Six Phases of Somatic Depth Psychology Process

2017

2009

Depth psychology (psycho-analysis, Analytical Psychology, Jungian psychology, archetypal psychology) lacks some if not all of the following in clinical praxis: systematic structure, well defined objectives, a working understanding of the psyche and the relations of self, subjectivity and objectivity, means of systematically appropriating the mind's full functional potential, and a clear understanding of psychopathology's relation to intentionality and human authenticity. Patients can be iatrogenically damaged by these shortcomings. Bernard Lonergan and Robert Doran offer self-appropriation, transcendental method, intentionality and psychic conversion as means of rectifying the shortcomings; these means were incorporated into clinical praxis with patients. The thesis describes Lonergan's and Doran's contributions, the means of clinically implementing them and some outcomes. As well, the impact on the training of depth psychologists is discussed.

Many parallels exist between clinical practice and research practice in somatic psychotherapy, creating rich possibilities and cross-fertilizations. In this article, the authors introduce and discuss these parallels, and examine how they can be leveraged to advance emerging research interests in the field of somatic psychology.

Research is a crucial element in advancing our collective knowledge of somatic psychology, but body and movement psychotherapists often struggle to engage in meaningful relationships with the psychology research literature and the community of scholars who typically produce it. This paper elaborates the common ground between research and somatic psychotherapy by linking the values, attitudes and skills of somatic psychotherapists with specific research methodologies. It traces the similarities between doing therapy and doing research, with a focus on the role of the therapist/researcher, and outlines a research method that somatic psychotherapists might consider as a basic framework when undertaking their own formal research.

Depth psychology is a deep and wide field, which can be approached from many angles. Throughout the course of learning about the many facets of depth psychology, one idea has stood out- that of depth psychology being the study of the edges and in-betweens of things. In conceptualizing this paper, images of the meeting places between themes- conscious and unconscious, psyche and soma, self and other, dreamer and image, collective and personal-continued to arise. Approaching depth psychology as the study of these meeting places, spaces between, and edges of things, seems to be a way to capture the dialectical nature of the field. Although often dwelling in the place of complex- of tension between opposites- the beauty and enigma of depth psychology is that it also encompasses those opposites. Joseph Coppin and Elizabeth Nelson describe this idea in The Art of Inquiry as that of the psyche being “dialectic”, that in the gap between things is “the source of all psychological life” (Coppin & Nelson, 2005, p. 80).

Integral Transpersonal Journal, 2019

The article covers the methodological characteristics and advantages of body-oriented insight-therapy. It describes recovery of subjectivity of the client and increase of the psycho-emotional and physical stability due to the therapeutic process. The article refers to the work of the psychological defense mechanisms in a session of the body-oriented insight-therapy. The authors highlight the principles of this type of therapeutic interaction – namely, partnership and conation – and provide definitions of key terms. Separately congruence and systemic approach to the method are disclosed with regard to the opportunity to determine the clear body markers of traumatic experience and successful therapy. Indications and limitations of the method are listed. KEYWORDS body-oriented insight therapy, vital attitudes, body-oriented therapy, analytical psychology, psychological defense mechanisms, “child’s decision”, subjectivity, Self, unconscious body image (l’image inconsciente du corps, Fra...

When we look at the basic methods the founders of depth psychology proposed to their patients to help them address their suffering, we find a common movement toward what could be called the liberation of being. This is so despite differing theoretical allegiances which led the masters to various interpretive schemas. The common impulse across depth psychologies to liberate being links depth psychology to perrenial spiritual traditions across time. I believe, it also speaks to the particular configurations of suffering in our historical/cultural time that Western depth psychotherapy has been committed to address and heal.

2024

This article aims to shed some light on the importance of embodiment and an embodied attitude towards data analysis, within the framework of a heuristic phenomenological inquiry. It is a process-oriented study, by which the authors want to point out that it is a partial/temporal interception of a larger body of research. It presents embodied reflection (ER), through the original concepts it stems from-embodiment and reflective practices, as a step/phase in the phenomenological analysis of experience. Thus it is proposed to the reader as a systematically described, newly designed tool, which can serve psychologists and psychotherapists in practice, qualitative researchers, or social workers in research and practice, to reach a fuller understanding of the researched/experienced phenomenon. ER is also presented as part of the data analysis procedure in a concrete research inquiry centered in the essence of improvisation in dance and body-oriented psychotherapy contexts. An added value of this tool and/or a contribution to any kind of phenomenological or psychotherapeutic qualitative study is discussed in relation to the existing literature. Some further possible ways of employing this method are proposed.

Abstract This essay explores a conceptual definition of psychological processes. Previous researchers from the fields of psychology and neuroscience have noted that improving the definition of psychological processes may be extremely useful to help current efforts to map the neurobiological basis of psychological phenomena. In this essay I suggest a conceptual path in which psychological processes might be characterized by their material, efficient, formal, and final causes. I briefly explore the potential use of this way of defining psychological processes for neuroscience and psychology, and also comment on the effect it may have for the traditional distinction between basic and higher-order processes. Resumen El ensayo tiene como objetivo explorar una definición conceptual de los procesos psicologicos. Investigadores contemporáneos en psicología y neurociencia han observado que mejorar la definición de los procesos psicológicos puede ser extremadamente útil para contribuir a los intentos actuales de localizar las bases neurobiológicas de los fenómenos psicológicos. En este ensayo sugiero una alternativa conceptual en la que los procesos psicológicos podrían ser caracterizados por sus causas materiales, formales, eficientes y finales. Brevemente exploro el potencial de esta forma de definir los procesos psicológicos en neurociencias y en psicología, así como sus posibles implicaciones en la distinción tradicional entre procesos básicos y procesos superiores. Resumo Neste ensaio exploro uma definição conceitual de processos psicologicos. Pesquisadores precedentes da psicologia e neurociência notaram que melhorando a definição de processos psicológicos poderia ser extremamente útil para contribuir com os esforços atuais para mapear a base neurobiológica do fenômeno psicológico. Sugiro uma via conceitual na qual os processos psicológicos possam ser caracterizados pelas suas causas materiais, causas eficazes, causas formais e causas finais. Brevemente exploro o uso potencial deste modo de definir os processos psicológicos para a neurociência e psicologia, e suas possíveis implicações para a distinção tradicional entre processos básicos e processos superiores.

New Ideas in Psychology, 2015

Psychological phenomena can be described on different levels of analysis: on an experiential level (e.g., what is it like to be attentive); and on a behavioral level (e.g., how does it become evident that someone is attentive). In the following, we outline how the widely prevalent focus on exclusively behavioral characteristics is insufficient and how our understanding of psychological phenomena can be enriched by taking the qualitative dimension of experience into consideration. We then scrutinize components of this experiential realm and report how it provides the stage for a third level: conceptual insight (e.g., what types or phases of attention can be distinguished). We subsequently look at the history of science and relate the behavioral aspect to the material realm (the realm of the body); the experiential aspect to what has been historically referred to as the soul realm; and the conceptual aspect to what has been historically referred to as the spirit realm. Finally, we add a first-person trial to delineate these concepts further and scrutinize them in light of contemporary theory-building.