Creative  Healing  Movement

A lecture by Roberto Assagioli, M.D. titled Psychosomatic Medicine and Bio-Psychosynthesis is online.  The lecture was given before at the International Psychosomatic Week, in 1967.  The Psychosynthesis Research Foundation also published it in 1967.  It can be read online here: http://www.readanybook.com/online/209376 

In this lecture Assagioli says:

But the practice of psychosynthesis very soon revealed the necessity of including the body, that is to say, of recognizing and making use of the close ties that knit body and psyche, and the reciprocal actions and reactions between them. This has received full acknowledgment from both the theoretical and the practical standpoints, and for this reason the proper name of psychosynthesis is bio-psychosynthesis. (In practice it is usually more convenient to employ the word "psychosynthesis;" but it must be understood at all times that it includes the body, the bios, and that it always stands for "bio-psychosynthesis.")

I explain to potential clients that the body and mind affect each other.  When someone is ill or is having pain that limits their movement they often become frustrated and depressed.  Also, the mind affects the body.  When there are social, emotional, or mental struggles, people often feel physically tired.  This body mind connection can also be used to promote health and vibrancy.  

The variety of topics that I have studied influence and support what I offer with clients; Somatic Psychology, Art Therapy, Dance Therapy, yoga, and other physical therapies.  I have asked myself, what am I offering to clients?  Assagioli speaks of using many techniques and modes of therapy fluidly, within the framework of Psychosynthesis.

It [Psychosynthesis] thus appreciates and weighs the merits of all therapies,

all methods and techniques of treatment, without preconceived preferences.

. . . Not only are these combinations different, indeed unique, in

the case of each patient, but they vary continually during the course of

the illness and its treatment. (Assagioli)

Why is the healing work that I am offering Bio-Psychosynthesis?  There is a practice of exploration and communication, brining attention to contraction or expansion of consciousness, and an emphasis on supporting and connecting the client with their will.  Physical healing is increased through internal communication, support, acceptance, creativity, and movement.  All of these are developed through Psychosynthesis concepts that promote communication.  Communication can be developed among people, a person and their sub-personalities, or internally on a cellular level.  Appointments focus on chronic physical symptoms; night sweats, obesity, pain, tension, irregular menstruation, cancer, mobility issues, and physical injury.  

Psychosynthesis, through its developments in the interindividual and

social spheres, has included and evolved a variety of techniques, both for

the elimination of conflicts between individuals and groups, and between

groups and groups, and for their replacement by harmonious and con-

structive relations. The total aim is to promote and achieve the develop-

ment and integration of all aspects of human life into increasingly

expanding and inclusive wholes.  This is the spirit that animates

bio-psychosynthesis and is its ideal objective. (Assagioli)

By saying this, he radiates an increased communication outward through human interactions, but not inward on a cellular level into our bodies.  My work attempts to bring the inclusive wholeness internally to heal physical symptoms and bring more internal peace.  There are many examples of nature repeating itself in patterns from a microscopic level to a global or universal level.  My attempt is to take this pattern of promoting communication and integration to a cellular level into the body.   I hope to increase a person’s communication with their body to promote healing and a more harmonious and vibrant body, mind, and spirit.  One way that I have applied this in session is to help a woman with breast cancer create a dialogue between one of her red blood cells and one of her cancer cells. 

If the unconscious is not in our mind but in every cell of our body, then each cell holds memory and emotion.  The body speaks to us through physical symptoms and when we do not listen, it screams louder.  Like a child being ignored, our body acts up to get attention.  When we stop and listen, we receive memories, insight, emotions, and beliefs. There is always a message from the body’s physical symptom.  But often, we do not want to go into the unconscious.  As a culture, we prefer to numb our body’s voice with alcohol, drugs, medications, and operations.  All physical symptoms are connected to some message that the body is trying to offer, a guiding voice and resource.  In the way Psychosynthesis embraces all voices in a room or all sub personalities, Bio-Psychosynthesis embraces all cells or parts of the body, even parts that frustrate the “I”. 

Every session with clients, has been a journey of contraction to expansion.  I see this as an active oval diagram contracting from or expanding consciousness into parts of the lower and higher consciousness.  When there is emotional and social contraction, there is also physical contraction and visa versa.  They affect each other.  There are many therapeutic models that have documented this; Somatic Psychology, Continuum Movement, and Hellerwork to name a few.  In the practice of Somatic Psychology people may act out, use movement, voice, and imagery to experience their struggles.  This helps to bring about some resolve.  As in most Psychology, there is an emphasis on acting out or working on the problem, diagnosis, and treatment procedure.  There is an agenda.  Assagioli’s oval diagram encompasses the high and the low, all emotions and abilities (as presented through Psychosynthesis Palo Alto).  With this perspective there may be less agenda of where the client wants to explore.  They may speak of joy or pain, creativity or immobility, all are received.  

The reason that Psychosynthesis is my theoretical framework is that there is just as much respect and emphasis on joy as there is on pain.  Movement in either direction is movement of an expansion of consciousness.  Brining awareness to this expansion helps the individual feel empowered and like they have choice.  Their choice helps to empower and develop their “Will”.  Movement and stillness, expansion and contraction are treated with the same amount of respect.  There are times that my clients have become a tight little ball on the ground for fifteen minutes or more.  I know that if this is their choice, then it is useful for them.  It is their will to be here, so I can support their will.  This individual choice develops their strength to choose.  With choice they can have the strength to expand, once they are ready.  It has been important that Psychosynthesis is my theoretical foundation, to offer the the space to explore, even when it looks like stillness or non-exploration. 

I imagine the oval diagram as a three-dimensional form where the "I" awareness shrinks and expands.  This can be demonstrated by clasping hands together tightly or opening them and allowing more blood to flow.  Just as the psyche contracts, so does the soma.  Fear from social, emotional, or physical threats creates an increase of physical contraction.  Physical contraction happens at the same time as a decrease in emotion, awareness of emotion, and a more limited thought pattern.  The psyche contracts with the soma. The variety of possibility is lessened and creativity diminishes.  An example of this is a person in a Fight or Flight response.  Their body holds tension, their breathing is shallow, they resist feeling emotions, and their mind is often stuck on a limited thought pattern or memory.  Compare this to someone who came out of a restful stretching or healing practice.  Their body is soft and alive, their thinking is calm and clear, and they are often motivated to act or speak in creative, logical, and positive ways. 

When tension creates rigidity on a cellular level there is a decrease of breath, oxygen and blood flow.  Cells have a difficult time releasing toxins and receiving nourishment when they are more rigid, like cancer cells.  The therapeutic practice of Continuum Movement has examined this.  This same thing is happening physically, emotionally, and socially in the psyche.  “When this growth remains unrecognized or is repressed, or frustrated by environmental obstacles, psycho-somatic disturbances are produced.” (Assagioli)  When cells soften and relax, they can better receive nutrients and release toxins.  This same thing happens on a social and emotional level when the client of a Psychotherapist receives the support of a consistent ally and listener.

When we have emotional, social, or physical challenges, our body and our psyche contract.  We become less of who we are.  There is less expansion in the system.  We behave in a way that works with our surroundings, to blend and be acceptable and to not cause waves.  Humans are trained at a very young age to behave in acceptable ways to receive attention, comfort, and nourishment.  When we live from a more contracted state we are not at our full potential.  We do not experience the joy and ecstasy of our higher consciousness and we are numb from the intense pain of lower consciousness.  We pull away from experiencing.  Going to a counselor and speaking about thoughts and emotions may create a more expanded thought pattern.  This may help to become more expanded in the world and as a result become more creative.  A creative practice like dance or art may help to become more expanded and open up social or emotional thinking.  For example, there are studies that show exercise is a more effective way of treating depression than medication.  Our body movement affects our mind and mood movement.

It is difficult to expand into areas that are contracted.  Fear can hold us back.  Bringing awareness to sensation, the experience of the psyche, soma, and emotions can become interesting.  Interest can slow things down and create more space.  The practice of experiencing creates expansion by reducing fear.  Being with sensation is a practice that helps people to be in the present moment.  It slows down the Fight or Flight response.  The breath slows down and begins to open what has previously been contracted. I sit with clients as they experience the emotions and sensations in their body.  This sensory practice allows for expansion.  If I am present with them, there is support and acceptance.  It allows for the fear to rise and be experienced and this expands the psyche into the lower consciousness.  The consciousness is expanded three dimensionally and therefore will also bring the person into the higher consciousness.  “To confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light.” (Carl Jung)  What goes down must come up.  It is not my responsibility to bring them into their shadow or light, to bring them down or up.  If I sit with them knowing there are many possibilities of where they might venture, they will eventually take an adventure. 

I work with imagery and encourage clients to explain to me details of what it looks like inside their body or in the image that comes to them.  They may say that it is just black, nothing, or see a tight ball.  If I was coming from a different framework, I might interpret this as resistance.  It is important to not determine that they are fighting against my educated and helpful intelligence.  It is important for me to approach this with curiosity, without knowing what it feels like to them.  I ask them to describe the texture of the ball or imagine reaching their hand into the black nothing just to see what it feels like.  In my work of relieving physical symptoms, sensation and imagery are more important than logical explanations or stories of social events.  Often the logical story is overwhelming or stressful.  By watching their own personal imagery or feeling physical sensations, becomes interesting and there is more space.  Space offers room for contraction, expansion, shift, or more awareness.  The client can gather information and often the image or point of physical distress has wisdom or a need that will arise to help the whole psyche soma system.  

In session, a person begins with a story.  At some point in the story, there is something significant they are trying to show and bring into their awareness.  This can quickly be disregarded by their continuing to speak.  By asking them to take a moment and repeat significant words, they can move deeper into noticing the physical and emotional experience.  This can also be achieved by asking them to notice how their hands are being held or the way they are breathing or not breathing.  They bring more awareness to sensation, and then notice if anything else wants to happen.  The client moves from psyche into soma through sensation and experience. 

“Another specific contribution made by psychosynthesis is its reaffirmation of the importance and value of the will.” (Assagioli)  If I operate in a normal psychological treatment procedure, it is first important for me to question the client, make a judgment or diagnosis, and then apply a treatment procedure constructed by specialists, outside the individual’s physical and mental system.  Often medical and physical therapies do not work to reduce paint and tension.  I believe that they fail because they have not acknowledged the body’s subconscious will.  The intelligent psychological or medical procedure overrides the wisdom of their physical system and their will, with applied treatment.  By supporting the client’s direction, choice, and desire, I can follow the client’s physical and mental, individual path to healing. 

This healing is created through client’s drawings, words, breath, and movements.  As they acknowledge their internal process the defensiveness of the will relaxes and so do the cells, as the psyche, so the soma.  When the cells relax there is more blood flow, oxygen and more movement of breath.  Breath is the life force that helps cells to release toxins and receive nutrients, also to release old story and receive new ideas.

Because Psychosynthesis has an oval diagram, expansion of consciousness is not linear.  It is circular or three-dimensional.  When the client is allowed to expand, sing, dance, laugh, draw, imagine, it will bring them into their conflict with anything that is inhibiting them.  When they are allowed to cry, whale, scream, tighten, contract, freeze, it will bring them to their path of bliss.  I have seen this happen in every session.  If I wait without stress, the client will come to a point where their breathing expands and they experience feelings of calm and energy.  Just as the breath moves from inhale to exhale, the higher and lower consciousness are a fluid system.  If I hold my breath and contract against it, eventually I will expand into a full breath again.  By not interfering with the client’s will and following as they experience one second at a time, their body chooses and they practice both contraction and expansion in all directions.  This offers more empowerment of the will and we notice their ability to move.  

“The recognition and use of the will has great importance in psycho-

somatic medicine, and the execution of many of the psychological and

psycho-physical techniques demands the voluntary and active collabora-

tion of the patient. But this does not imply the use of the will only, but

requires a fundamental will to be cured. Where the will is deficient,

obstructed or overwhelmed by what has been called the counter-will

(Gegenwille), the death instinct (Freud), the tendency to self-destruction

(Menninger), it is important for the doctor to be well aware of the situa-

tion, and he must try to arouse or reinforce the will to be cured. Lacking

this, every therapeutic endeavor remains ineffective.” (Assagioli)

As Assagioli says this so clearly, I have witnessed this in every session with my clients.  I have worked with people with pain, tension, and lack of movement from stress, operations, injury, and cancer.  Each client’s story is different and there have been many variables, but the approach is the same and the sessions are all very similar.  We connect to their will, their power of choice, through words, sensation, movement, imagery, drawing, and breath.  They are in command of what happens next, how their movement or the drawing changes, and their decision to contract or expand.  Their will moves us from a more limited perspective and less choices to a more expanded view and more opportunities.  It does not instantly open or expand.  It moves like an organic form.  There is contraction and expansion and a repetition, just like a developing embryo.

One of my very first clients was a woman with breast cancer.  She spent the majority of each session speaking about her frustration with her relationships with everyone around her.  She had expanded her education, self-healing, and view of the world beyond her husband, relatives, and neighbors.  This social conflict left her saying consistently that she wanted to die.  We had spent some sessions exploring this feeling and thought.  I confronted her and let her know that eventually she could be aware of her choice and to decide if she wanted to live or die.  If she really did want to die, I did not want to work, against her will.  She went through a very difficult struggle.  The confrontation did not serve her, because her will was to struggle through this decision making process.  She wanted someone there with her as she considered a more expanded life or the contraction of death. 

Cells cannot be convinced, manipulated, or tricked.  They remain true and clear.  If they want to die they will work toward that end.  If they are mad at you they will be contracted.  Inside the body can be similar to an angry family member in a family system.  Once they have spoken and have been heard, they can become very receptive, energetic, and creative.  On a cellular level, you cannot override the system.  

Written by Kathryn Rone, MA, RSMT in 2016 https://aap-psychosynthesis.org/Sys/PublicProfile/37001830