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by:
Silvia Specht Boadella
David Boadella
Esther Frankel
Milton Corrêa
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In this issue we focus on many aspects of human and therapeutic contact.
The opening article Depth-Psychological Roots
of Biosynthesis
by David Boadella and Silvia Specht Boadella. gives an overview of the depth psychological roots of Biosynthesis.
Recent work in neurobiology has returned explicitly to validate the early affect and energy model of Freud, and implicitly the energetic work of Wilhelm Reich. The article on
Affect, Attachment and Attunement
by David Boadella sets the monumental work of Allan Schore in the context of the scientific and humanistic roots of Biosynthesis. Allan Schore will present his holistic approach, which integrates deep energetic understanding with a strong focus on resonance in relationships, at the 4th Biosynthesis Congress in Lisbon, next year.
The article by Leo van Buchem builds on the embryological article published in the last issue (Energy&Character Vol 33). In his work on
Emotions, movement and balance
Van Buchem draws on his embryological understanding, and on the concepts from Biosynthesis of ”centering, grounding and facing”, to present a therapeutic model which emphasizes the role of contact, boundaries and containment , and is supportive of many principles used in our therapeutic work in Biosynthesis.
Jerome Liss, a long standing contributor to Energy and Character, in his article
The Neurophysiology of the Emotions and of Consciousness: Recent Research
writes clearly and simply about key processes of neurophysiology which are relevant for all body psychotherapy schools. The neurobiological theme will also be taken further in the Lisbon congress next year.
Babette Rothschild in her article
The Physiology of Empathy: Negotiating our double-edge Sword continues the neurobiological theme, with her essay on the physiology of empathy. It is important to remember that when we
approach neurobiology we gain insights into fundamentals of brain and body physiology, but as Allan Schore reminds us, we cannot reduce emotional conditions to brain and body processes that accompany
them. Our model of causation needs to remain open to both directions: to the movement from body to mind and spirit, and to the reverse direction where spiritual and psychic processes themselves can
transform our physiology, and even our cellular processes within the immune system.
Courteney Young in his article Doing Effective Body Psychotherapy without Touch writes about
the other side of the use of touch in body psychotherapy, including ways in which body psychotherapy can use methods which do not involve touch. Touch is a topic with very strong
feelings attached in some countries, where there is fear, anxiety and confusion with conflicting codes, laws and mores. Another aspect that Courtney points in his article is the quality of
attunement that a body psychotherapist can have to the client’s vitality and ‘energetic’ affect without touching the physical body and that sometimes is more adequate to some of
our clients.
One of the founding figures of body psychotherapy, Charles Kelley, died this year. We enclose a short tribute to him, and the first of two extracts from his last book The
Life Force
where he emphasized the role of creativity . This theme is not only found in therapy but in cosmology and we have chosen to publish extracts on his view of the creative process in the universe as a whole.
The book
The Psychology of the Body
written by Elliot Greene and Barbara Goodrich-Dunn is reviewed by Jacqueline Carleton. The book includes a clear discussion of relevant mental health conditions and disorders including symptoms and an appraisal of the possible effects of touch. The authors also sug-gest when a patient should be referred and describe the dif-ferent types of mental health practitioners available.
The film
Turtles Can Fly
directed by Bahman Ghobadi is reviewed by Esther Frankel. She writes how this film speaks about the human inside the non-human, about affect, solidarity and attachment beyond the evil and how the children cope with tragedy not loosing their humanity, expressing their courage, softness, presence, and care for one another.
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