Doris Brothers and Jon Sletvold, "A New Vision of Psychoanalytic Theory, Practice and Supervision: Talking Bodies" (Routledge, 2023)
Mar 5, 2024
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Join the discussion on a new vision of psychoanalytic theory, practice, and supervision through an embodied approach. Discover how traumatic experiences disrupt the flow of human attention and the importance of viewing therapy as a meeting between 'foreign bodies'. Dive into case studies showcasing the benefits of talking bodies in healing processes.
Shifting focus to embodied experiences in psychoanalysis helps understand trauma and enhance therapeutic encounters.
Integrating body-focused approaches in therapy deepens relationships and uncovers implicit dynamics for enriched outcomes.
Deep dives
Exploring a New Vision of Psychoanalytic Theory and Practice
Doris Brothers and Yoon Stetvall discuss their collaborative book, 'Talking Bodies,' which delves into a fresh perspective on psychoanalytic theory, practice, and supervision. The motivation behind their collaboration stemmed from a mutual interest in trauma and uncertainty in therapy. By integrating the body into psychoanalysis, they aim to help individuals tolerate uncertainty and engage in embodied experiences to deepen therapeutic encounters.
Transition Towards Integrating Embodiment in Psychoanalysis
The shift towards an embodied approach in psychoanalysis involves focusing more on immediate bodily sensations and experiences to gain insight into both self and patient. By downplaying reliance on abstract concepts, therapists can engage more fully in the therapeutic process, fostering surprise, wonder, and authentic connections. This shift aims to enrich therapeutic encounters by prioritizing embodied experiences over theoretical constructs.
Challenges and Evolution in Psychoanalytic Practices
Psychoanalysis faces historical barriers to incorporating embodiment due to its emphasis on concepts over immediate bodily experiences. Overcoming these barriers involves actively working with the body to deepen therapeutic relationships and uncover implicit relational dynamics. The evolving landscape in psychoanalytic practices reflects a growing interest in integrating body-focused approaches to enrich therapeutic outcomes and understandings.
Revolutionizing Supervision with an Embodied Lens
Brothers and Stetvall's innovative supervision model centers around attending to therapists' bodily reactions and sensations when working with clients. This experiential approach encourages supervisors to embody the patient's experience, fostering deeper insights and self-awareness. By amplifying embodied knowing and relational experiences in supervision, therapists can enhance their clinical work and navigate complexities with greater sensitivity.
By viewing psychoanalysis through the lens of embodiment, Brothers and Sletvold suggest a shift away from traditional concept-based theory and offer new ways to understand traumatic experiences, to describe the therapeutic exchange and to enhance the supervisory process.
Since traditional psychoanalytic language does not readily lend itself to embodied experience, the authors place particular emphasis on the words I, you,we and world, to describe the flow of human attention. Offering new insights into trauma, this book demonstrates how traumatic experiences and efforts to regain certainty in one’s psychological life involve profound disruptions of this flow. With a new understanding of transference, resistance and interpretation, the authors ultimately show how much can be gained from viewing the analytic exchange as a meeting between foreign bodies.