Being touched through touch. Trauma treatment through haptic perception at the Clay Field: A sensorimotor art therapy

Abstract

Neuroscientific research provides increasing evidence of the intimate relationship between physiological and psychological dimensions of human experience. The integration of body awareness into psychotherapy through a focus on sensorimotor processes is increasingly becoming best practice in trauma therapy. So far the arts therapies have given little attention to the role of touch in this context. Touch is one of the fundamental human experiences: to know loving or unwanted touch, the traumatic rupture of boundaries and their repair. Touch is the basis for secure attachment, linked to earliest body memories, to the ability to handle the world, to sexuality and injury. The use of the hands as a tool of perception is known as haptic perception. Clay is a familiar art therapy material which features tactile expression and experiences. When hands touch clay in a therapeutic setting, exteroceptors and interoceptors become naturally stimulated, and every movement of the hands provides instant feedback to the brain. Haptic perception allows non-verbal access to psychological and sensorimotor processes thwarted by trauma. This article reviews Trauma Healing at the Clay Field® as a sensorimotor art therapy approach in trauma recovery.

Keywords:

• Trauma
• sensorimotor art therapy
• haptic perception
• touch
• clay
• hands
• top-down versus bottom-up approach in therapy

Notes

¹ Work at the Clay Field® denotes a registered trademark.

² National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioural Medicine transcript of webinar with Professor Bessel van der Kolk, May 2013.

³ See Levine (2010) for details on Porge's polyvagal theory and trauma. DVN involves primitive responses of shut-down or immobilisation while VVN involves social engagement behaviours, muscles in the face and the middle ear (p. 99).

⁴ However, ‘the hippocampus is also a key structure in facilitating resolution and integration of traumatic incidents and traumatic memory. It inscribes time context on events, giving each of them a beginning, middle and—most important with regard to traumatic memory—an end. A well-functioning hippocampus makes it possible for the cortex to recognize when a frightening event is over, perhaps even long past. Then it instructs the amygdala to stop sounding the alarm’ (Rothschild, 2004, pp. 2–3).

⁵ Flight refers to the time of human ancestorial primates living in trees and their movement from tree to tree. See Wilson (1998).

⁶ As cited in Cozolino (2006).

⁷ Pierrre Janet (1859–1947) was a French psychologist, philosopher and psychotherapist in the field of dissociation and traumatic memory. He is considered one of the founding fathers of psychology.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cornelia Elbrecht

Biographical details

Cornelia Elbrecht graduated with an MA in Art Ed, trained in Gestalt Therapy, and in various arts and body therapies in Germany, she underwent a ten year Jungian Analysis, and is currently enrolled to study Somatic Experiencing. She has worked as a registered art therapist for the past 35 years in Germany and Australia. She is Director of the School for Initiatic Art Therapy in Victoria, Australia and teaches internationally. She has published two books on sensorimotor approaches to art therapy, The Transformation Journey (2006) and Trauma Healing at the Clayfield (2012). Email: [email protected]

Liz R. Antcliff

Liz Antcliff holds a Bachelor of Sc. (Psychology) and a MA Counselling and has studied various arts therapies at postgraduate level. She is currently studying Somatic Experiencing with SE Australia. She has more than 30 years of experience in human services in the private and community health and social services sector. Liz is the Director of Heartspace Artspace & Counselling, a private psychotherapy practice in Queensland Australia and teaches the Initiatic Art Therapy (Queensland) program. Email: [email protected]