The three main influences on the approach to dissociation and parts work in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy will be discussed, and practical, easy-to-implement somatic interventions will be presented to initiate change in entrenched patterns.
We will explore the theory of Structural Dissociation, highlighting how the body reflects and supports both the parts of the self involved in everyday life and those frozen in traumatic time, and how the body can become a resource in helping these parts to communicate and cooperate.
Additional topics include: how to introduce body psychotherapy to the client; the importance of body-oriented psychoeducation; the risks and responsibilities of going “too far” and of not going “far enough”; titration strategies for working at the regulatory boundaries of the window of tolerance; the use of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy’s “directed mindfulness” to reduce activation when working with the body; and how to harness neuroplasticity and develop new neural pathways.
Recognising that new actions, like new words, may be experienced as threatening or contradictory by certain parts of the self, we will explore how to avoid overwhelming internal parts when working with posture and movement, and how to draw on the body to integrate a patient’s dissociative parts.
A mindful mapping of internal parts will be introduced, together with worksheets designed for use with clients to support the mapping of the physical tendencies of dissociative parts, to encourage mindful awareness of them, and to identify their resources.
The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach and interventions will be illustrated through case examples of dissociative clients. By the end of the course, participants will have gained a new perspective on how simple body-oriented techniques can begin to open the door to change even for the most complex clients.
