thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
sense of just howthey live in their body on a daily basis with the premisefrom awareness springs change. Of course our postureis something that we pretty much unconsciously createand over time it becomes our innate expression of whowe are. It is the result of how we organize our experience.Some aspects we integrate and grow from, andsome we are wounded and stunted by. These pieces ofunintegrated experience are what I see as pieces of thebody frozen in time, causing us pain and discomfort.One of the premises of quantum physics is that energyis matter frozen in time, (the good news being that theyare interchangeable), so it is fascinating to see this energetictruncation expressed in a body posture. Of courseposture when it is combined with movement is a powerfulimage creator. We can see someone we know from adistance and recognize who it is straight away from howthey are moving, well before we can see the detail of theirface. Why? Because they move in time and space in avery particular way. I see movement as an expression ofour character, and that is why in Hellerwork we play withmovement awareness.In a way, the whole process of Hellerwork is likean experiment. I am constantly checking in with my clientso how do you notice that? I invite them in to theirinner body experience, into the world of sensation. Asstudents of Hakomi we discovered that we often did nothave a vocabulary for our inner sensational experience andcould not really describe the sensation that went alongwith sadness how do you know that it is sadness? In aHellerwork session I teach clients to study the body sensationsthat go along with their experience of receivingbodywork and in turn there is the invitation to study thesensations that go along with any emotions or thoughtsthat may come up. In a Hellerwork session I might alsoinvite my client to notice how the pain in an area mightintensify in certain positions, when they moved in a particularway or when they are feeling an emotion or thinking athought. When I slow it right down, they usually find outother things they are doing alongside the discomfort theyare experiencing often a deep breath will bring awareness,and as only the body can do, from awareness thingschange. What they were experiencing as extreme discom-Continued on page 1616enough to be in the world. At that moment it was thefirst real direct eye contact between us (this is 6 monthsinto the therapy), and she was able to face herself, whoshe was and had become. She took a sabbatical fromher work, much under the protest of her father, intenselystudied alternative healing modalities and enjoyed herselftremendously. She then returned to the business on thecondition that her father was to step back in his roles andshe was to run the business on her own. He complied andshe turned this business into an environment that shefavoured, with new environmental policies and internalnew business structures that supported women in thismale-dominated business: equality of pay, and processesfor disgruntled workers to have a voice.At the time of therapy termination she had notbeen in a lasting relationship, but began to date men.
drew you to Hakomi?A workshop I did with Maya and John, and a strong senseof the inherent restraint in Hakomi. I guess as someonewho is quite emotional and intense, I found it very liberatingto see a tradition of psychotherapy thats really aboutself-study, pausing and going deeper, and not about beingcathartic or expressing and dramatising the feeling state. Ilove the focus of non-violence and mindfulness.whats helped to shape you as a psychotherapist?I think respect and kindness. Perhaps Ive been shaped bythe personal as political notion, and I think that we live ina profoundly troubled world in lots of ways.How did you and Hakomi `find` each other?A good friend, Subhana, had done the training. I did aworkshop in Brisbane and just remember having a reallypowerful experience of coming home to myself on somedeeper level. It felt very in tune with my values, having hadquite a strong background in meditation and a focus onnon-violence and mindfulness.Could you briefly tell us about your background?Ive lived for close to thirty years in an intentionalBuddhist-inspired community on the north coast ofN.S.W, with a focus on living simply, respecting the earthand cultivating an intimate, small village life. My mainworking life has been broadly in social-welfare, domesticviolence and am currently working in mental health.Youre about to finish the Training, any comments?Three years have flashed by and sometimes I feel like I`mstill in kindergarten. I think I understand and live by theprinciples, but the skills are very subtle and far-reaching.Its been a really wonderful learning for me and I feel thatI`ve become much more robust as a human being. I havea real sense of gratitude about it.Any thoughts on your future with Hakomi?I hope to do the Relationship Training with Halko. TheHakomi training has felt like an apprenticeship in an areaof life where I`m not ripe enough to move on from. I feelit would deepen the work weve done over the last threeyears, and yet create a slightly different channel.How does your spiritual life inform the way you work?I`ve got a reasonably strong sitting background from bothVipassana and Zen meditation, Christopher Titmus inthe Vipassana Insight tradition and Robert Aitkin in theDiamond sangha. I feel like I`m a person whos had enormousprivileges and maybe thats why I want to work withpeople whove had much tougher times than me. I lovethe Dalai Lama`s line of my religion is kindness andanother from the Desert Monks tradition of Live love,let love invade you, it will never fail to teach you what youmust do. Thats what interests me in spiritual practise.Anything else about who you are that you want to add?I think were in a time of enormous suffering and a timeof enormous material inequity, and maybe thats whatspurs me to work in a N.G.O in mental illness (but itcould be some other kind of field). I don`t know that I feelparticularly called to do private practice: theres somethingthat I love about working in a good functioning team, butreally bringing the Hakomi principles into the nature ofthe work that I do.What are you reading right now?I`ve just finished Irving Yalom`s wonderful, Momma andthe Meaning of Life,
participate fully, you will need to be committed togrowing as a therapist while using this method.You can expect to feel refreshed, inspired, andempowered to use your skills with clear intention followingeach meeting. These sessions are forprofessional development and as such, will notinvolve personal processing.This series
Transference/Countertransference Systems A Practical Model of How to Assess Themand How to InterveneRob Fisher, MFTIt was already 30 minutes into the session and I was feeling intensely uncomfortable. Specifically, in my countertransference to this obviously talented and active woman, I felt useless and ineffective as a therapist. Although I have suffered bouts of low self-esteem in my life, I do not generally feel this way, so the event was noteworthy. Helen, my client, kept talking, coming up with insights and feelings, which, at least outwardly, made the session look like real psychotherapy. I knew however, that I had done very little except to squirm occasionally, and say an infrequent uh huh, as she had undertaken the session very much on her own.What is a transference/countertransference system?Therapists and clients, as well as intimate partners, easily slip into relational systems based on neurologically held historical models of the world. These systems involve repetitive sequences of perception, feeling and behavior that elicit predictable reactions from others. These reactions, in turn, reinforce the underlying beliefs and models of the world of each person. For instance, a client may have an internal representation of relationships in which no one is there to help her. She then acts from this by doing therapy all by herself without really using the expertise of the therapist or depending in any way on them. The therapist then starts feeling extraneous and gives up trying, letting the client do it by herself. This reinforces her original belief that the she cannot depend on anyone.How do you notice it?Often the therapist will begin to notice some form of personal discomfort when systems begin to play out. This can take many forms such as: feeling overwhelmed, bored, intimidated, parental, admiring, useless, very interested, or attracted; feeling like a savior or persecutor; wanting to get away from the client; having an impulse to push or punish the client; becoming highly goal oriented or pressured to perform; , having a sense that things are spinning and not moving forward, or being basically stuck. Any of these may be clues to the clients entrenched psyche.If you find yourself experiencing some of this, it is time to sit back and notice what the client is doing to evoke this in you. It is equally important to separate out what part OF this interaction resides in your own psychology, and notice what you are doing to contribute to the perpetuance of the system.What can you do about it?Elegantly intervening in systems is one of the most difficult and, if well done, masterful aspects of psychotherapy. Often the system that occurs in a session is a hologram of how the client limits him or herself in outside life and provides a key to disentangling their psyche. It also creates a substantial potential for alienating a client if not performed skillfully, as comments in engagement with this realm can easily be interpreted as judgmental. Here are some basic approaches to begin to work with care in this arena:Name the observable elements silently: Internally notice what the client is doing to contribute
to the system as well as what you, the therapist might be doing to initiate or maintain it. For instance, you may notice yourself getting angry. Then you notice a pattern: the client seems to agree to pursue a certain topic, but when you start they either slow things down or gradually find a way to change the direction.Develop a way of communicating this to client: Lets assume, for this example, that your client tends to be self reliant, has difficulty stating their needs and approaches therapy consistently with this characterological trait. (How a client does therapy is an important key to understanding their character and underlying issues.)Four possible ways to name it:Operationally: You seem to be doing this all by yourself.Generously: You have a lot of skill in staying focused on a topic and having insights without my having to do very much.Metaphorically: You are like a lone wolf here, strong and self reliant, but still separateRelationally: You arent taking much from me here and I am left feeling kind of like a fifth wheel.Explore it together: Naming it is not enough. Find a way to explore with the client the underlying models of the world and relationship (in this case, perhaps, No one is ever here for me). This can be done in more or less cognitive formats depending on your theoretical orientation. In Hakomi Experiential Psychology we work directly with the live, present moment experience, first having the client study in mindfulness the somatic and emotional nuances how they construct their interpretation of the relationship, and then experimenting with new options in an experiential way.For example, the therapist might say, So, you seem to be doing this all by yourself, like a lone wolf. Maybe you can keep working this way, but also study it from the inside. You even sit forward without letting yourself rest against the back of the couch. Really let yourself do that and notice what memories, images, sensations, feelings etc. seem to go along with that. This would immerse him in his current experience so that he can become conscious of the underlying emotionally laden beliefs that govern his current behavior. Information comes from his current experience rather than from conjecture about his psyche. Later the therapist might say, Maybe we can try something different. How about Ill take the lead and you can notice what you like and what you dont like about it, how it may feel nourishing, and how some part of you may object.Summary: While it is presumptuous to simplify this complex and subtle aspect of therapy into a few short paragraphs, exploring systems between client and therapist can be a key to successful psychotherapy. Recognizing the presence of a system in psychotherapy, naming it and finding a skillful way to explore it with the client can help release them from the dominance of early wounds, beliefs and blueprints of reality that limit both their therapy progress and everyday worlds.
ensure that no one ever had the same kind of power over her again, shedadopted a strategy, a relational model, requiring her to rely only on herself. Thoughsuperficially functionalshe could protect herself from being hurtthis strategysentenced her to the feeling of lonely disconnection that had brought her to therapy. Infact, this kind of strategy tends to recruit others to act in predictable ways that reinforcethe underlying beliefsJane habitually dissuaded anybody from doing anything for her,which reinforced her distrust of others.As her feelings began to ebb, I commented, You learned not to rely on anythingor anyone, huh? Not even the back of the couch. How about we start by supporting yourback, so it doesnt have to hold you up all on its own?I was speaking somatically and metaphorically here. Could she risk taking insupport after so many betrayals to her trust? This experience was designed to challengethe neural pathways that had led her to self-reliance, and to help her develop a new set ofneuronal firings that would permit greater nourishment and support. Jane began toexperiment with just leaning back and trusting the couch. While she explored the simple,metaphorical act of leaning, I encouraged her to slowly and mindfully notice her subtleinternal reactions. As she did so, I could see her gradually relax her body, as she realizedshe could lean a little on the couch without losing herself.Its important for you to be strong, I said, but it separates you from others.Now, it feels as if a softer part is calling to you, but youre not sure its a good idea tofollow it. She agreed. I get trapped in my own hardness. Wed taken the first few stepsin the direction of her relearning the ability to engage in healthy, interdependentrelationships.Transformation and IntegrationSeveral weeks later, I noticed that as Jane talked to me, she looked at me slightlyout of the corners of her eyes. I was still looking for signs of the old patternscompulsive self-reliance and the dismissal of human warmthso I said, Sometimes youlook right at me, and sometimes you look from the side of your eyes. How about weexplore the difference between the two looks?She agreed, and I asked her to turn her attention inward, noticing the thoughts,feelings, sensations, memories, and images that arose as she tried each way of looking.She reported that when she looked directly at me, she felt vulnerable, and when shelooked at me somewhat sideways, she felt more protected, though lonely. I told her thatshe was entitled to look at me any way she wanted, and that she could decide which shewanted to do now; she could exercise her choice. She decided to look directly at me, andas she did, she smiled and then started to chuckle. She said, I feel a bit scared, but thisis really what I want.The next goal was to help her stabilize this resourceful experience. I asked her totake her time, to make room for this mirth bubbling up and the sense of connection, tonotice how it lived in her body, and the words and impulses that came with it. Havingclients immerse themselves in
new experiences builds new neural pathways. Immersionin expansive experiences is at least as important as immersion in the experience ofwounds and limitations.During ensuing sessions, we returned many times to this constellation of issues.Each new pass helped Jane clarify the beliefs structuring her reality and the risks shecould take to create new experiences and generate new models of the world. Shepracticed allowing herself to depend more on me without losing her self-reliance. Shelooked at me directly without losing her choice to withdraw when she wanted. Then shebecame increasingly able to transfer the vulnerability she showed in sessions to herrelationship with her husband. She gained the ability to ask him for more time andcloseness in a way that engaged him because of its genuineness and lack of the hostilitythat previously had accompanied her requests. He started to find her more interestingthan the car engines that had been so absorbing.At this point, she suggested it might be helpful to invite her husband to a sessionto help consolidate her gains in therapy. This is the integration stage, in which itsimportant to help clients weave their newfound options and ways of behaving into thefabric of their daily social and professional lives. Frequently partners prefer homeostasisto changes in their relationship, and can undercut therapy. When Charles arrived, hiseyes looked big and hypervigilant. Unsure of what to expect, he seemed more scaredthan oppositional to his wifes new way of being. After I checked in with himconversationally about how hed been experiencing the changes in Jane, she brought upthe feeling that she couldnt lean on him. Unsure whether she was referring to herinability to lean or his inability to support her, I suggested we try this out inmindfulnessto have her actually practice leaning physically on himto see what theeffect might be on each of them. It turned out that it was hard for her to do this, as itinvolved facing the demons of disappointment in all the people whod failed her in thepast. When she finally succeeded and let her head come to rest on Charless shoulder, hebreathed a sigh of relief.Feels good, huh? I said.Yeah, I finally feel useful to her, and less like shes looking for trouble, hesaid. I asked him to tell this to her directly, which challenged his tendency to withdraw.But, inspired by her smile, he was able to tell her about his discomfort. As it was beyondthe work of an adjunctive session, I suggested that it might be helpful for him tocontinue with this theme in individual therapy with someone else. As Jane became betterable to hold a new model of support in her life and integrate it into her relationships, itwas time to start thinking about bringing therapy to a close.Shed arrived in therapy determined to feel less isolated. We saw how herimplicit belief in the unreliability of support, and her tendency to look tough and pretendthat she had no needs, pushed others away. This observation guided the interventionsover the next few months. Rather than being remote and barely accessible, Janesunconscious spoke of its implicit models of the world in many ways: in gestures,posture,
her style of relating to me in the moment. Over time, we continued to explorethe changes that eventually carried into her personal life.At the heart of the process was Janes growing ability to experience an attunementin the therapeutic relationship that slowly allowed her to feel safe and held, somethingthat hadnt happened for her as a child. By learning to mindfully explore her organizingbeliefs as they revealed themselves in the present, she accessed memories and resourcesthat touched her deeply and allowed her to experiment with new ways of being, insideand outside of therapy.Click here to visit the Psychotherapy Networker website and read commentary on thisarticle or use this link:http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/currentissue/1324-case-study
and Talk.a full breath, we can see how body posture can affect apersons sense of wellbeing. The head falls off its verticalaccess making the back and shoulder muscles workharder. The back and neck start to hold the necessary tensionassociated with holding up the 12 to 14 lbs that thehead weighs and the ribcage and diaphragm work harderto get a breath in because of the depressed chest. When breath is restricted, more stress hormones are created bythe subtle and not so subtle physical demands that arebeing put on the immune system, which in turn start toeffect health and wellbeing. At a very primal level whenthe body doesnt get enough oxygen there is a messagesent out that something is slightly amiss. It goes intoa yellow alert not enough to make it a red alert, butenough to have the autonomic nervous system engagedat above normal. Further, in this posture, to maintain verticalitythrough the whole body the pelvis has to slightlyalter its position, and in this case pushes forward andjams the whole torso down on to the back of the hip joint.The low back to counter this braces arches forward - thisis the classic sway back posture. Whatever job this personhas, whether it be in a clerical situation where they aresitting at a computer for extended periods of time, or ifthey are active and moving (nursing, mother with smallchildren etc) the body will not like this posture. Overtime they may present with the physical symptoms of lowback problems, difficulty with breath, neck issues, lack ofvitality from lack of oxygen, and possibly over time lowgrade depression. They start to not enjoy their work, andtheir relationships with others start to dull and suffer. Lifestarts to become hard which is further expressed in posturalcontraction. There is always the discussion of whatcame first the psychological depression or the posturaldysfunction in my view its a non linear experience and itis all happening at the same time in layers.Our whole chemical makeup can change with ashift in either attitude or circumstance which in turn influencesevery system in the body. Candice Pert says in herbook Molecules of Emotion, that the mind as we experienceit is immaterial, yet it has a physical substrate, whichis both the body and the brain.It may also be said to have a non material, nonphysical substrate that has to do with the flow of thatinformation. The mind, then, is that which holds thenetwork together, often acting below our conciousness,linking and coordinating the major systems and theirorgans and cells in an intelligently orchestrated symphonyof life. Thus we might refer to the whole system as a psychosomaticinformation network, linking psyche, whichcomprises all that is of an ostensibly nonmaterial nature,such as mind, emotion, and soul, to soma, which is thematerial world of molecules, cells and organs. Mind andbody, psyche and soma.Compared to most mainstream medical practicewhich is more focused on symptom, Hellerwork is veryinterested in causation. As in Hakomi, we see that theperson brings in their whole story it is a mind bodyissue, not just their sore back or neck symptom. We areinterested in helping our client to get a sense of