Loretta's Work
Body Centered Psychotherapy
Why do people choose psychotherapy sessions?
People choose psychotherapy sessions for many reasons. Often, it is when something is not working in their lives, when they want a change, or when wanting to understand feelings, such as anxiety, depression, or feelings of dissatisfaction.
About the work:
In my psychotherapy practice, the central concept is self study in mindfulness with somatic awareness. If touch is used in psychotherapy sessions, it is as experimental touch.
Within every individual there is an organic process of development and expression continually occurring. This may be an open and fluid process or it may be blocked, leading to an experience of Self being limited. Through self study, basically an introspective intention to understand ourselves using various techniques inclusive of our body’s experience, we can discover more about how we might limit ourselves. Self study is practiced in mindfulness, which is simply a state of consciousness wherein the awareness of self and self in environment is heightened. For most of us, it is an unordinary state of consciousness, since in everyday consciousness we move faster and become less aware of subtlety. In mindfulness, your body and mind are slowed down into the moment, making subtle awareness possible, useful for self study.
Somatic awareness is the capacity to deeply feel the variety of sensations and movements in our bodies. In our busy, modern lives, it is common to forget or repress our ability to simply feel. Since feelings happen in the body, we have to be in our bodies in order to have access to what we feel. A natural part of being human is being aware, and having an inner witness who is awake and functioning. When we truly own this capability to sense, we are deeply in touch with ourselves and can then make accurate choices for our own well being, and for the planet, in any situation. The practice of presence (being mindful) increases our ability to be somatically aware.
This ability to be in one’s body is a primary resource, a resource that I will help you to deepen and develop. I do this by helping you slow down and sense your experience. With this re-learning, you can be more in touch with what is true for you. From this awareness, you can learn to live a healthier, more fulfilling life--emotionally, physically, spiritually.
Experimental touch:
The use of touch in my psychotherapy practice is one of working with the body as opposed to working on the body. Working on the body would mean seeing me specifically for Bodywork or Massage Therapy and working towards relaxation, or working with pain. Working with the body during psychotherapy starts with your reported bodily experience; and sometimes working with the body includes experimental touch. Experimental touch, with client consent, is noninvasive, hands on, can be light or heavy, moving or not, controlled by the report of the client, as it serves the psychological process.
Working with self study, mindfulness, somatic awareness, and experimental touch foster a somatic reverence which aids wholistic understanding and integration of our issues.
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