The speaking body
Ata Journal of Psychotherapy Aotearoa New Zealand December 30, 2008 DOI: 10.9791/ajpanz.2008.02 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6 |
| Population | Psychotherapists who meditate |
| Key findings | Argues that meditation practice may enable therapists to develop body-based counter-transference, enhancing their ability to sense patients' unconscious experiences and temporarily suspend psychic boundaries. |
Abstract
Psychotherapists who practice Buddhist meditation can develop a heightened awareness of their own body sensations. Some psychotherapists develop the skill of using their body awareness inter-subjectively: their bodies can become sensitive instruments that resonate with the unconscious emotional and physical experiences of their patients and clients, in a form of body-based counter-transference. This article discusses two clinical vignettes from a study of the work of six psychotherapists who meditate, in Auckland, London, New York, and Boston (Solomon, 2008). The author suggests that the practice of insight meditation (vipassana), and other forms of meditation, may enable therapists to achieve "evenly-suspended attention" (Freud, 1912), develop their sensitivity to body sensations and body counter-transferences, and temporarily suspend psychic boundaries between self and other.