497
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Touching Practice: An Exploration of Runanubandh, Touch, and Contact in Psychotherapy

Pages 311-324 | Published online: 25 Oct 2022
 

Abstract

The author considers the theme of physical touch and contact in transactional analysis practice. The Indian concept of runanubandh is introduced, which is defined as physical memory held in the body. This concept is used to explore physical touch and contact with the outside environment in therapy, thereby broadening the frame of reference beyond existing ideas of protocol and bodywork. The author offers a detailed case study from her psychotherapy practice that demonstrates secret garden work and informed physical touch as described by Novak. Finally, a matrix for practitioners to use in discerning the use of touch and contact in their work with clients is presented.

Disclosure statement

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anisha Pandya

Anisha Pandya, MA (psychology), Provisional Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), is a psychotherapy practitioner and trainer working in Mumbai, India. She also has international certifications in neurolinguistic programming from the National Federation of Neurolinguistic Psychology, emotional intelligence from Six Seconds, and life coaching from the International Coaching Federation. She is a certified T-lab facilitator and certified as a trainer of Marshal Rosenberg’s model of nonviolent communication from the Centre for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC). Anisha can be reached at 3B/F-Block, Viceroy Court, Thakur Village, Kandivali East, Mumbai: 101, India; email: [email protected].

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 208.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.