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Dialogue between Conscious and Unconscious Processes The therapeutic use of movement in psychotherapy can take two essential directions: it can activate both conscious and unconscious processes. As Chodorow writes: Jung describes the ego as a complex datum which is constituted primarily of a general awareness of the body.' (CW #18, para 18.)..... Although the impulse to move may spring from a source in the unconscious, the body, which allows the impulse to manifest itself, remains firmly rooted in the fact of its own existence. The actual act of moving creates proprioceptive and kinesthetic feedback which serves to confront the unconscious with the body ego's reality. As the unconscious impulse and the body ego encounter each other's different realities, an intense and fully mutual education is likely to occur. (Chodorow, 1994; 34) A more structured approach to movement can be used when the therapeutic aim is to strengthen the client’s ego-position by clarifying body boundaries and spatial orientation; the use of specific muscular patterning, rhythm, or spatial organisation helps to develop a body image that is rooted in the reality of the body, and to create a strong body-mind container. Such an approach can be useful for the client who does not have a strong enough ego to safely explore the unconscious; in working with borderline or psychotic clients, or when working through trauma, this direction can support the work of grounding and creating safety. Some of the infant movement patterns may be included in work at this level as they clarify neuromuscular and spatial patterning, and can support development of the embodied sense of a core self. In particular, the crawling patterns which are initiated by yielding weight into and pushing out of the ground facilitate ego development by embodying and strengthening muscles, creating a boundaried sense of self, and encouraging a sense of substantiality through engagement with weight, earth and gravity. When the aim of therapy is to open to unconscious material, the therapist must know that the client’s ego is strong enough to contain and integrate what might emerge, as this approach can involve some temporary dissolution of ego boundaries; the client who is not ready for this may be overwhelmed if disturbing or disorientating material emerges. A client who needs to cultivate a clearer sense of core self may have difficulty in emerging from the movement to speak about, and thus integrate, the experience; not knowing the place of the internal witness, which is dependent upon the sense of a core self, the client may become unconsciously merged with the experience, unable to differentiate inner and outer reality or past and present experience. In this, no ‘mutual education’ between unconscious impulse and body ego can occur. However, the practice of Authentic Movement may help such a client, over time, to develop this function - to become conscious, to witness herself as she moves, and then to return to ego consciousness to integrate what arose from the unconscious. With care and mindful attention from her external witness, she gradually internalises the presence of a compassionate and accepting witness, and with this her sense of self evolves. For the client whose sense of self is secure, and ego functions strong enough, this approach offers a rich path of exploration into the unknown and unexpressed parts of the psyche. As the mover closes her eyes and enters her inner world, ego boundaries loosen; the experience of ‘I am moving’ transforms at times into the experience of ‘I am moved’, as unconscious impulses arise and are embodied. In this work not only the disavowed and feared aspects of ourselves and our personal experience may be encountered, but also the unowned potential for experiencing joy, love, power and grace, as spirit and the transpersonal is also touched as we descend deeply into the inner world of the body-psyche. Concluding words This article has explored some ways in which movement might be used within body psychotherapy practice, in relation to the development of the senses of self according to Daniel Stern’s theory. Particular reference has been made to the application of the Body-Mind CenteringR approach to developmental movement therapy, and to Authentic Movement, a discipline which has grown out of the field of dance movement therapy; we have looked briefly at how these approaches might support the development of the senses of an emergent, core, subjective and verbal self (Stern). The use of movement in psychotherapy can address a client’s need to strengthen ego boundaries, or to loosen them in order to access and integrate unconscious material. These two basic directions were explored with reference to the client’s developing sense of self and ego functions. References: Adler, Janet. Offering from the Conscious Body - The Discipline of Authentic Movement. Inner Traditions, Rochester, Vermont. 2002. _______. “The Collective Body”. Paper presented at the First International Clinical Conference in Berlin on Dance/Movement Therapy. 1994. Reprinted in Authentic Movement, edited by Patrizia Pallaro. Chodorow, Joan. “Dance Therapy and the Transcendent Function'” Paper presented at First Regional Congress of the International Association for Social Psychiatry, Santa Barbara, CA. 1977; and First International Conference of the American Dance Therapy Association, Toronto, Canada. 1977. Reprinted in Authentic Movement, edited by Patrizia Pallaro. Cohen, Bonnie Bainbridge. Sensing, Feeling and Action. Contact Editions, Northampton, MA. 1993. Frosh, Stephen. The Politics of Psychoanalysis. Yale University Press, New Haven/London. 1987. Hartley, Linda. Wisdom of the Body Moving - An Introduction to Body-Mind Centering. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA. 1995. ________. Somatic Psychology: Body, Mind and Meaning. Whurr Publishers Ltd, London. 2004. ________. “Embodying the Sense of Self”. In New Dimensions in Body Psychotherapy, edited by Nick Totton. Open University Press. 2005 (In press). Juhan, Deane. Job's Body - A Handbook for Bodywork. Station Hill Press, Barrytown, New York. 1987. Menzam, Cherionna. Dancing our Birth: Prenatal and Birth Themes in Dance, Movement, Art, Dreams, Language, Myth, Ritual, Play, and Psychotherapy. The Union Institute Graduate College, PhD Thesis. 2002. Mills, Marghe & Cohen, Bonnie Bainbridge. Developmental Movement Therapy. School for Body-Mind Centering, Amherst, MA. 1979. Pallaro, Patrizia, editor. Authentic Movement. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London & Philadelphia. 1999. Rothschild, Babette. The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment. W.W. Norton & Co., New York & London. 2000. Stern, Daniel N. The Interpersonal World of the Infant. Basic Books, Harper Collins. 1985. Stokes, Beverly. Amazing Babies. Move Alive Media Inc, Toronto. 2002. Whitehouse, Mary Starks. “Physical Movement and Personality”. Paper presented to the Analytical Psychology Club of Los Angeles. 1963. Reprinted in Authentic Movement, edited by Patrizia Pallaro. © Linda Hartley. 2005 |
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