Somatic psychotherapy and research: Walking the common ground

Abstract

Research is a crucial element in advancing our collective knowledge of somatic psychology, but body and movement psychotherapists often struggle to engage in meaningful relationships with the psychology research literature and the community of scholars who typically produce it. This paper elaborates the common ground between research and somatic psychotherapy by linking the values, attitudes and skills of somatic psychotherapists with specific research methodologies. It traces the similarities between doing therapy and doing research, with a focus on the role of the therapist/researcher, and outlines a research method that somatic psychotherapists might consider as a basic framework when undertaking their own formal research.

Keywords::

• embodied research methods
• somatic psychology
• psychotherapy research
• embodied inquiry
• somatic psychotherapy

Notes

^1. This assertion is based on many formal and informal conversations I've had with somatic psychotherapy colleagues over 25 years of practice and research, in my roles as co-chair of the Research Committee of the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy, chair of the Research Committee of the Dance Movement Therapy Association of Ontario, and chair of a doctoral program in somatic psychology at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I have taught research methods courses in a number of somatic psychology programs over the years, and found this attitude prevalent among graduate students as well.

^2. Dance movement therapy programs are a noted exception.

^3. Beisser (1970) describes Gestalt Therapy co-founder Frederick Perls' theory of change as a ‘paradoxical theory of change’ which asserts

that change occurs when one becomes what he is, not when he tries to become what he is not. Change does not take place through a coercive attempt by the individual or by another person to change him, but it does take place if one takes the time and effort to be what he is – to be fully invested in his current positions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rae Johnson

Rae Johnson, Ph.D., RSW, RSMT, is a core faculty member in the School of Graduate Psychology at Naropa University and the director of the Institute for Embodiment Studies, an educational organisation dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary scholarship in embodiment studies. She is the former chair of the Somatic Psychology Department at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute and former director of the Body Psychotherapy Program in the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University. Her research and clinical interests include the somatic impact of oppression, embodied critical pedagogy and somatic research methods.