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The frequent association of depression with somatic symptoms suggests that body psychotherapy may be an appropriate therapeutic intervention for people with chronic depression. Using a subset of twenty-three participants from a randomized controlled trial that had demonstrated the effectiveness of such an intervention in reducing depressive symptoms, the present study investigated whether it may also impact aspects of construing which have been associated with depression. Patients presenting with chronic depression were randomly allocated to a treatment group or a waiting list group, which received body psychotherapy after a period on a waiting list. Correlations between repertory grid, questionnaire, and visual analogue measures indicated that depression and bodily dissatisfaction were associated with features of the content and structure of construing. There were no significant changes while patients were on the waiting list, but during treatment reduction in depression and bodily dissatisfaction, together with increase in self-esteem and quality of life, were accompanied by an increase in the salience of construing of the bodily self., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Over the course of the last decade a growing number of clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate and demonstrate the efficacy and clinical utility of body psychotherapy for various mental health problems. The statutory provider landscape for psychological therapies does however rarely provide these therapies for patients; several factors have been identified for this mismatch and among those the lack of university-accredited academic training schemes constitutes a major limitation for wider dissemination and implementation within highly regulated health care systems. This paper explores an innovative pilot to establish a master's programme in clinical psychology with a focus on embodiment in Turkey/Istanbul. The curriculum represents an integration of perspectives from various body psychotherapy schools. Findings of the pilot are encouraging and may serve as a template for the development of similar schemes with support from professional bodies such as the European and United States associations of body psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working therapeutically with and through embodiment is a topical issue in the psychoanalytic literature. Vice versa, body psychotherapy is deeply rooted in psychoanalytic theory and practice. This paper will explore corresponding themes, historic developments, and recent literature with reference to their actual and potential mutual influences, aiming to demonstrate: (1) that contemporary body psychotherapy practice continues to be informed and influenced by psychoanalytic theory, in particular the relational emphasis in psychoanalysis; and (2) that psychoanalytic psychotherapy, in turn, can be enriched and furthered while utilizing the theoretical paradigm of embodiment and body-oriented, experiential intervention strategies developed in body psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychotherapy practice and research are supposed to complement each other; however, links between them are usually only weakly developed. This study was designed and conducted with the aim of collecting information about body psychotherapy (BP) practice, and about research resources among body psychotherapists (BPs). A total of 404 body psychotherapists from 36 countries participated in an online survey. The findings revealed a great diversity of BP modalities currently practiced within and across different countries, especially diversity in respect to body psychotherapists' socio-demographic characteristics: 66.4% of participants were over 50 years old, suggesting a shortage of young people involved in both BP practice and research. Most therapists provide BP for adults in the format of individual sessions in private practice. Only a few BP practitioners work in mainstream healthcare settings. The results also suggest significant research knowledge, experience, and interest in research among BP practitioners; however, a lack of application of these research resources in body psychotherapy is noticeable. Results are discussed with an emphasis on the practical implications: i.e., the possible role for BP training schools to strengthen the research culture among practitioners, the importance of sharing BP experiences and research among different countries (and languages), and the need to develop collaborations between practitioners and academic groups in order to strengthen research capacities and accumulate knowledge about the intriguing construct of applied embodiment in BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current phenomenological approaches consider schizophrenia as a fundamental disturbance of the embodied self, or a disembodiment. This includes (I ) a weakening of the basic sense of self, (2) a disruption of implicit bodily functioning and (3) a disconnection from the intercorporeality with others. As a result of this disembodiment, the pre-reflective, practical immersion of the self in the shared world is lost. Instead, the relat.onship of self and world is in constant need of being reconstructed by deliberate efforts, leading to the growing perplexity and hyperreflexive ruminations that are found in schizophrenia patients. The paper distinguishes different levels of self-experience and relates them to :he psychopathology of schizophrenia, taking particularly into account disturbances of self-awareness, perception, action and intersubjectivity. On this basis, psychotherapeutic approaches based on body awareness and movement techniques are outlined that are suited tc foster self-management and enable patients to re-establish a more stable and coherent sense of self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence base for the effectiveness of body psychotherapy (BPT) in the treatment of severe mental disorders has improved much over the last decade; both methodologically robust randomised controlled trials and also qualitative studies demonstrated how BPT can contribute substantially to the treatment portfolio and help address chronic conditions and disorder-specific psychopathology. This paper summarises how BPT is utilised for the treating a range of severe mental disorders including mania and schizophreniform psychosis, personality disorder and severe anxiety as well as depressive disorders. The intervention strategies are related to specific body-oriented phenomena, i.e. disturbances of body experience and body-mind regulation disorders; the approaches are described in the context of a new theoretical paradigm of BPT as embodied and embedded relational psychotherapy, aiming to facilitate improved self/affect regulation. For each specific illness, a short sketch of the cardinal symptoms and body image phenomenology is followed by a summary of disorder-specific intervention strategies of BPT for severe mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]