Contemporary Body Psychotherapy: The Chiron Approach looks at the ground-breaking work of the London based Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy, a training centre recognised worldwide by professionals in the field. The book brings together Chiron trainers and therapists, describing how their integrative approach has enabled cutting-edge thinking. Divided into two parts, the book deals with topics including: the roots and the development of the Chiron approach self-regulation - an evolving concept at the heart of body psychotherapy the evolution of an embodied, integral and relational approach to psychotherapy moving towards an integrative model of trauma therapy At a time when the psychotherapeutic profession has turned its interest towards the body and its intrinsic psychological dimension, Contemporary Body Psychotherapy: The Chiron Approach offers a timely and valuable contribution to the literature. It will provide essential reading for those practicing or involved with body psychotherapy, offering a new synthesis with the psychoanalytic tradition, as well as appealing to a wider audience of mental health professionals and academics with an interest in the area.

This book brings attention to the interface of psychotherapy and psychological theory with the somatic practices of bodywork and movement therapy. To offer a client only psychotherapy, or only bodywork may subtly or directly reinforce the body-mind split from which so many of us suffer; in some cases this will be a reinforcement of a dilemma central to the client's problems. Hartley views body psychotherapy and transpersonal psychotherapy as building bridges between the once separated processes of psyche, soma, and spirit. Today the emerging field of somatic psychology is also contributing to the expanded field of psychology a subtle differentiation of bodymind process, developed through almost a century and a half of research and practice in somatic therapy and education.

Originally trained as a dancer, movement therapist and bodywork practitioner, Hartley continues to use movement and somatic process as an important foundation for her own work. Training in Dance Movement Therapy, the transpersonal psychotherapy of Psychosynthesis, and Process-Oriented Psychology have further deepened Hartley's awareness of the relationships between psyche, soma and spirit, and the need to respond to all levels of experience in therapeutic work.

This comprehensive guide introduces Body-Mind Centering, the internationally recognized field pioneered by dancer and occupational therapist Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Devoting thirty-five years to a systematic investigation of the relations between bodily experience and the anatomical maps of science, Bainbridge Cohen independently discovered many of the principles that underlie Feldenkrais work, cranial osteopathy, Rolfing, dance therapy, and Zero Balancing. Experienced BMC practitioner Linda Hartley demonstrates the basic philosophy and key elements of Body-Mind Centering. Drawing on animal and infant movements, she takes readers through the wondrous realms of Bainbridge Cohen's pantheon--from the 'minds' of the skeletal and muscular systems to the quite different inner lives of digestive, lymphatic, urinary, respiratory, vocal, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive organs. Her choreography ultimately brings us into the states of consciousness of skins, cells, blood, fat, cerebrospinal fluid, nervous system, and brain. Hartley's explorations of the images, feelings, sensations, and intuitions of the diverse organs and cells lead to exercises that gently guide students in ways of discovering and integrating their bodies' multidimensional aspects.

The Fluid Nature of Being is a collection of writings by practitioners of Integrative Bodywork & Movement Therapy (IBMT), an approach to somatic movement education and therapy. The cultivation of consciously embodied movement is at the heart of somatic movement practice. Through embodiment practices, soma - the subjectively experienced sense of embodied self - becomes a vital, living reality and a foundation through which healthy relationship to others, to Nature, and to life as a whole can be nourished. The book describes the practice, thinking, research and creative work of twenty-one IBMT practitioners. Each has also trained in other disciplines and their writing weaves together their broader learning, passion and professional practice within the IBMT approach to somatic work. In this volume we offer a collection of expressions with a rich diversity of themes and styles, bringing these voices from the next generation of somatic movement practitioners, writers and leaders to a wider audience. The book covers topics such as IBMT in therapy, education, early years learning, dance and theatre; the integration with psychotherapy, psychoanalytic thinking, and somatic trauma therapy; and the connection between individual healing and the healing of the Earth and Nature during this time of planetary crisis. There are many aspects of IBMT practice described in this book that are shared with somatic practices in general, though there are also aspects which are specific to this approach. IBMT uniquely integrates in-depth studies in Somatic Psychology and the Discipline of Authentic Movement into a foundation of Body-Mind Centering(R) training. At the core of the practice is the quest to deepen connection with self, and from there, connection with others and the world around us.

Explores the rebirth of the feminine into individual and collective consciousness, and its importance to women at a time when the unquestionable power and authority of the patriarchy is on the wane. Re-emergence of the deep feminine is often heralded by periods of psycho-spiritual crisis or illness, which demand an encounter with our innermost depths. This book offers meaningful and positive perspectives from which to view our descents into illness, depression, and the dark realms of the underworld. Turning to ancient wisdom, we rediscover a relationship to such events that nurtures their potential for personal and collective healing and transformation. We find maps to guide us through uncharted territories of the psyche in the ancient myths of descent to the Goddess, and the initiatory journeys of the shaman -- a way for women to empower themselves through embracing suffering and being grounded in their depths. Servants of the Sacred Dream is a celebration of the human capacity to face courageously what lies beyond superficial concerns, drawing meaning from suffering, to engage more fully and vividly in the creative and healing dance of life, death, and rebirth. It guides the read

Contemporary Body Psychotherapy: The Chiron Approach looks at the ground-breaking work of the London based Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy, a training centre recognised worldwide by professionals in the field. The book brings together Chiron trainers and therapists, describing how their integrative approach has enabled cutting-edge thinking. Divided into two parts, the book deals with topics including: the roots and the development of the Chiron approach self-regulation - an evolving concept at the heart of body psychotherapy the evolution of an embodied, integral and relational approach to psychotherapy moving towards an integrative model of trauma therapy At a time when the psychotherapeutic profession has turned its interest towards the body and its intrinsic psychological dimension, Contemporary Body Psychotherapy: The Chiron Approach offers a timely and valuable contribution to the literature. It will provide essential reading for those practicing or involved with body psychotherapy, offering a new synthesis with the psychoanalytic tradition, as well as appealing to a wider audience of mental health professionals and academics with an interest in the area.