Bodily processes. Zinker Joseph bodily processes in psychotherapy

Bodily experience in Gestalt therapy
1. Bodily experience is the foundation of all subsequent experience. This is very clearly seen from ontogenesis: thinking develops from actions, perception develops from actions and movements, emotions develop in the process of regulating actions. This can be seen in direct experience here and now (we know that a motionless eye is blind - the eye must move in order to see). We know that every thought and every attitude is accompanied by a bodily sensation and is rooted in the body. Thanks to this, the therapist can rely on the bodily process in his work. Where do you feel it in your body? Why do we need to contact the body? In order to obtain the quality of self-regulation. The body has the property of self-regulation. And returning in therapy to the body, i.e. By connecting every mental process with the body, we thereby turn to self-regulation.

2. Body, i.e. bodily sensation and movement are the energetic basis of therapeutic work. Isolation from the body creates wandering in thoughts and interpretations without any changes in behavior and experience (behavior and experience are bodily processes). When we see a contact curve, we see time on one axis and energy on the other (time is the horizontal axis). What energy are we talking about? About the energy of bodily arousal (muscle tension, muscle movement, breathing, heartbeat, heat, cold, i.e. emotional and vegetative processes). We focus on it in order to find the figure associated with the client’s need.

3. Why is it important not to forget about the body in therapy? Psychotherapy is working with a living organism and helping it achieve well-being. Out-of-body well-being is very unstable. For example, a person has found a solution to a problem, and this solution responds in his body with lethargy or unpleasant tension (this solution is unlikely to be good, i.e., the person is unlikely to be able to implement it).

How do we work with the body?

The cycle of experience as a bodily process

M Mechanisms for interrupting contact as bodily processes.

What happens to the body during merging? This is either the absence or vagueness of bodily sensations. Bodily experiences have little to do with what I think, see, hear. Accordingly, work strategies are everything that allows you to better differentiate sensations and bodily responses to what is happening. (what did you feel in your body when you said this? Pay attention to how you breathe when you look at other group members?) Differentiation between pleasant and unpleasant is important (especially with children and very physically alienated people).

What happens to the body during introjection? The body feels like foreign objects. Accordingly, the work is to transform things in the body into processes, into changing sensations. The main remedy is the attention of the client and the therapist. Through attention (Keep Feeling It) transformation occurs. Or we turn the introject into a projection, into an image and work with it. We can also observe, when a client makes some kind of introject, what happens to his body at that time. Usually these are some kind of heavy sensations.

What happens to the body during projection? Sensations are attributed to the outside world and are not felt within oneself. The body seems to become empty (such descriptions), the body is simply not noticed. Bodily processes are not noticed in oneself, and most of the attention is paid to the world around us. 2 methods of working with projection: 1. - start any awareness with bodily sensations, and not with the external world (i.e., for example, we look for a positive sensation in the body and look through this sensation at the external world, and not vice versa - first we look, we get scared , then we notice that the whole body is tense); 2. - physically try on all your projections on yourself - for example, you have a bad attitude towards homeless people or drunks - try on this image on yourself (identify, move, feel from the inside) - feel what resources are projected onto them - the main question: what kind of movement and bodily does the state become possible when I try on this image?

What's wrong with the body in retroflexion? Tension, recurrent movements, muscle tightness, limbs crossing, grabbing each other, squeezing each other. Multidirectional movements stop each other (clinch - on the one hand, there is a desire to hit, on the other hand, there is a stop of this movement or it turns into striking oneself). Work strategy - it is necessary to give the opportunity for both direct and opposite movement to occur - and so that there is a stop and vice versa - the movement - separated in time - so that 2 movements are differentiated (first compression, then opening, for example). We do the movement slowly to feel it better. It is important to explore different ways of expressing yourself, for example through dancing, using an object - hitting a pillow; using materials - clay, plasticine, through physical interaction with other participants in the group.

What happens to the body in deflexion? 1. In sensations - these are running sensations, it just happened and now it’s not there anymore, there are a lot of them and now one thing, then another. If you focus on one thing, another appears, and the first disappears. 2. A lot of unnecessary movements, each of which stops when you turn your attention to it - nervous fiddling with your hands. 3. Itching, nose picking (irrepressible) are signs of deflexion. 4. In the motor sphere, laxity, lack of coordination - the body is not experienced as an integral functional system. (doing something incompletely - there are distractions). How to work? For example, support, deflection, bring to the limit, absurdity. Frustrate: don't scratch it and let's see what happens. I quit smoking and then a bunch of processes begin to become conscious. Methods of bodily relaxation - which allow you to feel your body as a whole - lie in shavasana, draw the whole body on wallpaper, experience excitement without doing anything - continue to feel it (there are different sensations - continue to experience them).

To summarize, all methods in Gestalt therapy are aimed at restoring the integrity of the body-consciousness, stitching together these two layers of the psyche.

What concepts and techniques do we use in Gestalt therapy?
1. Concept of Wilhelm Reich. He argued that all resistance is a muscular process. That is, we do resistance with the help of muscles - we repress it. (resistance to saying something will be expressed by tightening the throat; in order not to see something, you will have to squeeze the muscles around the eyes, limit the mobility of the head); anxiety and resistance to heartfelt feelings - chest compression). 8 rings of bodily clamps - 1) forehead and eyes 2) mouth and jaws 3) throat 4) chest 5) diaphragm 6) pelvis 7) knees 8) feet - these are all rings where energy can stop, which moves up and down and down up. According to these rings, there are descriptions of character types. (The main thing is to understand that character is chronic resistance or a combination of different resistances). This creates a certain body structure, i.e. character is expressed in a certain body structure. We can, firstly, be aware of the compression, and secondly, work with strengthening and relaxing these clamps. Every thought is accompanied by muscle microactions
2. Another concept that we use in Gestalt therapy is A. Lowen’s grounding. F. Perls said that the body has functions of support and functions of manipulation. Something cannot be done because there is not enough support (for example, pushing with your hands can be done in very different ways). Accordingly, in Gestalt therapy we work a lot with support before working with manipulation. Since without support, manipulation is inadequate (this is often expressed in anxiety, fear of public speaking, interpersonal dependencies). When there is no support, the hands and eyes are used as a means of support and cling to something. (And there is a reliance not on oneself, but on another person). When you lose support, another symptom is emotional instability. All sorts of methods related to gaining support, exercises, balance studies, providing support, which gradually decreases and the person stands on his own feet.
3. F. Perls’ concept of anxiety and breathing. Perls schematically argued that anxiety = excitement - oxygen. Accordingly, with anxiety we have a high level of arousal with compressed and limited breathing. Restriction of breathing is used by a person pathologically to stop any feeling, emotion - anger, fear, sexuality, curiosity, joy. The work is to gradually explore the stopped feelings, very slowly, paying attention to the fading. As soon as breathing stops, support self-expression by providing a resource.
4. The theory of unfinished actions in Gestalt therapy and the concept of Peter Lewin. Flight, fight, freeze. Their biological meaning.

“BEING YOURSELF – WHAT IS YOUR TRADE?” is a psycho-physical technique that will allow you to better understand what your specialty is. After a few sessions like this, what you're good at, what you're good at, and what you love will improve. If you don't know what your specialty is, then after these sessions you will finally have a chance to find out.

As a result of these sessions, people said that their income had increased (these were businessmen, and making money was just their thing). If you are a singer or actor, then after these sessions you will become a better singer or better performer on stage.

That's not the only thing that will change. Here are some “side effects” that people didn't expect, but that happened after a few sessions and/or after completing the workshop.

• the person stopped being embarrassed and lowering his eyes if they were looking at him closely (while he remained open to interaction)
• a person's concentration increases
• after the session there is a feeling of an “open heart”, as if breathing has become easy
• Many people's creative potential improves and integrates
• increased performance
• some have improved digestion and metabolism
• One person noted that they became less sensitive to the truth, especially about themselves. I call it “being honest with yourself”
• gives you back your “moral” strength
• those who experienced self-doubt often say that their doubts have disappeared

These are just a few of the effects. the list of effects is much longer.

Bodily Processes “WHAT IS YOUR TRADE” can be studied both for yourself and to do these processes for your clients. To obtain a diploma and permission to work with clients, it is enough to complete the seminar once.

Bodily processes “WHAT IS YOUR SWEET?” - This is a psycho-physical method to improve what is your trick. The duration of the seminar is 4 days, the cost is $1200. At the end of the seminar, a diploma is issued from the Atanaki International School.

P.S. Information about advanced steps is still at the preparation level. Advanced levels can be completed if you want to become a certified instructor of the “WHAT IS YOUR SWEET?” technique.

And this is a video of what you can do if you go through the advanced stages of the “WHAT IS YOUR SWEET?” method.

The choice is yours!

P.P.S. NOTE. Please don't be confused. The Access Consciousness school also has bodily processes, called “Access Body Class”. To pass the “Access Body Class”, you must first pass. THESE ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BODY PROCESSES. To undergo the Body Processes “WHAT IS YOUR TRADE” you do not need to take any seminars first.

REVIEWS

and the most powerful experience I had was after the bars...

one day, I worked out with Zhenya... I come home, my wife doesn’t feel well, her head, blood pressure, “floats”, in a broken state and very tired...
I decided to do something for her... during the session, I feel like something, some kind of heaviness, is peeling off in layers and disappearing... it becomes very light, there is clarity in my chest, in my head... when I finished, there were changes in how I felt visible immediately... my “present moment” has deepened greatly

Towards evening the most interesting things began. It’s evening, I’m lying in front of the TV, relaxing, and it’s easy, just close my eyes, and I see pictures. If you stop concentrating, they change like in a movie, the brightness and colors change, sometimes you can see it more clearly, sometimes worse, some parts go into darkness, reset and start showing another... if you make an effort, the brightness and clarity improves, but difficult, difficult to keep your attention...

And then... after some time... the realization comes - that I am here and there, and there at the same time... I am everywhere))
I just am..
At this moment everything here seems so crazy to me...
We strive to be with someone, to become someone, etc.
And all you need... Just be
When you just exist, you don't care where you are or what you do...

Sergey Mironov - https://vk.com/id2659042

How to prolong the effect after a massage or any bodily practice

BODY PROCESSES
In this class you will learn about bodily processes (like Bars) that will teach your body to get what it wants, making it free and able to change quickly. You will learn to create your body in accordance with it!

Realize that from childhood you were taught to judge everything in the world, including yourself! But when you judge yourself and your body, you actually order yourself and it to be like that, depriving yourself of lightness, strength, youth, health and beauty. What if all illnesses and aging are not inevitable, but only the body’s reaction to everything that we have decided about it and locked in it (all our feelings, thoughts, emotions, stories...). What if it's easy to change?

Access's bodily processes are used to create greater contact with the body. They help free him from everything we have locked inside him.

The processes you learn can relieve you of pain, stress, injuries, strengthen your immune system, improve your well-being, sleep, start the process of rejuvenation and regeneration, restore your vision, adjust your weight and completely change your relationship with your body.

In this class you will learn about 3 powerful processes!

BODY PROCESSES of the Access Consciousness school - ABSOLUTE HEALTH WITHOUT DRUGS and new opportunities for you and your body!

1. MTVSS is one of the most functional bodily processes.
It is used in a thousand different cases, and each time it creates new possibilities.

With this process you can change everything that is possible to change in the human body!

If you do MTVSS 20-30 times, your body structure will change completely. You will rewrite the blueprint of your body. This process unlocks the limitations of human embodiment.

MTVSS is the “tool of choice” for de-creating almost all cases where the body is malfunctioning, in any organs and systems of our body. These may be: the immune system, metabolism and cell turnover rate, respiratory system, body electrical system, central nervous system, digestive system and intestines, fasciocutaneous, skeletal, lymphatic and hormonal systems, reproductive system.

Practitioner Results: A woman performed MTVSS on her husband's spinal joints every night and reversed stage 3 bone cancer. The process was used to treat fibroids and tumors, “set” broken bones, and to eliminate the need for surgery for herniated internal tissues in the vagina. The process restored normal muscle function in a patient who was paralyzed by Guillain-Barré disease. MTVSS performed on the joints has a powerful effect on the immune system and can be used to treat leukemia. To do this, it is necessary to carry out the process daily for at least 8 weeks.

2.Bodily process “Cellular memory”
This process eliminates pain, the consequences of injuries, operations, removes scars and scars. The process unlocks the cells from our stories and the points of view in which they are stuck so that they work again as they should.
Ask yourself how much pain would your body want to let go of?

3. Biomimetic Mimicry (imitation)

Biomimetic Mimicry is how we imitate the psychology and physiology of others in order to be and do like them and understand them better. To understand (from English – to understand) means to stand under someone’s universe.

Since childhood (during the learning process), you have been copying points of view, reactions, methods of action, pain, and other elements of the realities of other people in order to understand them, to do as they do, to be good... And at the same time you lock all this in your body, becoming like them. Sometimes we think that this can create opportunities for us, but in the end, we become hostage to other people's reactions and ways of living.

Ask yourself how many limitations and problems has this created for you in life? And what can you change by freeing yourself from these imprints of other people within yourself?

You need to do this process many (200-300) times because you have tried to understand a lot of stupid people. It will take a long time, but you will gain an incomparable sense of peace.

What if our body consists of molecules and cells, and they transform depending on our thoughts, ideas, beliefs, our experiences, judgment of us and our body... What if you could reverse this process, and choose for yourself something other? How much joy, ease, health and beauty could you create for yourself?

For over 20 years, Access Consciousness® has been teaching, demonstrating, and benefiting people around the world. And the results are great! They are amazing for both the client and the specialist. People who take part in Access workshops and classes report experiencing increased sensitivity in their hands, a development in their intuition and perception, and their ability to see and feel energy flows and blocks. With each session they feel better, clearer, more open and more sensitive to the world around them. Life improves, and those areas that were not working began to change and eventually ceased to be a problem.

The Access Bars Consciousness® class provides verbal processes and simple tools for change. This will allow you to change as much or as little as you choose!
What if you don't expect answers from anyone...
What if there were some questions that would help you realize what you know?
Will this create more opportunities in your life?

Access Consciousness® is a set of tools and techniques that you can use to change what is not working in your life so that you can have a different life and a different reality. Access Consciousness® is always evolving, always changing, always changing the world. Access doesn't work with your cognitive mind. If your logical thinking actually produced the changes and differences you want, you would have changed everything by now!

The cost of training is 16,000 rubles.
with an advance payment of 4000 rubles. 14 days before the training date required

no prepayment, training cost 18,000 rubles.
The training lasts 1 day from 10:00 to 17:00

Registration for training via Skype: elenakrasa19
VK: https://vk.com/e.kireenkova

BODY PROCESSES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY (Joseph Zinker)

(based on site materials: http://gestaltist.ru)

As a rule, in line with psychotherapy, the therapeutic process is defined as

work with mental phenomena and conditions and their correction. In the process of this

work emphasized the “mental” aspect of therapy: verbalization, thinking,

imagination, dreams, etc. Even emotions were viewed as mental phenomena.

Was the goal “mitigation of psychological conflict”, “improvement

"I-image" or "recreation of cognitive abilities", our theories and

methods have traditionally given less importance to bodily phenomena in context

psychotherapy. This is based on a reflection of the exceptional significance

which was given to intellect and reason in our culture in its broadest

understanding. The world's view of psychotherapy is ultimately determined by

view of the culture in which it is embedded. This one-sided view of

human nature, when the most important role is given to its cognitive side,

viewed from a cultural perspective, always seemed funny

to me, an adherent of the view that the bodily nature of man has no less

meaning, especially for a psychotherapist whose calling is to heal people. Such

problems such as obesity, psychosomatic disorders, emotional deadness,

chronic overexertion, lack of emotional expressiveness, headaches

pain, sexual problems and disorders in the body resulting from

physical and sexual violence - all this suggests that our

existence is rather existence in a body. What happens to him like

both physically and psychologically. We live not only by thinking,

fantasizing, but also moving, taking different poses, feeling, expressing. How

then we can ignore the basic physical nature of the person in therapy,

whose main goal is to heal a person? However, some things are already starting to change.

Becoming increasingly common among psychotherapists with various

professional convictions to take into account bodily phenomena as part of

necessary therapy data, even if their methods do not show a clear understanding

such phenomena. I have observed this change over many years of training, with the goal

which was to teach therapists to understand and use body processes in

his. Now students see the meaning in what many years ago it cost me

great difficulty to convince those who doubt, i.e. is that the client's posture, his

movements and physical sensations belong to the field of therapy. Over the past 2 years,

It seems to me that 2 new influences have increased interest in the phenomena of the body in

psychotherapy. The first of these is a special interest in art and therapy

bodies in humanistic psychology and in human potential movements,

including the revival of Reich's therapy, giving primary importance to the body in Gestalt

therapy and body art, such as in Hatha yoga, martial arts,

Feldenkrais and Alexander techniques, and Rolfing (structural integration).

The second influence is the understanding of nonverbal behavior as communication. This

supposedly new influences have been exploited by psychotherapy, e.g.

Ericksonian hypnosis and modern communication schools (for example,

communication in pairs). Together with the recent explosion of interest in the phenomena of the body

there is a significant difference in the ways in which body processes are understood in context

psychotherapy. These differences are reflected in four points of view: 1. therapy, such

like psychoanalysis and cognitive therapy, which pay attention to phenomena

bodies that differ from the symptoms of the “underlying” mental problems (i.e.

such as the brain/cognition epiphenomenon; 2. bodily practices, such as those that were

mentioned above and which deal only with the processes of the body, while

psychoanalysis deals with mental processes; 3. communication and

behavioral schools of therapy that consider the influences of the body primarily

as a set of signals that must be detected, or as behavior,

which must be changed; 4. deep body therapy, such as Gestalt

school and the Reich school, which consider the body as something inherently human

"I" and the personality as a whole. The purpose of this book is to introduce and explain

a special “depth” of the approach to understanding and working with body phenomena in psychotherapy. I

I want to demonstrate the basis, which a practicing doctor holds

from a different point of view, could better evaluate bodily processes in context

whole personality, and not as isolated phenomena. I will describe how the body is inseparable

from the “I” of any person and at the same time connected with our emotional life, with

the theme of life expectancy and the physical basis of our existence on

Earth. To those therapists who see their work as predominantly mental

aspect, I hope to show how engaging with the body's processes can make them

therapeutic work with emotions and thinking more fruitfully, including

bodily experience, consciousness, expression and movement. To doctors who work with the body, I

I hope to show the importance of postures and bodily sensations in emotional and

psychological functioning. Therapists with a communicative perspective I

I hope to convince you that the importance of body processes is preserved not only in

informative thinking, but also in their basic essential expressions of themselves. A

For those therapists who are already familiar with body-oriented work, I

I hope this book will provide a coherent understanding that will justify

body-oriented intervention in the client’s consciousness and sense of self.

The material in this book was created based on my own disagreements with

existing approaches to the body and therapy. Prevailing theoretical framework

borrowed from Gestalt therapy, in particular, described by Perls (1947-1969) and

taught at the Cleveland Gestalt Institute, where I was a student and member

teaching staff. Although the focus here is on approaching the phenomena

body rather than a thorough explanation of Gestalt therapy, readers unfamiliar with

With this approach, they can still find adequate information in the text. The same,

who are looking for more in-depth knowledge in the field of Gestalt therapy can contact

to the literature I refer to in this book. I view this work as

an expansion of the existing view of Gestalt therapy, rather than as a “new” school

clear detailed description to illustrate the application of the provisions, and at the same time

At the same time, maintain confidentiality and medical ethics in relation to the client. I

tried to do both, significantly changing personality details

patients, thus concealing the participants without changing the clinical

paintings. Case compositions and dialogues are used in many places

are not given.

Part One: BASIC PRINCIPLES

Chapter 1. Me and the Incarnation

Many people find it strange that I ask to turn to the sensations of the body, their

own or other people, which may be important for resolving them

pressing problems: cope with stress, establish relationships with others

people, understand their feelings. And it may seem even stranger

the assumption that body sensations also relate to underlying problems

personality, such as identity disorder, emotional conflicts or

feeling of lapses in consciousness. We usually think of "body" as something different from

"I" (self) and thus not related to the "I" (I) that is struggling with

life problems in their entirety and meaningfulness. People experiencing

shock that pushes them to seek help, they are often inclined to get rid of

some unpleasant physical sensations. They want to get rid of heart palpitations and

shortness of breath, which brings with it anxiety. They want the seizures to go away

anger and feelings of fear. They want to get rid of muscle tension and constant

headaches. In addition to these symptoms and discomfort, clients often

at odds with one’s own existence as a physical existence. They can

think of ourselves as ugly and clumsy creatures. And attempts to appeal to them

their own physical sensations may seem to them something “low”, too

sexual or animal. Their physical sensations may be associated with pain,

an illness or disorder that they once tried to get rid of. So

Thus, my request from the very beginning to turn to bodily experience can

seem like a return to the problems they would like to get rid of.

Most therapists approach therapy this way, albeit in different ways.

reasons. The theories and methods we were taught make the center of correction

mental constructs: conflicts, cognitive abilities, rings

interactions and structures of consciousness. The phenomena of the body are considered only

symptoms that need to be identified or behaviors that need to be

be adjusted, or communication methods that need to be studied,

or symbols underlying processes. You can add a degree here

interaction between the therapist and his or her own experience. We often

We feel the same discomfort as our clients. We are all products of the system

education and training programs where intelligence is considered the only

the necessary tool for solving human problems. This clearly shows up in

work of therapists: sitting motionless for hours, barely breathing, listening and responding only with

intelligence clues, they try to solve other people's problems. Psychotherapeutic

context, however, is not the only reason for breaking the connections between the body and the “I” (self). Our

language also contributes to their separation ("body" and "I"). We don't have a single word

to say, for example, “I am the body.” Most of the time we say "my"

body"; just as we can say "my car", implying that our

the body is our property, but not ourselves; our language contributes

understanding our body as an object: something happens to me, and not “what

is happening, it's me." Against the backdrop of these usually incoherent physical sensations

experiences of one’s “I” - is perceived with horror. What do I mean,

offering something like this?

Bodily experience as the experience of “I” (self)

In keeping with the main purpose of this book, I propose to carry out an experiment with the aim of

focus on your bodily sensations and the connection between your sense of self and

feeling of your body. The way you are sitting now, without intentionally changing your posture

turn to your bodily sensations. What is your first feeling? Do you feel

Do you have any voltage, and if so, what and where? How do you breathe? Fast slow,

deep? What is your posture? Do you "hold" yourself or let the chair

"hold" you? Are you slouched or relaxed, sitting up straight or

are you tense? How does your posture affect your breathing? So you've already started

the process of attending to your bodily sensations. Many people tell me that they are nothing

do not feel when they focus on their warmth. If this is true for

attitude towards you, then the absence of any sensations is in itself important

affirmation of your sense of self. But most people will feel some

processes in your body; if you patiently enough “listen” to your

body, then some details will become fuller and more expressive. If you continue

attempts to “listen” to your body, then make statements out loud or to yourself,

starting, for example, with the following: “Now I notice that my breathing is difficult and

superficial." "Now I feel warmth in my stomach." Be patient, let

your affirmations will help you focus on your bodily experience at the moment.

moment. You may notice that some sensations appear more often than others. You can

become more aware of your posture, your breathing pattern, or perhaps identify

tension in the neck or legs. In Gestalt terms, these sensations are called

figures that appear against the background of the general condition of the body. Figure, sometimes

arising in your consciousness begins to attract your attention and acquires

strength, if it is somehow meaningful to you. Now try replacing "I notice..."

expression "I...", in order to thus connect your "I" with your bodily

sensations. For example, instead of saying “I notice tension in my shoulders,” say “I

I tense my shoulders,” or, for example, instead of “I notice relaxation in my arms”

say “I relax my hands”, etc. Make 5-6 similar statements. What

occurs when you manage to use the word "I" in relation to bodily

sensations? Some people protest against this use: “I don’t strain my arms,

they themselves are tense." If you feel the urge to such a protest, then I will

I'll ask; “Who strains your hands if not you yourself?” Tension is what

you yourself do in response to something. But you may not realize it yet

the tension is clear enough to feel that it is you yourself -

the one who creates it. Let's return to bodily sensations and see if we can

Can we apply an even more complete sense of “I” to the processes occurring in

your body.

Focus your attention on the 2 sensations of tension that are most typical for

you. Taking each separately, how would you describe the nature of this tension?

Does this look like compression? Holding? Squeezing? Grasping? Destruction? This

could help you consciously increase tension in order to better

understand his character. Using words that describe the nature of stress (and types

it can be very different), let me offer you another experience.

Imagine, for the sake of experiment, that your body is you (“self”). If,

for example, the tension you are focusing on resembles a contraction, say about

yourself, using two-part statements: “I’m shrinking, and this

my existence." Or: "I withdraw into myself, and this is my existence."

Repeat these statements several times to fully understand their meaning.

for you. Feel the depth of your assessment of the state of your body so that

more accurately describe the way you exist. If you did all these

experiments, and not just read about them, one or two of your statements can become

meaningful to you. Perhaps you can express directly what

Previously it was only vaguely felt. You could feel the "click" of recognition in

physical experience of a sensation characteristic of your life today or for

past events and situations. Or perhaps you find it difficult to discover

anything significant in your body. You stopped halfway and didn't notice

nothing at all, or your sensations were the most ordinary. In the context of this

experience, I would ask you to also make statements about your difficulties in the same

form that I offered you to determine your bodily sensations: “I don’t

I feel comfort in my body, and this is my existence." "I do not feel in myself

nothing special, and this is my existence." "My body doesn't mean much to me,

and this is my existence." Your resistance, discomfort or feeling

the meaninglessness of all this is the same affirmation of your relationship to your

bodily "I", like all other statements.

Embodiment

This experiment has given you the basis for the main premise of the Gestalt approach and

body therapy: your “I” finds its embodiment both in the body and in the psyche. We

we feel, we love, we work, we satisfy our ever-changing needs,

physically existing in the world and interacting with it. The sensations of our body are

our sensations, as well as thoughts, fantasies, ideas, are part of our

"I". When we separate our bodily sensations from our “I” (we say “it” instead

"I"), we lose a significant part of ourselves. It's like we're shrinking. How

The more we deny our identity with our body, the more things "seem

happen to us. We are out of control, we feel torn

our "I". We are losing touch with the fundamental basis of human experience - with the material

reality. This is, of course, a general description of the difficulties we are called upon to

overcome as therapists. And this is in many ways similar to the disease of our society in

as a whole, dismembered, cut off from the world of our feelings, beyond our control.

Could a social phenomenon have its roots in our relationship to our own bodies? IN

In this book I will describe how our bodily existence is inherent in our relation to

the world and how it forms the basis for our contact with the environment,

physical and especially human environment, so that we can satisfy

our needs and develop. Working with people and helping them find a path to themselves

ourselves, we therapists concretize the abstract idea of ​​ourselves, of our

existence, which increases the assessment of the entire personality as a whole.

Self as an experience integrator

Since I will be using the term "self" quite often in this book,

It will be useful to describe in more detail what I mean by this concept. The concept of "I" -

one of the most complex and controversial concepts in the literature on Gestalt therapy,

but central to our orientation. The complexity of this concept is explained by its

status as an elusive and ephemeral part of the organism, and uncertainty is born from

using it in a variety of meanings. Gestalt therapy does not look at the "I"

as a thing, a static structure, but as a flowing process. I am not a set

“frozen” characteristics (“I” is only this, and nothing else. Normally, “I”:

flexible and diverse in their abilities and qualities, depending on private

requirements of the body and environment. "I" has no nature of its own except in

contact or in relation to the environment. This can be described as a system

contacts or interactions with the environment. In this sense, "I" can

viewed as an experience integrator. "I" has accessible, so-called

contact functions, that is, special actions and abilities. In view of this

it would be appropriate to say that the “I” is nothing but a system of contact functions.

“I” and these functions are one and the same in the understanding of Gestalt therapy. "I" is described

as a system of "excitation, orientation, manipulation, various identifications and

alienations" (Perls et al., 1951). These general categories of contact functions

describe the main ways in which we interact with the environment in order to satisfy

our needs and adapt to environmental changes. Through

excitement we feel our needs. Through orientation we organize ourselves for

meeting our needs in relation to the environment. Through manipulation we

we act to satisfy our needs. Through identification we accept in

our body (we make our “I”) what we can assimilate, and through alienation

we discard (make “not-I”) that which is alien to our nature and which, therefore, is not

can be learned. The complete functioning of the device depends on the contact

functions that are fully available to the body to satisfy changing demands during

interaction with the environment. When will contact functions become

inaccessible to awareness, the body will no longer be able to adapt to the world. Those

the aspects of functioning that we alienate are not the experience itself, they are not

fully accessible to contact with the environment. The more limited our

ability to communicate, the greater our sense of ourselves and the world becomes

fragmented, disorganized, etc., an object of resistance. Based on

definition of "I", my goal is to show the importance of the bodily basis of our contact

functions, and demonstrate how mental illness is associated with

the loss of these functions through their alienation from our bodily being. First

part of this book is devoted to understanding how the body, what is inherent

parts of our “I”, becomes an object of alienation and “not-I”, a way of extracting

this gap. Part 2 provides detailed theoretical and clinical

description of the nature of contact functions of excitation (sensation), orientation

(figure formation, mobilization), manipulation (action), identification

(contact), and alienation (withdrawal and assimilation). Rilke, Rainer Maria(1949). The

notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. New York: W.W. Norton, 1949 Often forgotten,

that Wilhelm Reich drew attention to the importance of bodily phenomena in his

"Character Analysis" (1945/1972) at the dawn of psychoanalysis.