The place of touch in Counselling and Psychotherapy and the potential for healing within the therapeutic relationship | Issue 68: Autumn 2012 | IAHIP

For those of us who have attachment issues, trauma, pre-verbal trauma , those who were neglected or abused, this is a really good article. Its quite long but well worth a read

[jelly-bean]

Thank you for posting this. I'm going to save it and read it when I have more time to spend on it.

[unaluna]

I thought it was a good article and that it describes what i have / do with my current t. Except for the belly bumping!

[Asiablue]

Very interesting. I totally buy into touch as healing. I think in many ways it's a quicker way to heal trauma than raking over the past week in week out. Touch reaches us and communicates something really important to us. When we are traumatised, it's our bodies that hold the trauma, that's where it gets stuck so it makes sense to use touch to help unblock it.

Hankster you should try the belly bumping it's fun
I thought it was a really good article that defies all beliefs about touching and dared to express all options. She sounds like an excellent therapist to have.
I agree Asia in that our bodies remember trauma it is stored in our cells and through touch it can help heal but also re traumatise, it's important to get a really experienced t when working with trauma. Even talking about stuff can re traumatise us. Trauma is stored until released and talking doesn't release the body memories. I think body psychotherapy really is the way to go. Gestalt has helped me to reconnect with my body, I was disconnected for so long. My t doesn't really work with my body only the feelings that are trapped.
I am going to print off the article and keep it.

[SoupDragon]

Fab article thanks.

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by monalisasmile

Hankster you should try the belly bumping it's fun
I thought it was a really good article. I am going to print off the article and keep it.

Seriously, i agree, i found myself wanting to highlight sentences. About the t, about the client. Also she included some more recent people's work, who are apparently building on the work of some of my old favorites, like Balint and Harlow, so i would like to read more of them, i hadnt heard of them.

The Harlow experiments are heart breaking but it just goes to show how much a baby needs it's mothers love no matter what species. I did highlight sentences for college. It's an article that really spoke to me. I don't know if you have heard of this book, it's called "why love matters" by Sue Gerhardt, it's an incredible book especially for those of us who were never loved as littke ones.

That was a really good article. My therapist uses touch and it has been the most healing part of therapy.

[rainbow8]

Originally Posted by monalisasmile

The place of touch in Counselling and Psychotherapy and the potential for healing within the therapeutic relationship | Issue 68: Autumn 2012 | IAHIP

For those of us who have attachment issues, trauma, pre-verbal trauma , those who were neglected or abused, this is a really good article. Its quite long but well worth a read

Thank you very much, Mona!!! This article validates my therapy!! Holding my T's hand provides me with something I missed as an infant. Talk therapy alone does not do that. What a great article.

[rainbow8]

Originally Posted by Asiablue

Very interesting. I totally buy into touch as healing. I think in many ways it's a quicker way to heal trauma than raking over the past week in week out. Touch reaches us and communicates something really important to us. When we are traumatised, it's our bodies that hold the trauma, that's where it gets stuck so it makes sense to use touch to help unblock it.

What you wrote is exactly the premise of somatic experiencing! Our bodies hold the trauma, so working with those sensations is a way to release the effects of the trauma.