Listening to the Moving Body

Abstract

This chapter describes various ways in which movement may be used in the field of body psychotherapy to promote psychological wellbeing. Body-oriented psychotherapy refers to those types of psychotherapy which are based on the belief that working on a bodily level has a direct impact on psychological functioning, since all experiences are stored in the body in various ways. As a body psychotherapist and a dancer, the author draws upon the diverse field of body psychotherapy on the one hand, and on the other, dance practices such as Butoh dance. These can be applied in trauma work, when movement is seen as an expression of the unconscious mind. There are also references to the use of stillness, very slow movement, and the use of ‘movement prescriptions’. All these movement interventions are discussed with relevant theoretical underpinnings, while clinical vignettes illustrate the concepts presented and their practical applications.