Body-Mind Psychotherapy
Principles, Techniques, and Practical Applications

Susan Aposhyan

Praise for Body-Mind Psychotherapy:

“[A] body psychotherapy classic, equivalent of Reich's Character Structure or Lowen's Language of the Body. But it's more than that, it's actually a contribution to the field of contemporary psychotherapy as a whole.”
—Scimed Journal

 

Overview

Body-mind psychotherapy (BMP) takes the basic tools of mind-body integration and joins them with an awareness of emotional development. Working with techniques such as body awareness, touch, breath, and movement, BMP reintroduces the body and its innate wisdom to the theory and practice of psychotherapy. This alternative practice is one of the exciting frontiers of therapy and will enrich the work of therapists, medical practitioners, and bodyworkers.

Body and mind are functionally inseparable. The cultural separation of body and mind, however, has confused our thinking and created obstacles for psychological health. This separation is itself firmly planted in the practices of standard psychotherapy. In the first part of the book, Aposhyan discusses this false division and goes on to articulate the theoretical basis for the unity of body and mind. Drawing on research in neuroscience and developmental conceptions of human attachment, bodily processes including nonverbal attunement, processing, and regulation are shown to be basic to what transpires in therapy. This account culminates in a chapter on the links between biology and consciousness that are critical for therapeutic that addresses the whole person.

Part 2 provides an overview of the basic form of BMP. Beginning with the tasks of therapy, the chapters in this part describe the format of therapy in terms of a cycle of interaction between body and mind concluding with a consideration of the primary goal of BMP-i.e., a synchronization of body and mind founded in body awareness. The therapy professional is also offered methods to cultivate his or her own embodiment. For the psychotherapist, personal embodiment is the single most important key to integrating the body into psychotherapy practice.

The body systems are reviewed in Part 3. Aposhyan takes the reader on a detailed tour of various important systems including the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems as well as the skin, fluids, viscera, and endocrine systems. The result is an articulate picture of an integrated set of body functions all of which have their distinct roles and yet communicate with and have a bearing upon the functioning of each other. The specific techniques of BMP are grounded in this detailed picture of the various body systems.
In Part 4 Aposhyan instructs readers in how to anchor in the body the change affected by BMP. Discussions here consider change at the cellular level and address specific clinical issues critical to BMP.

Body-Mind Psychotherapy offers a simple, user-friendly, and safe approach to integrating the body into therapy and psychological exploration. The techniques involved are consistent with research from neuroscience, psychological development, and traumatology. As a result, the reader will find BMP both an effective and research-based therapeutic approach.

About the Author

Susan Aposhyan, M.A., developed Body-Mind Psychotherapy and has been involved in training psychotherapists internationally in this method for two decades. She maintains a private practice and has also authored Natural Intelligence: Body-Mind Integration and Human Development.

Acclaim

"[A]n impressive and clearly written account of the intentions, meaning and experiences involved in being a Body-Mind Psychotherapist… [W]ritten by a highly competent and experienced Body-Mind Psychotherapist primarily for Psychotherapists who may be interested in integrating the body into the process of their own work with clients. To this end, it is excellent."

—Biodynamic Massage

"Body-Mind Psychotherapy sparkles with insight, humour, and gentleness. It also encapsulates a wealth of learning…. [I]t is evident that this is a psychotherapy with a very sophisticated and flexible perspective on the nature of the therapeutic relationship. One which is marked by a very contemporary common sense and an intimate awareness of paradox and polarities."

—Network Review

'Body psy'chotherapy is simultaneously coming of age and returning to its roots. The direct origins can be traced back to Wilhelm Reich who emphasized breaking down muscular armor, and Fritz Perls who emphasized awareness, including awareness of the body. Both were M.D.s as well as students of Sigmund Freud. In the late 1960s through the 1980s, body psychotherapy took a detour into an experiential quagmire. Influenced by the personal-growth movement including encounter, EST, and others, body psychotherapy often involved volatile emotional expression and physical touch. Because of that history, many current psychotherapists are leery of body psychotherapy. They have come to associate mind/body integration with volatile emotions, physical outbursts, active regression, and the holding of hysterical clients. Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, body psychotherapy has matured and, in essence, returned to a true focus on the body
'With the publication of Body-Mind Psychotherapy, Susan Aposhyan moves the field of Body Psychotherapy into the 21st Century. Deemphasizing emotional release and touch, Aposhyan succeeds in her goal of weaving a somatic base into the fabric of general psychotherapy. This beautifully written and highly readable volume offers much that even the most body-skeptical psychotherapist will find appealing and useful. Social workers, marriage and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, will all find useful tools among these pages. It is a must for all who endeavor to integrate body and mind and, in so doing, maximize the benefits of psychotherapy.'

-Babette Rothschild, MSW, author of The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment and The Body Remembers Casebook: Unifying Methods and Models in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD.

'A truly remarkable book! In Body-Mind Psychotherapy, Aposhyan has beautifully woven in intricate patterns the history and current research in psychophysiology. Based on her own in-depth awareness and compassionate understanding of the process of embodied presence, Aposhyan has shown readers a dynamic and illuminating path leading toward profound emotional healing. This book definitely qualifies as a standard text for the field of body-oriented psychotherapy.'

-Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Founder and Educational Director of the School for Body-Mind Centering, author of Sensing, Feeling, and Action: The Experiential Anatomy of Body-Mind Centering.

ISBN: 0-393-70441-6
Fall 2003
Cloth; 288 pages