The body as a ‘vehicle’ of our being in the world. Somatic experience in Gestalt therapy

Abstract

"Abstract: This article analyses somatic experience in the frame of reference of Gestalt epistemology, in its phenomenological, relational and aesthetic aspects. These ‘roots’ of the idea of somatic experience lead the therapist to focus his attention, on a therapeutic level, on the movement which the therapist and the client co-create with their complementary intentionalities. The article revisits concepts such as integration, self-function, holism, aggression, and support for the now-for-next in the light of somatic experience. It also provides clinical examples of the various forms of suffering of the body-in-contact, from anxiety disorders to desensitisation, and psychosomatic disturbances. Finally, it describes a few fundamental therapeutic competences which are needed for a successful Gestalt work on the body. Key words: body therapy, movement, Gestalt psychotherapy, phenomenology of the body-in- contact, anxiety disorders, desensitisation, psychosomatic disturbances, now-for-next."