What Do We Do before We Say Hello? The Body as the Stage Setting for the Script

Abstract

This article examines Eric Berne's invitation to explore how we say hello as a means of gaining insight into script. The main hypothesis is that an expanded awareness of how one physically and emotionally structures, enters into contact with, and relates to the world brings a deeper understanding of one's script and of how it may be changed at its core. To do this, a historical review of body-oriented approaches is offered followed by a theoretical discussion of affect-motor schemas, stage setting, and script in its early stages. This leads to considering new body-oriented interventions and techniques as well as body defenses. Finally, some clinical implications are illustrated through a case study.

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Notes on contributors

K. Cecilia Waldekranz-Piselli

K. Cecilia Waldekranz-Piselli is a psychologist and a Provisional Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (clinical) in private practice in Rome, Italy. The author welcomes contacts with clinicians who want to share their experiences and thinking on the issues articulated in this article.