How to maintain the boundaries of personality between an ex-husband. Personal Boundaries - How not to lose yourself

Body-oriented therapy is based on the idea of ​​the inseparable connection of the psychological, mental state with physical sensations, the physiological health of the body and the whole organism.

This type of therapy is based on a direct and constant interaction on the psychological state of physical actions and vice versa: psychological experiences on health and the state of the physiological parameters of the body. Thus, body-oriented therapy closely links any changes in the state of the physical and psychological.

The principles of body-oriented therapy

The therapy has a number of features that distinguish it from other therapeutic practices. Serious statistics also confirm the effectiveness of the therapy: more than 90% of all cases with psychological and physical problems ended positively after a course of body-oriented psychotherapy.

Features of body-oriented therapy:

• Establishing harmony in psychological and emotional terms;
• The use of techniques and techniques aimed at revealing the physical resources of a person;
• Bioenergetics as one of the methods of influence of body-oriented therapy;
• The combination of physical impact with the psychological contacts of the patient and the psychotherapist;

In what cases is it effective?

This direction of therapy is able to solve a wide range of different personality problems, combining an integrated approach and the integrity of treatment.

• Psychological clamps, self-doubt, fears of failure;
• Some physical diseases: arthritis, sprains, local pains, etc.;
• Insomnia;
• Uncontrolled manifestations of emotions;
• Panic attacks;
• phobias;
• Inability to relax, distract from thoughts and problems.

The whole spectrum of action of body-oriented therapy is difficult to fit in one list, since the situations in which this direction can be applied may be different, and the possibility of prescribing this therapy is decided by the doctor.

What happens during therapy?

During the passage of body-oriented therapy, the patient goes through not only a conversation with a psychotherapist, but also through physical procedures. They are selected by a specialist depending on the patient's problems. The doctor sets the duration of the course, the regularity and degree of exposure to one method or another.

In general, the process of body-oriented therapy can be described by the following scheme of actions:

• Conversation with a psychotherapist;
• Identification of mental and physical problems;
• Discussing possible solutions;
• Direct impact on the human body by certain methods and the use of psychological practices to get rid of psychological clamps.

The steps can be supplemented by the actions necessary to solve the problem, therapy can include many other areas, practices and psychological techniques. Everything should be aimed at working out and getting rid of the problem.

Methods that can be used

This therapy provides for a very large number of acceptable methods, which makes this type of treatment complex and universal.

The specific methods used in body-oriented therapy can be expanded to include dance, elements of martial arts, and some other areas in the therapy process.

Body-Oriented Therapy is in many cases the most effective and most acceptable method of all transpersonal methods.

BODY-ORIENTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

The term "psychotherapy" I use very loosely. After all, this term itself is taken from medicine and implies the presence of a therapist and a patient. "Patient" in Latin means "passive". And it turns out that in this format, by default, the situation of the therapist's dominance, the lack of equal interaction, is laid.
And this is completely inconsistent with the work that we do in our sessions.
No dominance on my part and no passivity on the part of the person who came to this session is implied. This is a very lively, contact, interactive work. Rather, I would call it "in-depth self-exploration" than any kind of therapy.

But since the term "body-oriented psychotherapy" is now quite widely known, understood, and even popular somewhere, I left it.

In addition, this term contains a very important indication of working with the body. After all, our work is really very "body-oriented".
Whatever we talk about, whatever we consider or explore, we constantly listen to the body, work with breathing, periodically switch to some kind of massage, visceral or soft manual techniques. Bodywork is intimately woven into this deep self-exploration.

And therefore, let "body-oriented psychotherapy" remain for the time being, although with all the above clarifications :)

First, let's show how a standard session of body-oriented psychotherapy looks like in my system:

Soul and body: a close relationship

Any psychological problems can be divided into two main categories. The first category includes those problems that are caused by purely external stress or physical injury. The second category includes problems generated by super-heavy events of personal history, mental trauma, shocks, stress, as well as simply character traits - insecurity, restlessness, anxiety, irritability, resentment, self-pity or self-flagellation, etc.

Problems of the first category, as a rule, are obvious to us - a person lived normally, got into a traumatic situation (catastrophe, accident, attack), was injured, and as a result - pain, stiffness, etc.
Or a less extreme version of the same thing - a person began to constantly work at a computer, and after a while his neck and shoulders began to hurt ... In both cases, the cause and effect is obvious.

But the problems of the second category are obvious, unfortunately, not to everyone, but only to those people who have at least some idea of ​​the psychosomatic connection between the psyche and the body.
And that connection is great!

Take a very common example: the standard trauma of loss. Let's say that a beloved person suddenly passed away - a friend, relative, etc.
Grief washed over my head.
And so, day after day, month after month, a person lives, internally not accepting, not agreeing with this loss.
Internally, subconsciously, he shrinks and somewhere in the depths, stubbornly repeats "no, no, no, this is not, this is not, I do not agree, I do not agree" ...
He stubbornly does not want to admit, he refuses to accept this fact, despite the fact that he understands everything perfectly with his mind ...
And six months later, he suddenly discovers, say, tachycardia ...
Or some other obvious physiological failure in the body ...

Will a person be able to trace, catch, intuitively track this connection or not be able to - she still exists!
And this has been known to all true healers since ancient times.

Our body very psychological!

Or you can say otherwise - our psyche is very physiological.

All mental trauma experienced by a person, strong mental shocks and stresses remain in the form of tension in the nervous system, which in turn creates tension in the muscles of the body, smooth muscles of internal organs, and gradually enslaves them.

And it turns out that a person goes to massage therapists and chiropractors for a long, long time so that they finally relieve him of muscle pain or backache, and the cause of these problems may lie in some kind of mental shock, severe stress that occurred recently or far in the past ...

The same applies to many diseases, including chronic ones - a person visits doctors, takes mountains of expensive drugs without any special results, and the cause of the disease lies in the subconscious, because post-traumatic nervous tension affects not only muscles, but also physiology.

Appeal to doctors and massage therapists without working through this causal level problems, does not fundamentally solve anything, and on the contrary, complicates the situation, because modern drugs themselves are rather ambiguous...

What to do with this hidden tension of the nervous system? How to remove it, how to get rid of the effects of stress stuck in the subconscious?

Methods of modern body-oriented psychotherapy.

Moreover, it should be noted that, unlike other psychotherapeutic approaches, when solving problems within the framework of this therapy, it is possible to work even with UNSPEAKABLE PROBLEMS - those that a person is not able to talk about.

Usually, when coming to a psychologist, a person should talk about his problem, describe it, identify ...

What if the person is uncomfortable talking about the problem or describing the situation that caused the problem?
If a person's throat intercepts at the mere thought of what happened to him or is happening now?
If, at the first words about this problem, his heart starts to falter and the pressure jumps sharply?
If shame, fear, despair, pain suffocates?...
And, in the end, if, by the nature of his activity, a person does not have the right to talk about his problem?

And the problem sits in the throat, in the shoulders, in the back, in the nerves and does not allow you to live normally ... You have to take medications that essentially do not solve anything, but only drive the problem deeper ...

Body-oriented psychotherapy allows solving such problems as well.

To get started, in principle, no information about the problem is required, it is enough to say "Doctor, I have THIS"(in what sense - there is a symptom) - and you can work ...

So, body-oriented psychotherapy works through the subtle interaction of the body and mind to reduce negative activation in the nervous system.

This approach has a clear neurobiological basis, and relies on the intrinsic ability of the nervous system to respond flexibly to stress.

At any period of a person's life, some super-heavy events for him can lead to a change in the nervous system, which will negatively affect the person's feelings and his relationship with the outside world. Body-Oriented Psychotherapy allows the nervous system to internally integrate(in other words, "digest") these super-heavy events and restore the balance of the mental and physical life of a person.

What does "teleska" work with?

1. Witness trauma- when the person not involved in a catastrophic event, but was or is a direct witness to it. For example, a person witnessed an air, car or railway accident, a terrorist attack, a natural disaster.
This also includes situations when some difficult event or process occurs before a person’s eyes, for example, the illness of a relative or loved one, the death of a loved one (for example, sluggish oncology, when even a simple stay in an oncology or tube dispensary leaves a heavy mark on the soul) . Or it could be prosecution, imprisonment of someone close to you.
To the same category injuries refers to the situation when a person lives next to a dependent relative - a drug addict, alcoholic, gamer, etc.

2. The trauma of loss- the death of people who are infinitely close and dear to us, who literally “sprouted” in us (or in whom we ourselves “sprouted”). Despite the fact that the mind understands everything, and even accepts (if, say, it is the natural death of a very elderly relative), the emotional plane, the nervous system, the body are overwhelmed with pain. And this pain does not disappear with time, but only loses its external sharpness.
This also includes situations rubbed andfriends or loved ones as a result rupture of relations parting (especially if the parting happened as a result of deceit, slander, betrayal, etc.).
When a loved one leaves, and even more so leaves, then the wound from such an event can be no less long and painful than death. This is exactly what, in fact, is sung in the famous song: "parting is a little death " ...
To the same category injuriesgenerally refers to the loss of something very valuable: some kind of social-career-cultural status, lifestyle, social circle, occupation, business, i.e. any serious loss. It might even be banalmoving to another place residence.
And the same with This includes the loss of some habitual "pillars" of existence, to which a person is accustomed, which are already firmly included in the exchange cycle, but which he decided to give up: smoking, alcohol, and other addictions. When a person “quits” or “quits”, realizing on the mental plane all the harm that he brings to his health, the body inevitably goes through a period of “breaking”, when the void that has arisen has not yet been filled with anything positive. Accordingly, the stronger and longer the attachment, addiction, the deeper and more painful the breaking will be.

***I want to note an important point - here we mean the situation when a person has ALREADY DECIDED AND ALREADY QUIT, and not the situation when he still wants to quit, or, moreover, the situation when someone (relatives, acquaintances, etc.) wants the person to quit. My sphere- this is exactly the situation when a person has decided by himself and made a step by himself- then there is precisely this trauma of loss - a loss that has already taken place.***

3. High Impact Trauma: man-made disasters (auto, motorcycle, air, industrial, etc.), natural disasters. Syndromes of compression, falling. Strong fright.
This also includes the feeling of shame (say, when a child is shamed in front of the whole class), states of humiliation / contempt / mockery and sexual harassment.

4. Assault injury: armed attack, hostage taking, rape, robbery.

5. Medical and dental trauma Key words: surgery, anesthesia, intoxication, poisoning, hospital syndrome.

6. Global activation: perinatal distress, birth trauma, drowning, suffocation, use of hallucinogens, etc. This also includes nightmares, problems of terrible dreams.

The list of traumatic events that leave wounds in a person’s soul can be continued.more and more. But for the overall picture, it is quite possible to limit ourselves to the above list.
We only note that even if there were no super-heavy events and powerful shocks associated with them, in a person’s life in his memory, many of his muscle clamps and tensions can occur from forgotten incidents, as well as simply from a stressful environment in which a person stay for a long time (hard work, busy business, service in a hot spot, imprisonment, etc.)

In addition to mental trauma, body-oriented psychotherapy can work simply as consciousness correction.
In this case, the term "therapy" itself, in general, does not even fit, since a person, in principle, does not need any treatment, no therapy. It is healthy, but it needs a mild correction, to feel more fullness and harmony of life, for a brighter, creative and creative lifestyle.

The main breathing technique that I practice in my work is rebirthing.
In English it sounds like rebirthing, and since in Russian phonetics there is no complete equivalent to the sound " th", then in Russian transcription this technique is called by different people in different ways: "rebirthing", "rebesing", rebirsing", etc.
I am used to the "rebirthing" option and therefore I use it, although someday I will certainly develop my own concept of breathing and, accordingly, the name will be different.
My practical and theoretical developments in this regard have long gone beyond the classical rebirthing, but so far my hands just don’t reach large-scale theoretical work, because I’m still too passionate about practice and work almost non-stop :)
And therefore, for the time being, in terms of terminology, I remain with this old, familiar terminology.

In general, you can see how the rebirthing session looks like in this video (although a training session was filmed there, when I also explained to the student the nuances of working with the breather:

Now a little more:
This really wonderful, unique healing technique was developed by the American psychologist Leonard Orr in the 70s of the last century. It is currently widely used throughout the world.

I studied this technique in 1993 with Doctor of Psychology Vladimir Kozlov at Yaroslavl University. That's where I got my certification.
But the biggest influence on me as a practitioner was L. Orr's student New Zealand rebefer Hoyt Drake, who taught me personally when he visited me during his trip to Russia in the summer of 1993.

The main focus of this technique is release of energy locked in the body.
Thanks to the practice of rebirthing, a person is freed from stress accumulations and the consequences of various psychological traumas, as a result of which vital energy is released.

As you know, the muscle layer of a person becomes more rigid and tense with age (by the way, this is why the term “muscle corset” appeared in body-oriented psychology).
Even without any special studies, there is a lot of evidence for this in our daily life. For example, we know that in the morning, after sleep, a person's height is 2-3 cm more than in the evening - i.e. we see that during the night a certain percentage of muscle tension goes away. And another well-known fact is that after death a person is stretched by as much as 8-10 cm. This is what kind of tension we carry in ourselves if the muscles relax so much when we leave the body!

How does this tension build up in us?

First, it is, of course, our daily workload. Monotonous movements, hypodynamia (which, as you know, enslaves muscles no weaker than physical exertion), carrying briefcases, bags on one shoulder, uncomfortable sitting posture, etc., etc.
And secondly, these are stronger and deeper psychological stresses, shocks, traumas, dramatic life situations, losses, disappointments...
In our everyday view, it is believed that the situation of psychological stress, shock is completed and resolved when a person psychologically forgot, turned off, calmed down.
But the whole point is that the human body also at your level experiencing stress, and therefore the consequences of this stress must be eliminated on the same physical level which is usually not done.

At the moment (or period) of stress, a lot of physiological changes occur in the body: breathing, heartbeat, spasms, tension, muscle clamps, etc.
A person, whose attention is absorbed by the current situation, registers with his consciousness only the largest physiological changes, which is commonly referred to as “a lump in the throat”, “the heart sank”, “the breath caught”, “knees gave way”, etc.
But at the same time, many other, less noticeable, but no less significant changes for the body, remain outside the sphere of consciousness, and that is why a person in most cases does not consciously engage in physiological harmonization after stress.
Of course, there is a certain percentage of people in whom the necessary regulation occurs spontaneously, but usually this level of the problem is solved by us on the principle of “prick and forget”: tranquilizers, alcohol, drugs, or milder forms, such as travel.
Of course, all these methods do not solve the problem in essence, but only distract our consciousness from it, drive this tension deep into the body, displace it into the unconscious

As a result, a lot of different microclamps, spasms, constrictions in the muscles remain, many failures in the functioning of organs, glands, body systems also do not go anywhere, not to mention the general loss of vitality, energy, lightness and mobility.
Rebirthing technique directly works with the above-described physiological consequences of stresses previously experienced by a person.

All the details and nuances of this technique are discussed with the client before the session, but speaking in general, the principle of operation of this technique is as follows.

Special types of breathing that a person breathes during a session, include those parts of the brain that are not involved in everyday life, including the parts associated with the body's self-regulation system.
As a result of this, micro-clamps, spasms, tensions hidden from everyday consciousness appear, become clearly conscious and through a specially designed system of actions, there is a liberation from these negative phenomena.

Many human diseases are caused precisely by these subconscious layers, which are practically not subject to any chemical preparations: whether artificial (medicines) or natural (phytotherapy, nutritional supplements, etc.)
Many human neuroses have the same cause.
Uncertainty, various fears, phobias, various inferiority complexes, general emotional enslavement and even weight changes are also often the product of the physiological consequences of stress and psychological trauma accumulated over many years.
The so-called "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" - a very common diagnosis today, is very effectively solved through rebirthing.

Another important property of rebirthing is that it fills the chronic "hunger for sensations" that we have in our stressful city life...
Harmonious, voluminous, deep sensations are also a kind of food for our body - as important as the physical food that we eat by mouth.
Without enough, and more importantly - bodily sensations Our body starves and suffers no less than without physical food. Just us we do not recognize this hunger We don't recognize him by sight...

In more detail, this topic - the topic of "hunger for sensations" - is considered by me in this material.

And finally, rebirthing may well be practiced outside of any therapeutic, healing context. It can be practiced simply as a wonderful general health technique.
It is just like a massage: we may well go for a massage, not because something hurts us, but simply because it is pleasant and good for the body.
Like a good massage, rebirthing has a high general health and tonic effect.
By the way, the duration of one rebirthing session is basically the same as the duration of a good general massage - on average, it is 1.5 hours.

So far I have developed my individual training program for rebirthing.

The purpose of this course is, firstly, to teach a person about rebirthing, so that he gets this most powerful tool of self-regulation in his hands, secondly, to get all the benefits that rebirthing gives for the health of the body and psyche, and thirdly, to get an unforgettable, vivid experience self-knowledge.

In terms of its healing effect, this course is in no way inferior to a full-fledged massage course. And in its renewing, revitalizing effect on the nervous system, it even surpasses the course of massage.
The fact is that muscle tension accumulates both as a result of external physical exertion and overload, and as a result of our psychological, mental ups and downs in life.
The latter can enslave the muscles even more strongly and deeply than simple physical activity.
So, muscle blocks generated by psychological reasons cannot be treated with any massage, or they will be removed only by some small, completely insignificant percentage.
Rebirthing with such muscle blocks works very effectively.
Often my clients and I combine a massage course and a rebirthing course with very good results.

Breathing technique during this course is fully developed.
And besides, a person receives a good set of integrative psychotechniques that can be used both in a rebirthing session and at any other time, even when we are in public.

Read more about this rebirthing training course -.

In addition to rebirthing, in some rare cases, I use another breathing technique - holotropic breathing.
This breathing technique was developed by an American psychologist, now a world-famous scientist S. Grof.

The theoretical basis of this technique is transpersonal psychology, the creator of which is S. Grof.
I learned this technique in 1994 from one of the first Russian students of S. Grof, Doctor of Philosophy V. Maikov, now the head of the Moscow Transpersonal Center. I passed the certification program in transpersonal psychology at the Moscow Institute of Integrative Psychology (MIIP), with German Karelsky, a student of V. Maikov
The main focus and principle of action of holotropic breathing practically coincides with what was said about rebirthing, but the way of breathing itself, its structure and rhythm are different.
This technique is harder and more intense. Compared to rebirthing, I would even say rough...
This is a kind of "total shake-up" of the whole organism.
It requires from a person much more physical strength, endurance, as well as a fairly high general level of health.
In addition, it has many more contraindications and "side effects".
In its biochemical essence, this is an anti-physiological technique and is in no way suitable for constant practice - at least in terms of health. And therefore I consider positioning it as the main technique in transpersonal psychology a fundamental methodological mistake.
But with all this, I can’t deny the fact that in some cases it still works.
I use it quite rarely, only in case of special need, and only with clients who have passed my rebirthing course, i.e. people who already have a good skill in integrative work.
You can listen to more about the differences and nuances of rebirthing and holotropic therapy on my audio recordings, where I, in particular, touch on this issue.
In the same place, on the records, the difference between group therapy, as is mainly practiced in the holotropic, and individual work is analyzed in some detail.
These audio recordings are on the rebirthing page, .

INTEGRATIVE PSYCHOTECHNIQUES

Integrative psychotechnics are very diverse. But with all the external diversity, they have the same meaning and direction - integration, i.e. gathering man, restoring his integrity.
Everything that, due to many life circumstances, turned out to be repressed, suppressed - all this must be consciously and experienced if we want to get rid of the "burden" that we feel in ourselves over the years and from those diseases into which, over time, the whole this repressed stuff...

The state of wholeness, integrity is lightness both in the soul and in the body.
Lightness, joy, inner light...

And this is not superficiality, not "indifference", from which, at first glance, it seems to be easy too. But this is really only at first glance, because indifference, by definition irresponsible.

The man simply threw off the responsibility.
But after all, it is impossible to dump responsibly just like that, to nowhere! If someone dropped it, then it will definitely fall on someone else! Nature, as you know, does not tolerate emptiness ...

That is, a person, as they say, faded from responsibility, it became easier for him, but it became easier for him only because the one on whom he dumped this responsibility - it became harder!
And it doesn’t matter who exactly is the one on whom this responsibility fell - parents, grandparents, husband / wife, lover / lover, friend / girlfriend, child, or is it some kind of external organization: a team, a circle of friends, the state, monastery...

No matter where, the person "delegated" responsibility for himself. It is important that someone definitely took it - and it doesn’t matter consciously or unconsciously (as, by the way, children who sincerely love their parents often do) ...

So this "lightness of indifference" - it is not real, incomplete!

Such an approach to life is justified for a child, or at least for a teenager.

And for an adult, it is absolutely unacceptable, because the indifference of an adult is almost always someone's additional burden, someone's additional responsibility.

Integrity is not superficial.

And the lightness that we feel when we are whole is the lightness with all that responsibility what we have as adults...
And despite all this burden, responsibility, the complexity of many problems - our own and those people who depend on us (children, elderly parents, subordinates, etc.), we feel lightness and light inside. We feel the depth of meaning and the deep joy of life - a quiet, calm, bottomless joy, which, like the sky above our heads, gives a feeling of inner freedom, inner volume, inner space ...

In household tradition, this is called " happiness". In the philosophical tradition, this is called " Meaning"(precisely with a capital letter). In religious tradition, this is called" grace". In the esoteric tradition it is called " self-existence".

This is how you can describe integrity, integration.

Well, integrative techniques help us with this.

We use these techniques both in combination with rebirthing and independently, as a separate practice, a separate work, which, in fact, is called "integrative work", "integrative practice" or simply "integrative".
In more detail and expanded about it and about the techniques that are used there - on the relevant page .

*****

BINAURAL RHYTHMS IN BODY-ORIENTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

Recently, the topic of binaural beats has become quite famous among people who are passionate about self-knowledge and self-development. On the Internet you can find a lot of different, sometimes conflicting information about binaural beats. There are opinions both "for" and "against". Moreover, both of them are based on someone's living experience. I also use this technology in my practice, I have already fully studied, mastered and put into practice a lot of it. And so the picture of the phenomenon is more or less defined.

The term "binaural" comes from Latin: "bini" - "two" and "auris" - "ear"

* * *

Further, I will note some more special, specific areas of application of body-oriented psychotherapy.
Firstly, it is work with specialists whose work is connected with people and their problems. These are doctors, psychologists, massage therapists, cosmeptologists, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and various social services.
Secondly, it is work in the field of psychology of self-knowledge, that is, with people focused on spiritual search, self-knowledge and self-improvement.

Since this does not apply to all people, I will talk about this in more detail on separate pages. So,

Today's article is an interview that I gave to Pharmacy Business magazine. We can forget childhood psychological traumas, but the body will never forget them. How to learn to stay in your own body here and now, free it from fears and clamps - I tried to tell about this in our conversation with Olga Alekseeva.

Thanks to Olga for asking interesting questions and preparing this material for release.

So, the method of body-oriented psychotherapy ...

OA: If you try to explain in simple terms, what is body-oriented psychotherapy (BOP)?
I.S. First of all, it is psychotherapy. The goals and objectives here are the same as in any other direction in psychotherapy: there is a client's problem that he wants to solve - the so-called "request". What distinguishes psychotherapeutic areas is the way to solve this problem.

Working in line with TOP, we solve a psychological problem by involving the client's body. The body acts as a means of both psychological diagnostics and psychotherapeutic transformation. Unlike doctors, we do not work with the body, but through the body. The body gives us access to the psychological world of the client.

Therefore, a specialist with a basic psychological education, and not a medical one, can work in line with the TOP.

O.A. What is the corporal approach based on, what are its possibilities and main postulates?
I.S.: The basic law of the TOP says: "Bodily and psychological are equal." Figuratively speaking, the client's body is a map of his soul. The body can tell the story of a person: key traumas, upheavals, a psychological portrait, psychosomatic risk zones (in which dysfunctions are most likely to occur), an individual life strategy, resources ... This is not about genetic characteristics, but about those disorders that form during life, in according to the experience gained.
So, in response to an emotion, a bodily reaction necessarily occurs. If someone has a certain experience for a long time, it is fixed in his body. For example, chronic fear, insecurity make you press your head into your shoulders, while the shoulders seem to roll forward, a collapse forms in the chest. And this posture becomes habitual.

Accordingly, according to the usual postures, movements, posture, facial expression, muscle condition, we can make a psychological portrait. And by influencing the body - to change the psychological state, self-perception, attitude.
At the same time, we influence the body not only through touch, although among the TOP methods there is, for example, massage. But we also use breathing techniques, static and motor exercises, meditations, the use of a bodily metaphor (for example, we ask the client to depict his problem with his body), we connect drawing (for example, you can draw a bodily symptom).
There is a certain touch ethic in TOP. We always ask permission for physical contact with the client, we respect his right to say “No”. Almost always, the client remains fully clothed - with the exception of techniques that require direct muscle work.

Touching the genital area and breasts in women is always taboo.

The body reflects our entire history.

OA: Wilhelm Reich was the first to pay attention to human bodily reactions, then Alexander Lowen and others. Has anything changed since that time, maybe the studies point to some erroneous conclusions, or vice versa?
I.S. TOP exists and develops for almost a century. Of course, during this time a lot has changed, knowledge is expanding and deepening. At the moment, more than 100 TOP schools have been recognized, but almost all of them are based on W. Reich's somatic vegetotherapy. His thesaurus, introduced principles of work, basic theoretical concepts are preserved: the idea of ​​the “muscle shell” as chronic muscle tension.

Reich divided the muscular shell into 7 segments (blocks), each of them endowed with a certain psychological symbolism. But he was a psychoanalyst and sexualized so many psychological processes. Modern TOP no longer considers sexuality as a central issue.

Also, modern TOP talks about the impact on the subsequent life of the prenatal period and the characteristics of the birth process. It is also worth noting that Reich considered only chronic muscle hypertonicity (the "fight" reaction) as a problem, later they began to talk about the problem of hypotonicity (the "surrender" reaction).

Wilhelm Reich - founder of TOP

OA: How does TOP differ from psychotherapy, and how does a body therapist differ from an ordinary psychotherapist?
I.S. TOP is one of the areas of psychotherapy. In order to work in this direction, you need to have a basic psychological or medical education, as well as undergo special additional TOP training.

A body-oriented psychotherapist is a psychotherapist who has chosen to specialize in TOP, just as a cardiologist is a doctor who has chosen to specialize in cardiology.

OA: What is happening in the community of body therapists today, what are the prospects for this approach? Are there several schools within the TOP?
I.S.: At the moment there are more than 100 well-known and recognized TOP schools. Now almost all spheres of scientific knowledge are developing and enriching at an incredible pace, the same is happening with the TOP. Most likely, the TOP will become more and more popular.

Firstly, the TOP is more understandable to customers, because Outwardly, it seems close to their usual medicine - some manipulations with the body.

Second, the average person lacks a healthy loving relationship with their body. Our culture of corporality is instrumental, the body wears out like a tool, care for it is neglected, but it is required that it be beautiful and executive. TOP helps develop a loving, respectful attitude towards your body, increases self-acceptance.

OA: Is TOP treated in combination with an analytical approach or is it a completely independent course of treatment?
I.S.: TOP is an independent direction in psychotherapy, with its own theoretical and practical base. But it is not enough for any psychotherapist to be an expert in only one direction. There is a recommendation for a working specialist: to master 3-5 different areas in psychotherapy. This applies to any psychotherapist.

О.А.: With what requests do people most often come to a body psychotherapist? Can you make a top list?
I.S.: You can come to a body-oriented psychotherapist with any psychological request, as well as to any other psychotherapist. But in accordance with the specifics of the TOP, these requests more often concern the body. For example, the client is aware that he is critical of his body, dissatisfied with it, and wants to increase self-acceptance.

They often come with chronic tension in the body, difficulties with relaxation - this is a common problem for residents of the metropolis.

Also treated with somatic symptoms and psychosomatic disorders; in this case, we will definitely inform clients that the help of a psychotherapist does not replace the necessary medical help, they need to be combined. Recently, more and more doctors have begun to refer to body-oriented psychotherapists - in the case when it is obvious that “the disease is from the nerves”, that is, the patient needs to receive psychological help. Doctors and I are not competitors, we complement each other's work, this increases the effectiveness of treatment.

O.A.: How is the TOP session going? Is the client doing the exercises or do you still need to talk first?
I.S.: The main method of influence in any psychotherapeutic direction is discussion. We always talk with the client, like other psychotherapists: we collect his story, clarify the request (the purpose of the work), ask about important events, dreams between our meetings ... At the end of the meeting, we summarize. As for the TOP exercises themselves, there are those that are done almost silently, and there are those during which there is a dialogue.

OA: Is it better to study in a group or individually?
I.S.: There are both group and individual forms of work in the TOP. Each has its own advantages. Usually, individual work goes deeper, it is easier for the client to open up. But the group gives the effect of group support.

OA: Are there any contraindications to using the method?
I.S.: In general, there are no contraindications to the use of TOP, because TOP has different methods and many techniques. There are limitations in the use of specific exercises, at the level of common sense: for example, when working with pregnant women or with the elderly, exercises that require significant physical effort are not used. But if one thing does not suit the client, another can be used.

Therefore, TOP is used to work with a wide contingent: children, adolescents, adults, the elderly; with norm and pathology; with pregnant women; with addicts (alcoholics, drug addicts, gamblers…), etc.

О.А.: Psychotherapy can last for several years, but what are the terms for TOP?
I.S.: In TOP, as in other schools of psychotherapy, there is a “short-term work”: from 4 to 10 meetings. And "long-term psychotherapy", over 10 meetings. This "above" can last for several months or several years. It all depends on what result the client wants to achieve and at what point he is now.

For example, a girl has difficulty communicating with the opposite sex. It's one thing if a little self-doubt interferes with her. It's another matter if there is rape in her story, and even with aggravating circumstances ... These will be different stories of psychological work, of different duration.

О.А.: Do you often come to those who have not received results from verbal psychotherapy?
I.S.: Yes, it happens, but in most cases the problem is not in the method used, but in the client's unpreparedness - his unwillingness to change. A trip to a psychologist can be “far-fetched”: fashionable, curious, forced by relatives ... In this case, the client has no motivation and cannot be effective work. The client begins to shift the responsibility: "Wrong method", "Wrong specialist" ...

Remember Winnie the Pooh? “These are the wrong bees. They make the wrong honey."

OA: There is another modern approach - bodynamics, how does it differ from TOP? Or does the second include the first?
I.S.: Bodynamic analysis (bodynamics) is a direction in the TOP that began to develop in Denmark in the 1970s. The founder is Lisbeth Marcher, she sometimes comes to Russia and teaches. Bodynamics is distinguished by clarity, structure, so doctors are interested in it - a close mentality.

According to Bodynamics, development is based on the desire to be interconnected with the world (and not Eros and Thanatos according to Z. Freud). Depending on childhood traumas, this desire is distorted: someone hides from the world, someone seeks to please everyone or control everyone ... Thus, a character structure (psychotype) is formed.

Probably, of all the TOP schools in Bodynamics, the most clear system of psychotypes: at what age, for what reason, the character structure is formed, how it manifests itself bodily and psychologically, how to mono-correct it ...

In bodynamics, a pre-study study of the psychological content of more than 100 muscles was carried out - it will probably be interesting for doctors to get acquainted with it.

OA: When a person comes to you for the first time, can you immediately determine the places of blocks, and therefore the main psychological problems, by his posture, body language, facial expressions, gestures?
I.S.: This is what body-oriented psychotherapists are taught - the so-called "body reading". It can be carried out in statics, in dynamics (when a person is motionless or moving). In the office, this saves time: in the first minutes you see a psychological portrait of a person and suggest what basic topics you need to work with.

OA: Does this skill of reading people hinder or help you in life outside of work?
I.S.: It is important for a psychotherapist to separate personal and professional. Do not become a psychotherapist for your loved ones. But elements of their knowledge can be used. For example, body reading skills help to better understand the emotional state of another person, develop empathy ...

OA: If I understand correctly, the first thing that is clearly seen during the TOP is the fears that are blocked in the body. Is it possible to draw a physical map of fears yourself, and what to do with them after?
I.S.: We have 4 basic feelings with which we are born: anger, joy, fear, sadness. Then, at the age of about 2-3 years, the so-called “social feelings” are added to them (not innate, but brought in from society): shame and guilt. All these feelings can be imprinted in the body, “frozen”. And the pattern of frozen feelings is individual. There are people who have a lot of fear in their bodies; someone filled with anger; or bent over with guilt... If we are not in touch with the feelings "stuck" in the body, they can manifest themselves through pain and illness. Yes, there is such an exercise: you can draw your body and note where feelings live in it (you can specify: “fear” or “anger”). This helps to get to know your feelings, reduces the risk of somatization.

OA: Are there differences in attitudes towards the body among different nationalities?
I.S.: Yes, “the culture of corporality” is a part of cultural peculiarities. Somewhere the body is still the "source of sin", in another culture the body is treated with respect, in the third - respect for manifestations of corporality, except for sexuality ... We definitely need to take into account the cultural characteristics of the client.

Working in line with the TOP, we first conduct a diagnostic interview, collecting information about its history. Among other things, we find out his origin, origins: nationality, belonging to a religious denomination, the social environment in which he grew up ...

There is a paradoxical relationship to the body in Western culture right now. On the one hand, great attention is paid to it: how many articles and programs about nutrition, plastic surgery, anti-aging ... On the other hand, this is a consumer attitude, the body is a kind of exploited object, it must perform certain functions and be a beautiful “business card” ... love for your body is sorely lacking.

OA: How can you build a new loving warm relationship with your own body?
I.S.: Perceive it as an integral, full-fledged part of one's personality, and not some kind of tool for life and a business card for society. Pay more attention to the signals coming from the body, do not neglect them. It's not just about pain symptoms. Even small bodily signals, such as tension in the stomach, a lump in the throat, are clues to our intuition, for example, help to sense the insincerity of the interlocutor.
Taking care of the body is not “objective”, like some kind of inanimate object: wash the dishes, wash the windows, wash your body ... But to carry out this care with love.
Now beauty is often put in the first place, but not health, in the name of bodily beauty, many destroy their health. The hierarchy has been broken, because health should always come first, and a healthy body is always beautiful, because it is harmonious. It is important to see your natural, natural bodily beauty that every person has, it just may differ from social patterns.

O.A.: What can you say about the need to apply to the TOP?
I.S.: You can turn to a TOP specialist with any psychological problem. Working through the body is just a way to solve it, just like an art therapist can use drawing. You can also come to a TOP specialist if you want to feel your body better, understand it and accept it.

OA: For those who do not yet have the opportunity to visit a body therapist, can you give a couple of exercises for homework?

1. Sit in a comfortable relaxed position or lie down. Close your eyes, tune in to yourself, to your body. Try to feel well the signals coming from the body. Answer your questions:
How relaxed is the body?
What parts of the body are holding tension?
What area of ​​the body is occupied by this tension?
— What are the patterns in localization? (right-left, upper body - lower, front surface of the body - back, limbs - torso ...)
Is it temporary or chronic?
How long has it been in you?
- What feelings can this tension hold, what memories?
Try to relax those parts of your body too.
Then, with your eyes open, make a drawing: sketch your body and note the tensions in it.
Performing this exercise regularly, you will become better acquainted with your bodily features, come closer to understanding the causes of this tension. Then it can weaken and even leave.

2. Create your Body Feeling Map. Draw your body and note where what feeling lives in it? Hint: remember when you experienced this or that emotion. How does the body respond, which zones are activated? This feeling lives on in them.
After drawing, consider it:
What feelings do you find easiest to track in yourself? Which ones are difficult and why?
- Are there emotions that you have not noted in the body? Why? Do they definitely “do not live” in you, or you simply could not find them in yourself?
— Are there areas of the body that are left unfilled? Imagine what feelings might still live in them.
- Are there parts of the body in which there are a lot of feelings? Be careful - these are areas of psychosomatic risk.
This exercise helps to establish contact with your body and feelings, integrates the bodily and emotional sphere, promotes the differentiation of emotions.

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy (BOT) is a modern trend in practical psychotherapy that addresses the psychological problems of a patient using body-oriented techniques. The approach combines psychological analysis and physical exercises. For TOP personality = body + mind + soul.

Bodynamic analysis is one of the methods of TOP, it is also called somatic developmental psychology. Knowledge of anatomy is key to the approach, as the founder of the method, Lisbeth Marcher, and her colleagues discovered the relationship between muscles and their psychological content. Namely, failures in the work of a certain muscle group indicate a certain pattern of patient behavior. Since at each stage of growing up a person reacts differently to the influences of the outside world, in the course of diagnostics it is possible to determine the age at which the client experienced psychological trauma.