of therapeutic body work, all of which can help move the patient and therapist directly into bodily experiences that enable trauma mem- ories to be processed, and then analyzed and transformed. This transformation leads to patients experiencing their bodies in fundamentally new ways, both relationally and intrapsychically. The book also grapples with the risks and ethics of working directly with patients’ bodies, outlining theoretical and clinical ele- ments that help create a safe and sacred therapeutic structure. Novak’s model offers a continuum of touch from everyday physical interactions, such as hand- shakes or hugs, to more complex and complete ways of working with the body that are safe and meaningful and that create an integrated experience of the patient’s mind and body.

Reviews:

Ed Novak is one of the most exciting contributors to the field of transactional analysis in the world today. This latest offering – an integration of embodied therapy with psychoanalysis and transactional analysis is a wonderful, courageous, provocative invitation to extend the methodology of talking therapy into work that directly engages with embodied trauma. Novak describes the life-limiting embodied effects of trauma and introduces five categories of therapeutic touch, designed to help clients reclaim their ‘stolen body’. The book is written with enormous care and thought, including accounting for every type of professional or personal resistance to the idea of touch in therapy, and the style of writing mirrors the evident care, thought and generosity for clients that shine through in the many rich case studies.'

Professor Charlotte Sills, Integrative Psychotherapist; Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst

'Ever since the mid-1950’s, when psychoanalysts began to discuss the "widening scope of psychoanalysis," the field has been beset by the challenges of doing deep and effective treatment with those whose core issues come out of unrepresented and unformulated experience, generally traumatic, with its dissociated or split-off content, often unavailable to memory, but inscribed into the body. Novak offers here a fresh and fearless contribution to the field with his clear, disciplined, and clinically focused approach to psychoanalytic work with the body-mind in which touch can be an essential component.'

David V. Orbison, Ph.D., Clinical Psychoanalyst in Pittsburgh; Founding Member, KOWA

'Massage therapists interact with the powerful undeniable subject of transference and countertransference connections with our clients. Given trauma informed care is the new standard, we are instinctively aware of these connections, but have little information available on how to address them when they surface during a massage. In his book Novak shares his wisdom gathered over decades to expand our curiosity and give vital insight to a subject often viewed in a repressive, dismissive way in massage therapy education. Novak’s work opens a new horizon to engage the link between trauma and touch in massage therapy.'

Dorothy Adams LMT, Akron, Ohio

'I became aware of the healing power of touch for severely traumatized and dying patients during the AID’s crisis in New York. I learned that a hand resting on a shoulder or held for a few moments in parting or wrapping a young man in a blanket who is shivering with illness comforts but also evokes memories and feelings that are essential to good therapeutic work. Novak offers us, finally, a safe, systematic and developmentally grounded theory that integrates physical touch with psychoanalytic therapy. Rich with clinical process, the book is must reading for anyone in the mental health fields and everyone interested in how bodies that have been "stolen" can actually be recovered.'

Sandra Kiersky, Ph.D., Faculty and supervisor, Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, New York

About the Author:

Edward T. Novak is a psychoanalyst in private practice in Akron, Ohio, who trained at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies in their National Training Program in New York. He has presented at international conferences and published numerous articles, including a number on touch in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. He is the book review editor for the Transactional Analysis Journal and a member of the editorial review board.

Order Through Routledge:

www.routledge.com/9781032105284

Order on Amazon:

Amazon.com

The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Guide for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:38:55 GMT

An introduction to a new science-based somatic psychology that effectively relieves emotional difficulties, regulates thinking and behavior, and improves well-being

"This book is about emotion and about the body, in relation to emotion. Its aim is to scientifically establish that we can build a greater capacity for tolerating emotion—especially unpleasant emotion—by expanding the emotional experience to as much of the body as possible, and how that can improve not only emotional but also physical, energetic, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and even spiritual outcomes in all therapies.

I hope this book will be of great benefit to your professional practice and your personal life.

With warm regards, Raja Selvam"

- - - - - - -

A body-based, science-backed method for regulating behavior, thoughts, and feelings and improving well-being--shown to shorten therapy time and improve emotional outcomes.

In the first book on Integral Somatic Psychology™ (ISP), clinical psychologist Dr. Raja Selvam offers a new, complementary approach for building more capacity to tolerate emotions using the body—especially emotions that are difficult or unpleasant.

The ISP model shows readers how to expand and regulate emotional experiences in the body to improve different therapeutic outcomes—cognitive, emotional, behavioral, physical, energetic, relational, and even spiritual—in life and in all types of therapies, including other body psychotherapy and somatic psychology approaches. You will learn the physiology of emotions in the brain and body and how to:

• Access different types of emotions quickly

• Facilitate embodiment and regulation of feelings

• Process and heal different traumas and attachment wounds

A go-to guide for emotional integration, The Practice of Embodying Emotions is of value in the treatment of a wide range of clinical problems involving difficult emotions—from ordinary life events to psychosomatic or psychophysiological disorders, developmental trauma, prenatal and perinatal trauma, attachment disorders, borderline personality disorder, complex PTSD, collective trauma, and intergenerational trauma--and in improving outcomes and shortening treatment time in different therapies including psychoanalysis, Jungian psychology, and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

Buy on Amazon -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1623174775/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HH2ENA5Z9525AM8GK2VS

Get more book details and access to practice videos—as referenced in the book at:

https://integralsomaticpsychology.com/books/the-practice-of-embodying-emotions-by-raja-selvam

Reviews

"A grand accomplishment."

—Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., developer of Somatic Experiencing® and best-selling author of Waking the Tiger and In and Unspoken Voice

"A knowledgeable and skilled exploration of emotion and the body—and how to process and heal emotional wounds efficiently through the body."

—JACK KORNFIELD, PhD, author of A Path with Heart

"Ripe for our times! This brilliant book sheds light on the vital importance of fully embodying emotions, whether painful, pleasurable, or in-between. As a couples’ therapist and a child advocate for mental health, I experienced this book as a joyous godsend."

—MAGGIE KLEIN, LMFT, Somatic Experiencing faculty member and author of Brain-Changing Strategies to Trauma-Proof Our Schools

"This book ... is a must for all therapists who work with attachment and for those looking for a self-help approach to improve their relationships."

—DIANE POOLE HELLER, PhD, author of The Power of Attachment and creator of DARe Training

"I highly recommend [this book] to all therapists and those who are serious about their personal and spiritual growth."

—LISBETH MARCHER, founder of the Bodynamic Somatic Developmental Psychology System, coauthor of The Body Encyclopedia, and former president of EABP

"Every page of this book conveys depth, clarity, and substance."

—GLEN SLATER, PhD, cochair of the Jungian and Archetypal Studies Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute

"... the perfect combination of science, historical and cultural context, client case examples, and presentation of a well-articulated, innovative model."

—KATHY L.KAIN, PhD, coauthor of Nurturing Resilience

"Don't miss this book! The concept of sensorimotor emotions is a unique and much-needed contribution to the field of human consciousness."

—IAN MacNAUGHTON, MBA, PhD, psychotherapist and author of Body, Breath & Consciousness

"... a timely and necessary refinement to the practice of somatic psychology."

—MAUREEN GALLAGHER, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist, certified psychoanalyst, Somatic Experiencing® faculty member, Inner Relationship Focusing Trainer, and EFT Certified Supervisor

"Rooted in science and the author’s depth of experience and capacity for integratingmultiple disciplines, [this book] contains practical, comprehensive information and illuminating case examples."

—TINA STROMSTED, PhD, LMFT, LPPC, RSME/T, Jungian psychoanalyst, somatics educator, and director of Soul’s Body® Center

"This brilliant book ought to become required reading for all psychoanalysts and therapists involved in trauma treatment."

—MARGRET OVERDICK, psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, trauma therapist, and specialist in pre- and perinatal psychological trauma treatment

"[This book] ... is a ‘game changer’ in the field of trauma therapy, and I personally rate it five out of five."

— WILLIAM R. EMERSON, PhD, psychologist, winner of a US National Science Foundation Award, and author of Treatment of Birth Trauma in Infants and Children

About the Author

RAJA SELVAM, PhD, is the developer of Integral Somatic Psychology, an approach based on the paradigm of embodied cognition, emotion, and behavior in cognitive and affective neuroscience. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and a senior trainer in Dr. Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing program. Dr. Selvam has taught for 25 years in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the far East. His work is influenced by psychoanalytic approaches, Jungian psychology, body psychotherapy systems, bodywork and energy-work schools, yoga, quantum physics, and Advaita Vedanta. Selvam's publications include the 2013 “Jung and Consciousness,” published in Spring; the 2008 study “Somatic Therapy Treatment Effects with Tsunami Survivors,” published in Traumatology, about working with survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. His approach is also inspired by the work he did in Sri Lanka from 2012 to 2014 for the survivors of the thiry-five year civil war.

About Touch in Body Psychotherapy: Vol. 1

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 21:26:46 GMT

This volume contains :

Forward: "Introduction", by Courtenay Young
"Overview: The Use of Touch in Psychotherapy", by Bernd Eiden
"Relating through Physical Touch in Contemporary Psychotherapy", by Gill Westland
"The Power of Touch in Psychotherapy", by Courtenay Young
"The Continuing Evolution of Touch in Psychotherapy", by Anastasia D. McRae
"A Study of Ethical and Clinical Implications for the Appropriate Use of Touch in Psychotherapy", by Kerstin E. White
"Somatic Tracking and the Ethical Use of Touch", by Jaffy Phillips
"Touch and the Therapeutic Relationship 1: Shifting a Paradigm", by Andrea Uphoff
"Reflections on 'Touch in the Psychotherapy Relationship' 2: The Haptic Hazard", by Andrea Uphoff
"Biodynamic Massage as a Therapeutic Tool: with special reference to the Biodynamic concept of equilibrium", by Clover Southwell
"Stirring the Depths: Transference, Counter-transference and Touch", by Tom Warnecke
"A Cup, Grasping My Fingers", by Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar
"Attuned Touch", by Susan McConnell
"About the Ethics of Professional Touch in Psychotherapy", by Courtenay Young
Link here.

Body Psychotherapy Case Studies

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 21:10:09 GMT

Case studies form a significant aspect of formal research methodology, as well as a fascinating insight in why people come into therapy and what happens behind the 'closed door' of tthe therapy room of both psychotherapy and - in this particular instance - Body Psychotherapy.
After an introduction to the volume by the EABP Science & Research Committee (SRC); an introduction to Body Psychotherapy; and an introduction to Body Psychotherapy Case Studies by Courtenay Young; then there is an historic case study from Stanley Keleman - a well-known and very respected American Body Psychotherapist - followed by three case studies on the theme of Embodiment, that were presented at the 2016 EABP Congress' Scientific Symposium, from Sladjana Djordjevic, Christina Bader-Johansson and Courtenay Young. These were followed by two more Case Studies from members of the EABP-SRC, Herbert Grassman and Zoe Schillat and then three short case studies from a German Body Psychotherapist, Bernhard Schlage.
There are then six more case studies: one from an Israeli Body Psychotherapist, Galit Serebrenick-Hai, followed by two case studies froma UK Body Psychotherapist, Russell Rose. There is a case study from Jacqueline Carleton, past-editor of the International Body Psychotherapy Journal; a fascinating case study about a client with Dissociative Identity Disorder from Laura Hope Steckler, with some pictures and inputs from the client. Finally, we have a detailed account of the first session - a case study - from Ulrich Sollman with transcultural comments from Wentian Li. Link here.

About Relational Body Psychotherapy

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 20:59:15 GMT

This edited volume contains a number of previously published articles all "About Relational Body Psychotherapy". This is a generic aspect of Body Psychotherapy focussing on the relationship between client and therapist and what is happening in each of the bodies, and how this affects the other.
After an introduction from the Editor, the volume contains substantive articles by Nancy Eichorn, Robert Hilton, Nick Totton & Alison Priestman, Michael Soth, Angela King, Julianne Appel-Opper and a series of 4 articles by Asaf Rolef Ben Shahar.
There are then further articles on different articles on different aspects of Relational Body Psychotherapy from Julianne Appel-Opper, Angela King, and a case-history with a highly dissociative client by Asaf Rolef Ben Shahar and Kate Wood.
The Nick Totton & Alison Priestman article is a new (written especially for this volume), and the other articles have all been revised, edited and updated. Link here.

About the Science of Body Psychotherapy

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 20:40:08 GMT

This book, edited by Courtenay Young, contains a number of previously published articles about the Science of Body Psychotherapy.
After an Introduction, there is an article by Roz Carroll, an eminent Body Psychotherapist with an active interest in Neuroscience. Christine Caldwell and Rae Johnson follow with a 'Body Psychotherapy Research 101' article.
Then comes a series of four full-length articles on the Science of Body Psychotherapy by Courtenay Young. These take the reader on an extended journey, in depth and in detail, and with frank reservations about some of the mistakes made on the way, up to where we are now, and possibly what to look out for in the future. Another article on the differentiation between Art, Craft and Science in Psychotherapy and Body Psychotherapy follows.
This is followed by a research article from Christa Ventling, showing how efficacy research can be done. She was awarded the USABP Prize for Outstanding Research in Body Psychotherapy.
Finally, there is a seminal article on The State of the Art in Research by Frank Röhricht, a psychiatrist and academic with a number of research papers to his name, who is also a Body Psychotherapist.
Altogether these give an excellent perspective on the Science of Body Psychotherapy: link here.

The Historical Basis of Body Psychotherapy

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 20:30:53 GMT

This edited book contains a number of previously published articles that go to form 'The Historical Basis of Body Psychotherapy'.
There are short extracts of longer articles from Barbara Goodrich-Dunn & Elliot Gould, Ulfried Geuter, Nick Totton and a synopsis of a longer seminar article by David Boadella. Full articles on the history of Body Psychotherapy are published from Bernd Eiden, David Boadella (on the work of Pierre Janet); and then a series of seven full-length articles on the history and development of Body Psychotherapy by Courtenay Young. There is another historical essay - a currently unpublished article on the relationship between Wilhelm Reich and Else Lindenberg - also by Courtenay Young. And a concluding article, summarising the present political situation with respect to psychotherapy (and Body Psychotherapy), especially with reference to Europe: link here.

Trauma Healing in the Yoga Zone

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 01:31:07 GMT

Trauma Healing in the Yoga Zone:
A guide for mental health professionals, yoga therapists and teachers

by Joann LUTZ, MSW, LICSW, C-IAYT

In this book, Joann Lutz presents her original model of ‘Nervous-System Informed, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga’ (NITYA). The model, which is a synthesis of polyvagal theory, classic yoga, somatic psychotherapy, and neuroscience research, is organized around the eight stages of classic yoga practice.

The book is important for three reasons: Mainstream psychotherapy has, until recently, ignored the body – a major element in the healing of trauma and other emotional and mental dysregulations. It has also omitted the wisdom to be found in the world’s great spiritual traditions, perpetuating an artificial separation between religion/spirituality and science. The field is also currently being enriched by empirical data from the field of neuropsychology that describes brain function. The mental health field is ready to embrace a holistic model, and this book can play a significant role in that transformation.

The book includes scripts of the major practices, for ease in introducing them into the therapy session, and an assessment form, to guide the practitioner in treatment planning. Joann offers professional trainings, based on the book, which help practitioners integrate this material into their work.

Here are some reviews:

Stephen Porges: In Trauma Healing in the Yoga Zone, Joann Lutz transforms yoga practices into a neurobiological-based therapeutic strategy that facilitates and optimizes health through enhanced autonomic regulation. This model, which she labels as Nervous System-Informed Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (NITYA), is the product of an insightful consilience of ancient traditions with contemporary neuroscience. Embracing the model will lead to deeper understanding of the wisdom embedded in yoga and the powerful neurophysiological impact it may have on rehabilitating mental and physical health.

Stephen W. Porges, PhD
Distinguished University Scientist
Kinsey Institute
Indiana University, Bloomington
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Shirley Telles: In Trauma Healing in the Yoga Zone, Joann Lutz combines ancient wisdom from yoga with a scientifically informed therapeutic approach for safe and effective trauma resolution. Compulsory reading for anyone interested in healing trauma through neuroscience, blended with compassion!

Shirley Telles MBBS PhD, Director, Patanjali Research Foundation, Haridwar, India

Joann has been studying and teaching yoga for more than 40 years, and is Certified in EMDR, psychosynthesis, and Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy. She has been training mental health professionals internationally for 10 years, and offers a certification program in this approach. She has presented at the last two USABP conferences, and lists her trainings on the USABP website. Her website is www.yogainpsychotherapy.com.

REVIEW COPIES OF THE BOOK ARE AVAILABLE. PLEASE CONTACT JOANN AT: joannlutz22@gmail.com.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Interventions for Trauma and Attachment

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:16:22 GMT

by Pat Ogden (Author, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute), Janina Fisher (Author)

A book for clinicians and clients to use together that explains key concepts of body psychotherapy.

The body’s intelligence is largely an untapped resource in psychotherapy, yet the story told by the “somatic narrative”-- gesture, posture, prosody, facial expressions, eye gaze, and movement -- is arguably more significant than the story told by the words. The language of the body communicates implicit meanings and reveals the legacy of trauma and of early or forgotten dynamics with attachment figures. To omit the body as a target of therapeutic action is an unfortunate oversight that deprives clients of a vital avenue of self-knowledge and change.

Written for therapists and clients to explore together in therapy, this book is a practical guide to the language of the body. It begins with a section that orients therapists and clients to the volume and how to use it, followed by an overview of the role of the brain and the use of mindfulness. The last three sections are organized according to a phase approach to therapy, focusing first on developing personal resources, particularly somatic ones; second on utilizing a bottom-up, somatic approach to memory; and third on exploring the impact of attachment on procedural learning, emotional biases, and cognitive distortions. Each chapter is accompanied by a guide to help therapists apply the chapter’s teachings in clinical practice and by worksheets to help clients integrate the material on a personal level.

The concepts, interventions, and worksheets introduced in this book are designed as an adjunct to, and in support of, other methods of treatment rather than as a stand-alone treatment or manualized approach. By drawing on the therapeutic relationship and adjusting interventions to the particular needs of each client, thoughtful attention to what is being spoken beneath the words through the body can heighten the intimacy of the therapist/client journey and help change take place more easily in the hidden recesses of the self.

Worksheets are included in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment and accompany many of the chapters. These same worksheets are available to you as a member and subscriber to the USABP. A gift from Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute.

ACCESS & DOWNLOAD Worksheets

Reviews

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a landmark book in the history of body psychotherapy and effectively provides the bridge between traditional psychotherapy and body-oriented therapies. In this discipline-changing volume, Pat Ogden brilliantly decodes the crucial role that the body plays in regulating physiological, behavioral, and mental states.
– Stephen Porges, PhD

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a must-read for psychoanalysts interested in nonverbal communication, dissociation, and trauma. This sophisticated book provides a remarkable integration of theory and clinical practice, informed by research in trauma, attachment, infancy, and neurobiology, as well as by psychoanalysis.
– Beatrice Beebe, PhD

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) actively incorporates awareness of the body into clinical practice, targeting the habits of physical action, autonomic dysregulation, and posture. By addressing the physical, as well as the psychological effects of adverse experience on mind and body, SP supports a deep and unified approach to healing. Go beyond theories and gain practical ways to open a new dimension for effective therapy...in person or online!

Learn more

Tools For Your Clients (and you too)

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 19:50:52 GMT

The Mind-Body Stress Reset
By Rebekkah LaDyne MS, SEP, and Author

If you are like almost all the therapists I know, including myself, you are finding that your clients need more support now than nearly any time previously. Most of my colleagues are in high demand, seeing their own personal maximum of clients, and feeling the pressures of client’s increased stress levels compounded by their own increased stress levels. We could use some help! Our clients could use some additional help too. And as we commonly only see our clients for one or possibly two hours each week, having some tools to offer them between sessions can be deeply helpful for client and practitioner alike.

I wrote The Mind-Body Stress Reset well before the pandemic began, but uncannily the first copies hit the shelves—and websites—the month many State’s shutdowns began. I believe that any book is a labor of love, and I undertook this labor so our current and prospective clients would have an easy-to-read manual for building a toolkit to use between sessions, or after treatment concluded. The Mind-Body Stress Reset, Somatic Practices to Reduce Overwhelm and Increase Well-Being, is full of self-help skills backed by solid scientific research, and it’s written in a way that keeps it lighthearted and even playful—even extreme stress can be aided by some humor. I wrote it because I needed such a manual during my own period of crisis. The book was born out of my very real experiences of very real anxiety and extreme stress, and the tools within it are still my go-tos today.

I believed that others who found themselves suddenly struggling more than they ever had before (as I had) would find my book helpful, comforting even. I knew it was needed, but I couldn’t have known how needed these self-help skills were going to be when all of our worlds shifted. And here we are, living inside that shift. If you could use some help supporting your clients during this extraordinary time, I hope you’ll consider reading The Mind-Body Stress Reset yourself and teaching some of the skills within it in your own voice, or recommending your clients read it themselves and incorporate its tools into their week when they are not able to be with you. Either approach could significantly lessen their stress, and by extension, yours.

I hope you are finding some ease during these challenging times, and most importantly, receiving support yourself. I sincerely believe that we have to fill our own vessel if we want to help others fill theirs.

**The Mind-Body Stress Reset, Somatic Practices to Reduce Overwhelm and Increase Well-Being is out in paperback now, and the audiobook is due to be released in April 2021.

Available wherever books are sold:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indie Bound – independent bookstores

The Neurobiology of Health, Healing, and Human Connection

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 02:28:23 GMT

The Neurobiology of Health, Healing, and Human Connection
by Michael Changaris, Psy.D.
ISBN 9780940795068

Touch is the basis of our sensory world. Touch is our first way of relating with ourselves, others, and our environment. Providing physical and emotional communication at a level far deeper then words, touch is a vital aspect of experiencing meaning, purpose, and joy throughout our lives.

Touch has an important role in our capacity for self-regulation, impacting how effectively children learn to socialize, pay attention, and even engage in classroom activities. How do we experience healthy, supportive contact with others, recognize and avoid unhealthy contact?

The author provides outstanding documentation of research clearly indicating how vital touch is to human health and healing. Shared experiences, illustrative charts, tables for clinical interventions, and practical homework exercises offer compassionate guidance for implementing healthy, supportive touch into many personal and professional situations. This book is a vital addition to our understanding of health and what it means to be human.This book belongs in the library of every practitioner, teacher, social worker, couple, parent, prospective parent, and family – anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the profound effects of touch on health and well-being.

Michael Changaris, Psy.D. is the founder of the International Institute of Touch Training and Research (ITTR). As a clinical psychologist he specializes in the biological basis of behavior stress physiology, psychobiology of neurodegenerative disorders and the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress.

Body-to-Body Intimacy

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 20:50:08 GMT

Transformation through Love, Sex and Neurobiology

by Stella Resnick, PhD

This book presents an integrative, growth-oriented approach to therapy with couples that demonstrates the dynamic interplay between partners’ emotional issues and their sexual difficulties. It offers a model for relational and sexual enhancement that focuses as much on partners’ present, nonverbal body-to-body communications as on their words.

Dr. Stella Resnick draws on research from interpersonal neurobiology, sexology, positive psychology, and Gestalt therapy, and shares a rich assortment of therapy vignettes to demonstrate the transformative power of pleasure.

The therapeutic process is explored in four related spectrums: the Problem-Transformation Spectrum, the Attachment-Sexuality Spectrum, the Pain-Pleasure Spectrum, and the Cognitive-Somatic-Experiential-Behavioral-Spectrum. Chapters show how a focus on body-to-body intimacy can heal emotional wounds from the past and encourage greater presence, empathy, authenticity, playfulness, and sexual pleasure between intimate partners. A series of process-oriented exercises and a Family Closeness Profile for therapists to use in their practice is included.

Body-to-Body Intimacy will enable couples therapists and sex therapists to expand their practices and enrich their clients’ sexual and relational dynamics.

This book also contains valuable information that will be appreciated by anyone interested in a greater understanding of a growth-oriented therapeutic process for couples and the quality of life that can be achieved together through a deeply loving and sexually fulfilling intimate love relationship.

ISBN: 978-0-470-58235-0

Click through to buy your copy at these online stores today!

AMAZON

INDIE BOUND

BARNES & NOBLE

REVIEWS

“In this groundbreaking volume Stella Resnick applies recent advances in neurobiology and decades of clinical experience to offer an overarching integration of couples therapy and sex therapy. Using evocative clinical vignettes, she eloquently describes various right brain implicit change mechanisms operating in both close emotional relationships and intimate sexuality. I highly recommend this remarkable feat of clinical scholarship to all mental health workers.”

—Allan N. Schore, PhD, author of The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

“Dr. Stella Resnick has been a powerful and highly respected thought leader in the fields that address therapeutic approaches to sexual issues for many decades. Her science based work is innovative, but also firmly grounded in the best information scholars and researchers have certified as worthy. This book will be a must read guide for therapists, researchers and educators who wish to understand and apply the emerging interdisciplinary discoveries of how our minds and bodies can enrich our sexuality. ”

—Pepper Schwartz, PhD, Past President, the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexualities; Sociology Professor, The University of Washington, Co-author: 50 Great Myths of Human Sexuality

“Stella Resnick has written an invaluable and insightful book that addresses the important issues of the real relationship and that the mind, brain and body are one. Her well-written approach is positive, and the book highly detailed and well researched. She has a positive and healing vision which successfully integrates couples therapy and sex therapy. Dr. Resnick has brought back the concept of “corrective emotional experience” and effectively weaves the current thinking about attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology into couples and sex therapy. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in relationships."

—Walter E. Brackelmanns, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Director, Couples and Sex Therapy Training Program, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

“Filled with the integrative wisdom of a seasoned relationships therapist, Stella Resnick’s new book weaves together interpersonal neurobiology, somatic awareness of the mind-body connection, and attachment dynamics within the couple. Dr. Resnick’s emphasis on present-centered experiential processes highlights ways that therapists can access our own body-based wisdom to help couples drop beneath their words to recognize and learn from the deeper meanings in their non-verbal, implicit communications.”

—Bonnie Goldstein, PhD, Lifespan Psychological Center Director, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, Teaching Faculty

“Stella Resnick, author of the classic The Pleasure Zone, has done it again! She has created a compelling case for the need to integrate mind and body, past and present, the individual and the relational in sex and couples therapies. Recommended strongly for novices and the experienced therapist. ”

—Peggy J. Kleinplatz, PhD. Professor and Director of Sex and Couples Therapy, University of Ottawa; Editor, New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives.

"In this new book, Stella Resnick, a highly regarded expert on human sexuality and relationships, uses a vast range of research to create her own model of dealing with sexual concerns and issues. She integrates the Gestalt approach with those of Maslow, Reich, and even Freud. But what is most interesting is her attention to the right brain, describing the large, often unacknowledged role of the sensory, emotional, and kinesthetic in all relationships. At the end, it is her ability to add her wisdom, compassion, and joy to this endeavor, which makes this book so important for all therapists and practitioners."

—Joseph Melnick, PhD, Founding editor of Gestalt Review, Co-Chair of the Cape Cod Training Program, Gestalt International Study Center

"Resnick’s work on couple’s sex therapy is arguably one of the most important contributions to body psychotherapy for couples in recent years. It leverages the experiential wisdom of her Gestalt orientation that is endowed by contemporary neurobiology. This book will help foster embodied intimacy through a contemporary relational approach, and invites us all to experience a greater, more playful and creative form of love.”

—Christopher Walling PsyD, MBA, President, United States Association for Body Psychotherapy

"With a laser focus on the body/mind connection, Resnick’s Embodied Relational Sex Therapy model is an integrated system directing therapists to work with the couple as a living, breathing entity, instead of a problem to be solved. Incorporating cutting-edge neuroscience with Resnick’s years of experience and wisdom, this multi-faceted approach situates dyadic regulation where it belongs – between the couple—to create deep empathy and change. This book is a “must read” for the modern couple/sex therapist! "

—Alexandra Katehakis, PhD, founder of Center for Healthy Sex, author of Mirror of Intimacy: Daily Meditations on Emotional and Erotic Intelligence

"Finally, a professional book has arrived that details the primacy of sexual issues to emotional intimacy! Stella Resnick’s latest book, Body-to-Body Intimacy, provides couples and sex therapists with everything they need to know about sex but either have been afraid to ask or not known where to get answers. Just as the body is inseparable from the mind, so too is couples therapy inseparable from sex therapy."

—Terry Marks-Tarlow, PhD, author of Clinical Intuition in Psychotherapy; Awakening Clinical Intuition; Truly Mindful Coloring; and Psyche’s Veil

"This is an important book. Dr. Resnick brings a wealth of knowledge of individual and couples therapy, neuroscience and developmental theory, and brings all of these to her work with couples experiencing difficulties in their sexual relating. The most important aspect of her work is that she does not separate out couples therapy and sex therapy, seeing them as inextricably linked."

—Peter Phillipson, MSc, author of The Emergent Self: An Existential-Gestalt Approach, Gestalt Institute of Manchester, UK

"This brilliant book by Dr. Stella Resnick is a “must read” for all who are interested in the intersection of sex therapy with couple counseling. Dr. Resnick uses pieces of her personal story and illuminating clinical examples to illustrate her holistic approach to relational healing—an approach which combines the latest findings in the neurobiology of attachment, with positive psychology, sex therapy, and Gestalt therapy. "

—Elinor Greenberg, PhD, CGP, Gestalt Therapy Institute of New York trainer, author of Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Adaptations: The Pursuit of Love, Admiration, and Safety

"In this well-written, engrossing, and trailblazing book, Dr. Stella Resnick integrates a wealth of data from diverse fields of science into her decades of experience as a therapist to expand upon our understanding of the transformative power of pleasure in achieving sensual intimacy. It is destined to become a classic in the study of sexual and relational dynamics and in the practice of couples and sex therapy across multiple disciplines."

—Carol Cassell PhD, Former health scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and author of Put Passion First: Why Sexual Chemistry is the Key to Lasting Love

"Stella Resnick is a dedicated genius of collaborative exploration. Her new book, Body-to-Body Intimacy, creatively integrates neuroscience, Gestalt psychology, life experience, couples and sex therapy. It instructs those seeking relationship to resist the trigger, ignore the knee jerk, live for moments of presence. Dr. Resnick shows how to ride the wave of right brain to right brain communion. She is a pleasure activist who convinces us pleasure can make us better."

—Susan E. Stiritz, MBA, PhD, MSW, President-elect, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, (AASECT), Associate Professor of Practice Chair, The Brown School Washington University in St. Louis

"Stella Resnick has broken new ground with her alchemical integration of the seminal ingredients that will help our clients to repair the damage from their sexual wounds and seize the opportunity for sexual healing and pleasure fulfillment. Professionals of all backgrounds will find this a readable, thought-provoking, evidence-steeped paradigm shift, worthy of acclaim."

—Patti Britton, PhD, Co-Author of Designing and Leading a Successful SAR and Co-Founder of SexCoachU.com

"Stella Resnick presents an integrated, comprehensive, and neurobiologically informed fresh approach to therapy, distilling a brilliant career as a Gestalt couples and sex therapist. Finally, we can stop separating the emotional, sexual, and relational when we practice therapy – transferring people from one provider to another. This is the book the field has been waiting for. Every therapist needs to read this book!"

—Tina Schermer Sellers, PhD, author of Sex, God and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy

"Sexuality is ubiquitous but it’s astounding how little we know about the intertwining of relational intimacy and sexual expression. Shame, insufficient personal exploration, and inadequate training in this vital realm of treatment restrict the therapist in the quest to help others. Dr. Resnick’s personal wisdom journey through the deepest realms of the heart, the spirit, the psyche and human sexuality make this a riveting book."

—Susan Warren Warshow, LCSW, Founder, DEFT Institute

"Stella Resnick’s new book, Body-to-Body Intimacy gives therapists a powerful theoretical, and skills training model; one that will positively enhance working with clients in couples and sex therapy. Her work deserves serious time for consideration, digestion, discussion, and application. This is a remarkably important work and a reflection of a lifetime journey of discovery."

—Melvyn S. Kimura Bucholtz, MA., Invited Lecturer on Psychology, Harvard University Medical School; Boston University School of Biobehavioral Medicine

"Dr. Resnick’s latest book, Body-to-Body Intimacy, delineates her approach to couples and sex therapy. She skillfully utilizes research from interpersonal neurobiology, sexology, positive psychology, and Gestalt therapy, to demonstrate how pleasure and body-to-body intimacy can lead to a closer and more dynamic relationship. Body-to-Body Intimacy will be a valuable resource for any therapist engaging in couples and sex therapy. "

—Herb Samuels, PhD., Past President, The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS).

Exceptional Relationships: Transformation Through Embodied Couples Work by Brian and Marcia Gleason, LCSWs

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 17:55:55 GMT

Description:

The idea that partners in committed relationships elicit strong reactions in each other is self evident. That these passions are often overlooked in the therapy room is equally a reality. In this ground-breaking book, you will discover an innovative system for helping couples discover all of who they are. The Gleasons ask you to reconsider what it means to trust your intuition, make room for strong energies, work with the body, bring sexuality into the therapy room, and to elicit full emotional expression. Here you will learn to welcome the passionate, erotic, chaotic truths that are often kept under wraps in the therapy room.

Exceptional Couples: Transformation Through Embodied Couples Work synthesizes modern developmental theories with the wisdom of somatic psychotherapy and reveals how "embodying" is fundamental to helping couples break their patterns of vitality destroying habits of interacting. The Gleasons invite you on a journey of the highest magnitude where couples can come fully alive. They generously open the door to their practice room, sharing in-depth case examples and effective strategies they've developed over the course of their careers.

They ask you to come along with them and live in the mystery of yet-to-be discovered places in every relationship. The Gleasons met in in 1976 in clinical social work graduate school. They have devoted their lives to exploring how couples, including themselves, can have exceptional (beyond the ordinary) relationships.

Reviews

As an Exceptional Marriage Mentor working with my husband, (couples helping couples), we apply the EM approach with couples every day. I am thrilled with the content and the message of Brian and Marcia Gleason's book: Exceptional Relationships. Transformation Through Embodied Couples Work. This method really works. We have seen couples find their deeper truths with each other again and again as we use the EM methods. We have witnessed couples not only be relieved to understand what is really happening to them but we are regularly touched at how deeply couples can express what is underneath their strife when we guide them in embodying their interactions with each other. My husband Barry and I have practiced this method with couples for the past 7 years and it's great to have a published book that not only teaches the Exceptional Marriage approach, but also further inspires us with this soulful writing to carry on and bring couples to their underlying love for each other. Bravo Marcia and Brian.

~ Liz Carl, LCSW

Hallelujah! Thank you Marcia and Brian for a wonderfully written, well documented, well explained, much needed book on truly intergrating the work of body-mind-spirit for couples.

Couples and therapists will gain powerful insight on how to actually heal issues most have only had band aids for in the past. If you are working with couples and you value your soul as a therapist you will read this book today!

Pamela Chubbuck PhD, LCSW
Director, Core Energetics Institute South
Certified Bioenergetic Therapist

Excellent reading for therapists working with couples. Takes 'traditional talk therapy' to deep levels where emotions are embodied- a place where change can happen in ways beyond talking. It has been exciting to employ these methods and experience what is possible. Work draws on wide range of psychological literature and is masterfully summarized. I was also drawn to the female therapists poetry as yet another example of the power of embodying emotions and the power of what can emerge in a 'shared energy field'. Succinctly, concretely, expertly written. I highly recommend it.

Lisa Monagle, CCEP, CPRA
Core Energetics and Radical Aliveness Practitioner

About the Author

Marcia Gleason, LCSW is the Co-Director of the Institute for the Exceptional Marriage. She brings 30 years experience to her work as a couples therapist, body-oriented psychotherapist, trainer, and workshop facilitator. Marcia has in depth training in several modalities such as Core Energetics and Internal Family Systems which she integrates intuitively in her work with clients. She trains therapists in the Exceptional Marriage Approach both in the USA and internationally. She also teaches in the New York institute of Core Energetics. Marcia brings warmth, creativity and compassion to her work with couples.

Brian Gleason, LCSW, and is the co-founder, director, and trainer of Exceptional Marriage. Brian has over 30 years of experience in working with organizations, groups, couples, and individuals in a variety of mental health, corporate, wellness, and educational settings. Brian is a senior faculty member of the N.Y. Institute of Core Energetics. He teaches internationally and is author of a book on transpersonal psychology – Mortal Spirit. Brian also enjoys a thriving private practice in the New York area for individuals, groups and couples as well as providing supervision for therapists.

Together Marcia and Brian developed the Exceptional Marriage, an experience-based methodology for working with committed relationships which allows couples to honor each partner's capacity to discover his/her greatest gifts and deepest truths. This authentic, rich and powerful journey is explored in couples workshops, professional workshops, books and CDs, including the last book: Going All the Way, The Heart and Soul of the Exceptional Marriage.

Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future by Riane Eisler & Douglas P. Fry

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 17:49:47 GMT

Description:

Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry

Provides a new analytical tool--the biocultural partnership-domination lens--that integrates knowledge to solve our personal, social, economic, and environmental problems
Issues a new understanding of human possibilities, showing how we can structure our environments to support our great human capacities for consciousness, caring, and creativity
Distills and contextualizes findings from neurology, psychology, primatology, anthropology, economics, consciousness studies, chaos theory, and gender studies

Reviews:

"Nurturing our Humanity upends the very core of our notion that humanity is, at heart, violent and greedy. Human nature holds just as much potential for caring and partnership as war and domination. Knowing that changes everything." -- Abigail Disney, President & CEO, Fork Films, director/creator of Pray the Devil Back to Hell and the PBS series Women, War, & Peace

"In a world that feels ever more dangerous, divided, and out of balance, Nurturing Our Humanity outlines the roadmap for how we raise a healthier generation of children and move away from a punitive and domination based society to a world that leads with partnership-where empathy, care, and community are valued above all, and each can fulfill our full human potential." -- Jennifer Siebel Newsom, First Partner of California, Filmmaker, Miss Representation, The Mask you Live In, The Great American Lie

"This is the book for our time! Eisler and Fry have put their minds and hearts together to provide an integrative vision of how humanity's cooperative nature can be nurtured and supported... Everyone should read this book... so together we can re-envision our future!" -- Darcia Narvaez, Professor of Psychology, University of Notre Dame

"This fearless, beautiful, and very timely book is a radical reminder that humanity's truest nature is oriented toward love, partnership, gender equality, and peace. It is essential and transformative reading for every policymaker, philanthropist, activist, and change-maker interested in a more just, balanced, and peaceful world." -- Jennifer Buffett, Co-President, NoVo Foundation

"This path-breaking book goes beyond the conventional divides hurting today's civilizations... It is essential that the virtues of partnership get stronger and the vices of domination are controlled." -- Ernst von Weizsäcker, Honorary President, Club of Rome

"Nurturing Our Humanity explores the capacity for human happiness and its relationship to the development of sustainable cultures at a political and environmental point in history when we need it the most." -- James McClintock, Author, Lost Antarctica

"Eisler and Fry show how we lived without war thousands of years ago, and how we can do so again. This groundbreaking book should be required reading for all world leaders and decision makers." -- Sarah Parcak, Author, Archaeology from Space

The Emergence of Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy by Barnaby B. Barratt

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 17:40:08 GMT

Description:

Palgrave Macmillion publishers write, "Somatic psychology and bodymind therapy (the simultaneous study of the mind and body) are challenging contemporary understandings of the psyche, of what it means to be human and how to heal human suffering."

Reviews:

"Barnaby Barratt, Ph.D., DHS has written an overview of somatic psychotherapy that is extraordinary in its mature scholarly depth and breadth of presentation. It is thoroughly post-modern in that what he terms somatic psychology and bodymind therapy can only be considered in a highly contextualized way in relation to history, philosophy, cultural values, social structures, science, spirituality, and more. Thus, the reader is confronted with not simple the emerging field of somatic psychotherapy, but the entire field of psychology in relation to Western globalized life. It is radical or prophetic in its implications for somatic ways of cultivating awareness. It encounters the reader with the need to work through weighty issues, whether one agrees completely with Barratt's conclusions and directions or not. "

- Greg Johanson, Ph. D.

Get Johanson's excellent review and commentary companion piece to this book at https://hakomiinstitute.com/Forum/Issue24/2011_Hakomi_Forum_Book_Review.pdf

"Barnaby Barratt's work is essential for students not only in the field of somatic psychology but for any clinicians who need to understand the intricate impacts of bodily experience on healing and human development. Its publication in paperback is a welcome event making it more widely available for academic courses and workshops." - Don Hanlon Johnson, Professor of Somatics, California Institute of Integral Studies, USA

"We can celebrate this new paperback edition. It means that this important new book by Barnaby Barratt will find the wider circulation it merits. The Emergence of Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy is a truly unique account of an emerging field - unique not only because it defines the scope of the field and offers a very intelligent historical and philosophical reflection, but also because it contributes a visionary sense of our future." - Joe Coppin, Founding Program Chair Depth Psychology with Emphasis in Somatic Studies, Pacifica Graduate Institute, USA

"Dr Barnaby Barratt provides us with an outstanding, insightful and readable text that introduces both beginning and advanced students of psychology and psychotherapy into the blossoming field of somatic or bodymind science and therapy. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone concerned with healing practices and the way in which body, mind and spirit, can be directed toward harmony and enlightenment." - Irv Katz, President, International University of Professional Studies, USA

The Routledge International Handbook of Embodied Perspectives in Psychotherapy:Approaches from Dance Movement and Body Psychotherapies, 1st Edition

Tina Stromsted, Ph.D., LMFT — Mon, 20 May 2019 00:29:19 GMT

Edited by Helen Payne, Sabine Koch, Jennifer Tantia

Description

There is a growing interest in embodied approaches to psychotherapy internationally. This volume focuses on the respective focal professions of dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) and body psychotherapy (BP), addressing the psychotherapeutic need for healing throughout the lifespan. Within embodied clinical approaches, the therapist and client collaborate to discover how the body and movement can be used to strengthen positive relational skills, attending to the client's immediate and long-term needs through assessment, formulation, treatment and evaluation. Both DMP and BP are based upon the capacity and authority of the body and non-verbal communication to support and heal patients with diverse conditions, including trauma, unexplained bodily symptoms and other psychological distress, and to develop the clients’ emotional and relational capacities by listening to their bodies for integration and wellbeing.

In The Routledge International Handbook of Embodied Perspectives in Psychotherapy, world leaders in the field contribute their expertise to showcase contemporary psychotherapeutic practice. They share perspectives from multiple models that have been developed throughout the world, providing information on theoretical advances and clinical practice, as well as discourse on the processes and therapeutic techniques employed individually and in groups. Presented in three parts, the book covers underpinning embodiment concepts, potentials of dance movement psychotherapy and of body psychotherapy, each of which is introduced with a scene-setting piece to allow the reader to easily engage with the content. With a strong focus on cross- and interdisciplinary perspectives, readers will find a wide compilation of embodied approaches to psychotherapy, allowing them to deepen and further their conceptualization and support best practice.

This unique handbook will be of particular interest to clinical practitioners in the fields of body psychotherapy and dance movement psychotherapy as well as professionals from psychology, medicine, social work, counselling/psychotherapy and occupational therapy, and to those from related fields who are in search of information on the basic therapeutic principles and practice of body and movement psychotherapies and seeking to further their knowledge and understanding of the discipline. It is also an essential reference for academics and students of embodied psychotherapy, embodied cognitive science and clinical professions.

Reviews

"A broader and more international collection of writing on embodiment and psychotherapy is currently unimaginable. This new collection should serve as an authoritative source for embodied psychotherapy practitioners for many years to come. The coverage provided by the thirty-seven chapters that cover dance movement psychotherapy and body psychotherapy practice is unprecedented and offers a truly wide range of opinion and approach. This work may serve to bring these related but different approaches closer and establish greater understanding. Kudos to the editors, this volume is a true achievement!" - Robyn Flaum Cruz, PhD, BC-DMT; Professor, Lesley University PhD Program in Expressive Therapies, USA

"The editors of this volume bring together an illustrious group of international leaders in both dance movement psychotherapy and body psychotherapy to share their wisdom on embodied therapeutic practice. Vast in its scope, original in its perspective, and comprehensive in its inclusion of diverse points of view, this book is a treasure trove of practical and theoretical riches. For all who honor the role of the body’s natural intelligence in healing from trauma and attachment inadequacies, this book is an essential resource." - Pat Ogden, PhD; founder of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute and author of Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment

Click here to purchase

Nurturing Resilience: Helping Clients Move Forward from Developmental Trauma--An Integrative Somatic Approach

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 23:29:56 GMT

A practical, integrated approach for therapists working with people (both adults and children) who have been impacted by developmental trauma and attachment difficulties

Kathy L. Kain and Stephen J. Terrell draw on fifty years of their combined clinical and teaching experience to provide this clear road map for understanding the complexities of early trauma and its related symptoms. Experts in the physiology of trauma, the authors present an introduction to their innovative somatic approach that has evolved to help thousands improve their lives. Synthesizing across disciplines--Attachment, Polyvagal, Neuroscience, Child Development Theory, Trauma, and Somatics--this book provides a new lens through which to understand safety and regulation. It includes the survey used in the groundbreaking ACE Study, which discovered a clear connection between early childhood trauma and chronic health problems. For therapists working with both adults and children and anyone dealing with symptoms that typically arise from early childhood trauma--anxiety, behavioral issues, depression, metabolic disorders, migraine, sleep problems, and more--this book offers fresh hope.

Amazon Review Brandy V333
5 out of 5 Stars

A book that will help people understand developmental trauma in a new way.

May 16, 2018

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

As a somatic psychotherapist working with early developmental trauma, this is the book I've been waiting for. It is a tremendous resource that pulls together attachment theory, polyvagal theory, brain development and trauma physiology into one cohesive and easy to read book. I'm referring it to colleagues and clients who want to understand the origins of emotional and physical symptoms in a new way.

Get it online

About the Co-Author and USABP member Stephen Terrell

We know that when choosing a Psychotherapist, there are many options. Allow me to share a little bit with you about my story.

I am a single parent living in the Austin area with my two sons who both happen to be adopted. My first book, Nurturing Resilience has recently been published and is available at most book stores.

I have advanced training and specialize in Early Developmental Trauma and Attachment Resistance but none of my training has proved as valuable to me in treating children as my experiences parenting my two sons. After adopting my first son, I realized that my education didn't provide all the answers I needed to understand what my son was going through. I began researching Reactive Attachment Disorder more in-depth to gain more knowledge. Beyond specialized training I was looking for a doctoral program that would meet my needs as a single parent. I realized that going away to classes several times a week was not an option with my son's special needs. A good friend who was a principal for AISD encouraged me to check out the distant learning program at California Coast University. The Doctorate of Psychology program met mine and my son's needs and allowed me to gain a more advanced education. I completed my Doctorate at California Coast University. This program is accredited by the State of California. I practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor based on my masters from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi and all insurance inquires and billing will also be determined on my Masters.

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Trauma and the Unbound Body: The Healing Power of Fundamental Consciousness

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 19:07:24 GMT

By Judith Blackstone, PhD

Trauma and the Unbound Body offers a method for uncovering our own nature as a fundamental ground of consciousness, pervading our body and environment as a unity. It describes how we constrict and fragment ourselves in reaction to trauma, and how we can utilize this subtle, fundamental consciousness to find the exact pathways of these constrictions, and free ourselves from the effects of trauma.

Pervading our body, fundamental consciousness is the basis of our experience of existing as an individual. It frees, deepens and integrates all of our human capacities, so that we can know, feel, sense, perceive and respond with our whole being. Pervading our body and environment, it is the basis of an experience of unity, of oneness between ourselves and everything and everyone around us.

Fundamental consciousness has never been injured. As this unbreakable ground, we open not into the daunting void of nothingness, but into our own underlying wholeness. We become more of ourselves as we transcend ourselves, as we become more open to the world around us. Fundamental consciousness is the spark of our true nature that is bound within our trauma-based constrictions, and that can lead us back to the unbound fullness of our being.

“This groundbreaking book teaches us how to resolve all levels of trauma through inhabiting the internal space of our body. The practices and teachings reveal the ground of fundamental consciousness, and Judith Blackstone is a brilliant, experienced guide. This path of healing trauma is deep, powerful and true.” Tara Brach, Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge.

Workshops and Teacher Certification Trainings with Judith Blackstone are available.

Learn more

Heal the Body, Heal the Mind: A Somatic Approach to Moving Beyond Trauma

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 18:30:55 GMT

Traumatic events can leave mental and physical scars—but these scars don’t have to define you. Heal the Body, Heal the Mind takes trauma survivors on a supportive and healing journey toward well-being. By practicing the somatic exercises and mind-body interventions in this compassionate guide, you’ll learn to move past difficult experiences, restore relationships, and cultivate spiritual awareness.

When trauma occurs, the logical mind is hijacked and physiology takes over in an effort to protect you. This leaves an imprint—your body wants to ensure that nothing like that will ever happen again. Being reminded of a traumatic event can trigger these automatic responses, leaving you feeling paralyzed or unable to take action. This book will help you understand why and how unresolved trauma can infiltrate all aspects of your life, including your mind and body—even when you’re not aware of its influence.

With Heal the Body, Heal the Mind as a gentle guide, you’ll learn about different types of trauma, find helpful assessments, and discover how traumatic experiences—even childhood and incidental traumas—can affect all aspects of your life: your relationship choices, the roles you play in them, your sense of pleasure and desire, and how you approach your career, spirituality, and interactions with others.

Using the combination of mind-body interventions, cognitive behavioral theories, research, case studies, and exercises woven into each chapter of this warm-hearted, relatable book, you’ll begin to address the unresolved trauma held in your body and advance your healing process. So, if you’re ready to move beyond the trauma that’s been holding you back in your relationships, at work, and in your spiritual practice, this guide will show you how.

Reviews

"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Heal the Body, Heal the Mind: A Somatic Approach to Moving Beyond Trauma" is impressively informative and ideally suited to the needs of the non-specialist general reader having to cope with trauma in their own lives or the lives of loved ones. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal and community library collections, it should be noted that "Heal the Body, Heal the Mind" is also available in a digital book format."

-- Helen Dumont, MBR Review:

“Comprehensive, thoughtful, well written, and scientifically grounded.”
-- Peter A. Levine, PhD, trauma expert and author of Waking the Tiger.

About the Author

Susanne Babbel, PhD, is a licensed psychotherapist practicing with a trauma specialty in her private practice in San Francisco, CA. She is a member of the California Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), as well as the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) and European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP). A contributing author for nearly a decade to the Psychology Today online blog, Babbel also writes for magazines and newspapers, appears on radio shows, creates CDs for healing, and co-taught the UC Davis Extension online course on trauma bonding.

Learn more and buy the book

The Body Remembers, Volume 2 ANS Table Now Available

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:11:04 GMT

Order Autonomic Nervous System Table by Babette Rothschild

Autonomic Nervous System Table: Laminated Card 1st Edition

A full-color desk reference depicting the states of arousal in the Autonomic Nervous System.

This product is a laminated 8-1/2 in. x 14 in. version of the Autonomic Nervous System table that appears in Babette Rothschild's The Body Remembers, Volume 2.

One can order it online at amazon at: http://a.co/d/c2RLZE3

The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:42:22 GMT

This inspiring and encyclopedic book was originally published in German as ‘Handbuch der Körperpsychotherapie’ (Schattauer, 2006) [see left], where it was well reviewed and proved very popular: selling more than 3200 copies and even going into a second printing. It was then decided in 2009-10 to attempt an English-American version, which would also be a 2nd edition (quite a different volume), retaining some of the original articles. This mean translating a number of the German articles into (good) English; updating all the previous English-language articles, that had been translated into German, as well as commissioning about 15 new English-American articles.
This Handbook has been designed to be the definitive book about Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology. Several other very good introductions to Body Psychotherapy and books about different types of Body Psychotherapy have recently been published, however this book defines and represents the whole field: the embodiment and scope of Body Psychotherapy theory, knowledge and practice to date, and the list of international authors reads like Who’s Who; the contents are What’s What.

What we wanted to present is an in-depth perspective on what is steadily emerging as a major, significant branch of the profession of psychology and psychotherapy and it is becoming increasingly apparent that there is an essential connection between mainstream psychotherapy and the fields of psychosomatics, neuroscience, psycho-physiology, trauma-work, etc., as well as the whole wide range of other various body therapies. There is much growing interest in therapeutic work with the body far beyond the field of Body Psychotherapy itself.
This handbook, as a work of major reference, is designed as a standard text for all Somatic Psychology university courses in the USA, for every trainee in Body Psychotherapy, and an essential read for most practicing psychotherapists from whatever discipline or orientation.

We invite you to examine the contents and chapter titles of this new edition. We do not apologize for the length (though we realize that this takes it out of the ‘usual’ type of book), as we have always planned for it to be really comprehensive. The German-language edition had 99 chapters and 1002 pages: this has 82 authors; 84 chapters; 940 pages and over 500,000 words, as well as an author and subject index.

As you will be able to see, nearly all the major international ‘players’ in the field of Body Psychotherapy have contributed to this volume. The editors are well known and experienced; the publisher is familiar with the field. Every chapter in this edition has being re-edited, made relevant and coherent, with standardized spellings, references checked, and all brought up-to-date, and it has just been released (08-Dec, 2015) by North Atlantic Books.

The original German 2006 edition
The newly released English-American 2015 edition

THE HANDBOOK OF BODY PSYCHOTHERAPY & SOMATIC PSYCHOLOGY
(North Atlantic Books, 2015)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword: Bessel van der Kolk
Introduction to the American-English Edition: Michael Soth and Courtenay Young Preface: The Field of Body Psychotherapy: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss

SECTION I: Historical Perspectives
Introduction to I: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
The History and Scope of Body Psychotherapy: Ulfried Geuter
The Influence of Elsa Gindler: Judyth O. Weaver
The Work of Wilhelm Reich (Part 1): Reich, Freud & Character: Wolf Büntig
The Norwegian Tradition of Body Psychotherapy – A Golden Age in Oslo: Nicholas Bassal & Michael Coster Heller
The Work of Wilhelm Reich (Part 2): Reich in Norway & America: Courtenay Young, with material from Wolf Büntig
Body Psychotherapy as a Major Tradition of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Gustl Marlock
The Genealogy of Body Psychotherapy: A Graphic Depiction: Heike Langfeld & Dagmar Rellensmann with Ulfried Geuter, Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss. Graphics: Hans-Jürgen Buch
a) Introduction; b) The Roots of Body Psychotherapy; c) Body Therapy; d) The Influence of Psychoanalysis; e) Reichian Traditions; f) Non-Reichian Traditions; g) Humanistic Psychology; h) Dance Therapy

SECTION II: The Fundamentals of Body Psychotherapy
Introduction to II: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
The Primacy of Experiential Practices in Body Psychotherapy: Don Hanlon Johnson
Neurobiological Perspectives on Body Psychotherapy: Christian Gottwald
Body Psychotherapy as the Reanimation of the Self: A Depth-Psychological and Phenomenological-Experiential Perspective: Gustl Marlock
Energy Concepts in Body Psychotherapy: Andreas Wehowsky
The Organization of Experience: A Systems Perspective on the Relation of Body Psychotherapies to the Wider Field of Psychotherapy: Gregory J. Johanson

SECTION III: Psyche and Soma
Introduction to III: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Soma-Semantics: Meanings of the Body: David Boadella
The Neurotic Character Structure and the Conscious Ego: Alexander Lowen
The Embodied Unconscious: Ian J. Grand
The Body Unconscious: The Process of Making Conscious: Psychodynamic & Neuroscience Perspectives: Marilyn Morgan
Maturation of the Somatic Self: Stanley Keleman
“Body Schema”, “Body Image” and “Bodily Experience”: Concept Formation, Definitions and Clinical Relevance in Diagnosis and Therapy: Frank Röhricht
The Bodily “Felt Sense” as a Ground for Body Psychotherapies: Eugene Gendlin & Marion Hendricks
The Body and the Truth: Halko Weiss & Michael Harrer
Body, Culture and Body-Oriented Psychotherapies: Ian J. Grand

SECTION IV: Somatic Dimensions of Developmental Psychology
Introduction to VI: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Shapes of Experience. Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology and Somatic Character Formation: Marianne Bentzen
The Main Variants of Character Theory in the Field of Body Psychotherapy: Andreas Sartory with Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Early Interaction and the Body: Clinical Implications: George Downing
Affect-Motor Schemata: Andreas Wehowsky
Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology: Vital Foundations of Body Psychotherapy: Marti Glenn
Multiple Levels of Meaning Making: The First Principles of Changing Meanings in Development and Therapy: Ed Tronick & Bruce Perry
Patterns and Plasticity: Utilizing Early Motor Development As a Tool for Therapeutic Change: Susan Aposhyan
Attachment Theory and Body Psychotherapy: Embodiment and Motivation: Mark Ludwig
The Development of Autonomy from a Body Psychotherapy Perspective: Ute-Christiane Bräuer

SECTION V: Methodological Foundations
Introduction to V: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss (with Michael Soth)
Sensory Self-Reflexivity: OTherapeutic Action in Body Psychotherapy: Gustl Marlock
Consciousness, Awareness, Mindfulness: Halko Weiss
Bodily Expression and Experience in Psychotherapy: Ron Kurtz
The Experiencing Body: Halko Weiss
Movement As and In Psychotherapy: Christine Caldwell
‘When is Now? When is Now?’: Corrective Experiences: With Whom? When? And Where?: Albert Pesso
On Vitality: Michael Randolph

SECTION VI: The Therapeutic Relationship in Body Psychotherapy
Introduction to VI: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss Entering the Relational Field in Body Psychotherapy: William F. Cornell
Enhancing the Immediacy and Intimacy of the Therapeutic Relationship through the Somatic Dimension: Richard A. Heckler & Gregory J. Johanson
Transference, Countertransference & Surpervision in the Body Psychotherapeutic Experience: Michael Soth
Touch in Body Psychotherapy: Gill Westland
The Somatics of Touch: Lisbeth Marcher with Eric Jarlnaes & Kirstine Münster
The Empty Voice of the Empty Self: On the Link between Traumatic Experience and Artificiality: Tilmann Moser

SECTION VII: Clinical Aspects of the Therapeutic Process
Introduction to VII: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
The Relevance of Body- Related Features and Processes for Diagnostics and Clinical Formulation in Body Psychotherapy: Frank Röhricht
The Role of the Body in Emotional Defense Processes: Body Psychotherapy and Emotional Theory: Ulfried Geuter & Norbert Schrauth
The Spectrum of Body-Psychotherapeutic Practices & Interventions: Ilse Schmidt-Zimmermann
Regression in Body Psychotherapy: Peter Geissler
The Unfolding of Libidinous Forces in Body Psychotherapy: Ebba Boyesen & Peter Freudl
Risks within Body Psychotherapy: Courtenay Young

SECTION VIII: Functional Perspectives of Body Psychotherapy
Introduction to VII: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Energy and the Nervous System in Embodied Experience: James Kepner
The Role of the Autonomic Nervous System: Dawn Baht & Jacqueline Carleton
The Role of Breath in Mind-Body Psychotherapy: Ian Macnaughton with Peter A. Levine
Heart, Heart Feelings and Heart Symptoms: Courtenay Young
Dreams and the Body: Stanley Keleman
Visual Contact, Facing, Presence and Expression: Narelle McKenzie
Segmental Holding Patterns of the Body-Mind: Jack Lee Rosenberg & Beverly Kitaen Morse
Horizontal Grounding: Angela Belz-Knöferl
Vertical Grounding: The Body in the World and the Self in the Body: Lily Anagnostopoulou
Entering the Erotic Field: Sexuality in Body-Centered Psychotherapy: William F. Cornell

SECTION IX: Body Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Specific Disorders
Introduction to IX: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Body Psychotherapy and Severe Mental Disorders: Frank Röhricht
Body Psychotherapy and Psychosis: Guy Tonnela
Body Psychotherapeutic Treatments for Eating Disorders: Sasha Dmochowski, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar & Jacqueline Carleton
Body Psychotherapy with the Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Manfred Thielen
Vegetotherapy with Psychosomatic Disorders: Functionalism in Practice: Xavier Serrano Hortelano
Oral Depression: Guy Tonella
Sensory-Motor Processing for Trauma Recovery: Pat Odgen & Kekuni Minton

SECTION X: Some Areas of Application of Body Psychotherapy
Introduction to X: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Body Psychotherapy with Parents, Babies and Infants: Thomas Harms
A Return to the “Close Body”: Child Somatic Psychotherapy: Nicole Gäbler
Subsymbolic Processing with an Alexithymic Client: John May A Somatic Approach to Couples Therapy: Rob Fisher
Emotional First Aid: Eva R. Reich & Judyth O. Weaver
The Use of Body Psychotherapy in the Context of Group Therapy: Michael Soth
Research in Body Psychotherapy: Barnaby B. Barratt

SECTION XI: Interfaces with Other Modalities of Psychotherapy
Introduction to XI: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss
Dance Therapy: Sabine Trautmann-Voigt
The Significance of the Body in Gestalt Therapy: Wiltrud Krauss-Kogan
Somatic Emotional Release Work among Hands-On Practitioners: Ilana Rubenfeld with Camilla Griggers
Cognitive Behavioral Therapists Discover the Body: Serge K.D. Sulz
The Positive Management of the Body: A Salutogenetic and Transcultural Perspective: Nossrat Peseschkian

SEGMENT XII: Existential and Spiritual Dimensions of Body-Oriented Psychotherapy Introduction to §XII: Gustl Marlock & Halko Weiss The Awakened Body: The Role of the Body in Spiritual Development: Linda H. Krier & Jessica Moore Britt
Existential Dimensions of the Fundamental Character Themes: Halko Weiss
Body Meditation in the Tibetian Buddhist and Bön Traditions: Daniel P. Brown

Index of Names
Subject Index
Addendum

Thus the American-English edition is not just a simple translation of the 2006 German edition. Some of the chapters, originally in German, French, Spanish etc., have now been translated into English: the (original) English chapters have been updated and revised. Authors have all been re-contacted and many have revised their original work. New chapters were commissioned and then edited. The whole Handbook has thus been totally re-edited, brought up-to-date, and with many more recent references added.

Developments & Possibilities
The publishers asked us about marketing this volume and future developments and possibilities. Currently, USABP has about 600 members, and the (roughly) bi-annual conferences attract 300-400 people, of which only about 100 are USABP members. There are at least 4 universities that teach Somatic Psychology Masters & PhD programs. There are a large number of modality-based schools as well. It would therefore be reasonable to assume there are about 6,000 – 7,500 people directly involved in Body Psychotherapy / Somatic Psychology practice and training, and – of course – many more interested in this field.

We believe that various USABP colleagues are also starting a campaign to create a new ‘division’ of Somatic Psychology in the American Psychology Association (APA), similar to the Society of Humanistic Psychology or the Division of Clinical Neuropsychology, which should help create a lot more parallel interest from professionals in other areas of psychology and psychotherapy. It is hoped that this Handbook – and other recent publications in Body Psychotherapy & Somatic Psychology from mainstream publishers – will assist this process.

Its sister organization, EABP has about 750 members. There are 12 national associations and about 40 accredited training organizations. Their bi-annual conferences attract about 300-400 people (with only 50-60 EABP members attending). There are at least two European university courses (one in Italy, one in Germany), which teach Body Psychotherapy modules and one of the UK Body Psychotherapy schools is now linked to a university and thus offers a Masters Program. It would therefore be reasonable to assume about 6,000 – 9,000 people are directly involved in Body Psychotherapy practice and training in Europe.

Most of the English, Scandinavian, and Latin countries tend to have English (rather than German) as their second language and would therefore tend to buy the English-American edition, rather than the German edition. Extrapolating these proportions, it would be reasonable to assume that there is a population of about 5,000 European Body Psychotherapists who form a potential sales market.

The Australian Association of Somatic Psychology is smaller, with about 100 members and people directly involved; ditto there are groups and trainings in Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. There is also considerable interest in Japan, and an association is beginning to form. All these would all almost certainly be interested in this English-American edition.

There is also a fairly large population of Body Psychotherapists in South America, and recent Body Psychotherapy Congresses in Sao Paulo and Venezuela attracted about 600 and 350 people respectively. Given language differences, travel difficulties and costs, this could indicate a population of interest in Body Psychotherapy of around 6,000 people: and, although most would be more open to a Spanish (or Portuguese) translation of this edition (which is possible), many may well buy an American edition, often having English as a second language. This present edition is already being re-translated back into German to be published as a 2nd edition of the 2006 volume.

Additional to all of the above, there are two other major ‘populations’ where there would be considerable interest. Many psychotherapists (of all sorts) are becoming attracted to exploring with the increasing interest just how the ‘body’ fits into their field and theories of the ‘mind’ and ‘psyche’, and especially how to work with it. Enthusiasm for body-oriented techniques like EMDR and Mindfulness practice shows something of this interest. There are close links (and a shared professional, peer-reviewed, international journal) with Dance Movement Psychotherapy, which is growing rapidly. There are conferences planned for psychodynamic psychotherapists on ‘working with the body’. It would be reasonable to expect a steady level of sales to universities and colleges with general clinical psychology and psychotherapy courses.

Additionally, and almost totally separate from this, there is also a huge range of ‘body therapies’ – Feldenkrais, massage therapies, Alexander Technique, Rolfing, Bowen technique, etc. (to name just a few), as well as all the ‘natural health’ therapies and the field of complementary medicine. Many of the practitioners (and clients) of these would have some interest in how to work with the more psychological aspects of their bodies. Depending on how and where the volume is presented and marketed, the potential of both these populations (in mainland America alone) is huge.

Contributions & Co-operation
The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy contains contributions from nearly every major living figure in Body Psychotherapy (plus some that have died recently), many of whom are established authors, founders of schools, lecturers, training therapists and supervisors in universities or postgraduate training institutions. The ‘body’ of knowledge, the depth of experience, the breadth of theory would be very difficult to surpass. The ‘impact factor’ of the Handbook with regards to future journal article citations, over the next 15 years or so, will hopefully be immense.

The authors themselves – about 80 all told – will (hopefully) also be open to recommending the book to their courses and students, helping to obtain reviews, and assisting marketing through their own websites and professional contacts. Many of them also speak at and go to international conferences or give seminars, in the general field of psychotherapy and psychology.

So, we hope that you will all agree with us that this has been a very worthwhile project, with a reasonable chance of success, and that you might like to become involved in some way towards its development and the development of the field of Body psychotherapy & Somatic Psychology.

Editors: Gustl Marlock, Halko Weiss with Courtenay Young & Michael Soth

PURCHASE:

North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA ISBN: 978-1583-9484-2-2 Amazon Hardcover; £75.00; NAB; $60.00 Pre-Order e-Book: $69.99; Kindle e-Book: $71.25
https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/the-handbook-of-body-psychotherapy-and-somatic-psychology/

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The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology

Child psychotherapy: Integrating developmental theory into clinical practice.

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:37:32 GMT

Title: Child psychotherapy: Integrating developmental theory into clinical practice.

Series: ISBN: 978-0-8261-0673-5

Author: Adler-Tapia, R

Genre: Client, Therapist

Publisher: New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company

Release Date: 2013

Pages: 312

Robbie Adler-Tapia’s Child Psychotherapy: Integrating Developmental Theory Into Clinical Practice aims to create a developmentally grounded approach to child psychotherapy. In this work, she emphasizes the importance of remaining cautious and even hesitant in arriving at the conclusion of pathology as a psychologist or psychiatrist. An essential aspect of this text is the focus on the assimilation of developmental theories into the practice of child psychotherapy, while accentuating the significance of the etiology of a certain child’s symptoms before arriving at a pathological diagnosis. The text focuses on the comprehensive work done by developmental psychologists in relation to the field of child psychotherapy.

Although Adler-Tapia’s work primarily focuses on the treatment of children, it clearly emphasizes that her theories apply to people of all ages. Certain childhood experiences may have interfered with an adult’s healthy development, and these past experiences may drive the lingering symptoms that occur at an older age.

Offering an alternative to the medical model of pathology, this book strives to inform therapists who work with children how to integrate developmental theory into their clinical practice. This amalgamation mandates that the therapist “conceptualize psychotherapy from a multimodal approach through the lens of human development” (p.173) Considering every facet of the child’s life, such as the developmental stage the child is in, the family system in which the child lives, etc. leads to an exploration and understanding of the origins of the symptoms that are being exhibited by the child.

Also essential in this work are the theories that investigate the interface between a child’s external and internal worlds, the impact the environment has on the child, and how a child constructs schemas conducive to his or her experience of living. In addition, the resources a particular child has, any interference in the child’s healthy development, and the child’s primary caregivers’ support all help the therapist to explore the etiology of the problem(s) at hand.

With this integrative protocol, therapists who treat children that have faced challenges early on in life can successfully attempt to place them back on a healthful trajectory.

Bodies in Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:36:20 GMT

Title: Bodies in Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension

Series: ISBN: 978-0881634488

Author: Anderson, F.S.

Genre: Client, Therapist

Publisher: New York, N.Y.: The Analytic Press.

Release Date: 2008

Source: Keeping in Touch—Spring 2008-Issue 33

Reviewed By: Jacqueline A. Carleton, Ph.D

This is the second, most recent collection of articles on the body in psychoanalysis written from a relational perspective. The earlier volume, edited by Lewis Aron and F.S. Anderson, entitled Relational Perspectives on the Body, was published just ten years ago, in 1998. The present volume builds and expands on it from many different perspectives. I found three particularly interesting. Bill Cornell provides a historical view and case history. Wilma Bucci explores three components of the human emotional processing system: symbolic verbal, symbolic nonverbal and subsymbolic. Christopher Eldredge & Gilbert Cole elucidate how integration of body-oriented techniques and relational psychoanalysis can be particularly effective in working with individuals with a history of trauma.

Attachment issues in psychopathology and intervention

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:34:39 GMT

Title: Attachment issues in psychopathology and intervention

Series: ISBN: 0-8058-3693-4

Author: Atkinson, L. & Goldberg, S. (Eds.)

Genre: Therapist

Publisher: Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Release Date: 2004

Pages: 304

Originally Posted: Oct 2015

Editors Leslie Atkinson and Susan Goldberg provide an extensive review of key literature on attachment theory and psychopathology in their book Attachment Issues in Psychopathology and Intervention.

The book includes contributions from renowned attachment researchers like Byron Egeland, Mary Dozier, and Sue Johnson. It is well-organized and is also conveniently divided into two parts. The first half of the book is dedicated to addressing psychopathology and attachment. This includes chapters on disorders of attachment, relational models of attachment, and attachment behavioral systems. The second half of the book concentrates on intervention techniques and potential methods of clinical assessment and treatment for sufferers of the attachment disorders described in the first half of the book.

Attachment Issues in Psychopathology and Intervention serves as a guide intended to encourage “forward thinking” for future clinical intervention efforts related to mental illnesses stemming from attachment disorders. The editors recognize that much of the existing literature on attachment and psychopathology involves elements of clinical and developmental psychology. But what makes Attachment Issues in Psychopathology and Intervention a valuable resource is the fact that it focuses on reconciling these elements to create a better understanding of the psychopathology of attachment disorders. Atkinson and Goldberg posit that a fundamental understanding of this psychopathology will open the doors for today's researchers and mental health clinicians to new ideas related to intervention methods and treatments of attachment disorders.

Anxiety Disorders: The Go-To Guide for Clients and Therapists

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:29:59 GMT

Title: Anxiety Disorders: The Go-To Guide for Clients and Therapists

Series: ISBN: 978-0-393-70628

Author: Daitch, Carolyn

Genre: Client, Therapist

Publisher: W.W. Norton

Release Date: 2011

Pages: 243

Source: Somatic Psychoterapy Today-Volume 1-Number 1-July 2011

Reviewed By: Sasha Dmochowski-Columbia University

Originally Posted Oct 15, 2011

As its title suggests, Anxiety Disorders: The Go-To Guide for Clients and Therapists is a comprehensive resource, suitable both for individuals who struggle with anxiety and anxiety-based disorders, as well as the clinicians who treat them. From her perspective as a seasoned therapist and acclaimed author, Carolyn Daitch guides readers through Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, detailing recovery options for each, as well as explaining their multiple causes and most effective treatment techniques. Anxiety disorders are now recognized as some of the most common psychological disorders, and have been shown to be treated most effectively when the client is knowledgeable and actively involved in their therapeutic process. Toward that end, Daitch provides suggestions for lifestyle changes, nutrition, medication and self-help techniques, as well as numerous case examples of individuals who have learned how best to adjust these tools to suit and manage their specific anxiety issues and needs. An invaluable resource in understanding and alleviating panic, worry, compulsiveness, and phobias, this guide will prove engaging and reassuring to patients and therapists alike.

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Physical Touch in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Transforming Trauma through Embodied Practice

The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Guide for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes

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The Neurobiology of Health, Healing, and Human Connection

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Exceptional Relationships: Transformation Through Embodied Couples Work by Brian and Marcia Gleason, LCSWs

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The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology

Child psychotherapy: Integrating developmental theory into clinical practice.

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Attachment issues in psychopathology and intervention

Anxiety Disorders: The Go-To Guide for Clients and Therapists

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A guide for mental health professionals, yoga therapists and teachers