My T and I just had a long discussion on various "alternative" therapies. He talked a lot about the mind-body connection and even said that talk therapy is kind of old-fashioned! He does EMDR, which has a mind/body component, even though the T does not touch the client. We also talked of energy psychology/medicine, where the therapist touches certain pressure points on the client's body to release tension and negative energy. (I am probably not explaining this well at all since it was my first introduction to this.) He said it uses the same pressure points as acupuncture. We also talked about the body therapy, Feldenkrais, which releases tension through working joints and muscles (this can be done by the client by themselves or by a therapist). And about the Rubenfeld synergy method, which combines mind/body work with talk therapy. As the therapist's touch releases the stored stress and tension from issues the client is having, events from the past, etc., the client is encouraged to talk about what comes up for him. The combination of touch and talk is supposed to be very powerful and healing.

I really don't know anything about this stuff (except EMDR, which I have done), but this is what we talked about. T seemed to know a lot about these therapies, but doesn't practice them (except for EMDR). He does not touch his clients, but he showed me how to find therapists in my city who do this (even though I am not sure I want to do this--I have enough on my plate. I was just curious).

I would be very interested to hear from people about their experiences with bodywork. Did it help?