Emotions, Body And Psychotherapy
Moderator: Yasar Kubilay Taner
Psikoterapi Enstitüsü, Turkey
In this panel emotions will be investigated from different approaches related with the body. Firstly, it will be discussed from the neurobiological approach. Then, emotional defence process in body psychotherapy will be mentioned. While different complementary models are addressed emotional regulation methods, especially focusing of Gendlin will be explained.
PRESENTER 1- EMRE AYAG: Emotions, Body and Neurobiological Approach
The human infant does not have enough equipment to cope with the changes and stimuli in the environment after birth. The child’s cortical area is not sufficiently developed, so it always needs an auxiliary cortex in order to reach bodily and emotional boundaries, which is known as the primary caregiver or object.The primary caregiver performs lifelong neuro-regulatory and self-regulatory functions during critical periods, the baby is an interactive form transforms these functions and internalizes them. By creating a seal in the right brain, the relational network of the mother-infant duo, which takes place in the socio-affective, experience-based field, forms the origin of the image, Limit and reactions related to Emotional Regulation and Body. Therefore, the flows of the Sealed Self capacities from the Nonverbal, Right brain to the Right brain will be encountered in the Emotions and the Body at every stage of life. If the Mother gives echo to the physiological needs of the baby appropriately and intuitively enough, the baby creates the Feeling of Basic Trust to the limits of her own body and Physiology. At the same time, if the Mother is Synchronized with the Baby’s Affections, the baby’s emotional regulation capacities will be developed. Emotion Regulation Disorder will result from the basic caregiver’s incomplete or defective emotional regulation. Today we know that the language that people suffering from Self disorders forget and have difficulty remembering is the Nonverbal language, which is the first language the human child uses, this language is not far away, it is Sealed in our body and our emotions, we only need a pair of ears and a pair of eyes to differentiate them empathically. In this context, the person can always change his Emotional capacity and Bodily image in a relational matrix with the other at any moment. It is to re-live bodily and emotional experiences in a synchronized way, as the mother-infant duo exchanges each other.
KEY WORDS: Emotions, Body , Neurobiological Approach, neuro-regulatory and self-regulatory, critical periods
PRESENTER 2- YASAR KUBILAY TANER: Emotional Defence Process and the Role of the Body
It is not possible to fully understand emotions without understanding the role of the body on emotions and the role of emotions on the body. There are important studies dealing with emotions in many ways. Although the role of the body on emotions is omitted in classical approaches, it is better understood that the discovery of emotions will be achieved by the body every day by emphasizing the mind-body in modern approaches. The intensity of an emotion can only be understood to the extent that it stimulates the body. Or we set off with the clues we take from the body to access a feeling. Every human being has the ability to point to an emotion in his own body to some extent. We start from body experiences in order to deepen an emotional experience we live. Instead of experiencing emotions, some people experience them bodily (such as pain). In the eastern cultures, it is very common to have unexplained pains in the body, because of the culturally repressed emotions. In addition, studies have shown that body psychotherapy has an important role in increasing the expression of emotional experiences.
While the body can be a good way to feelings, it can sometimes be an “armor” that puts obstacles in it. It can be a “blockade” against the expression and emergence of some emotions and can act like a defense mechanism. All these cases mentioned have been put forward by different theories and theorists in different terms from past to present. Depending on these, various treatment methods have been developed and evolved into its final form in today’s body psychotherapy. In this study, the relationship between the body and emotions, and the role of the body in the emotional defense process will be discussed. To explain this, concepts such as Reich’s character armor, “affect block” will be mentioned. Studies on the physical expression of emotions according to attachment styles will be mentioned. Stern’s concepts of “activation contours” and “vitality affects” will be discussed. Neo-reichian theory will be discussed and the concepts of “basic emotions”, “vegetative affects” and “core affect” will be discussed. Finally, the role of the body in the emotional defense process will be explained through the affective cycle model.
Key Words: Defence, emotional, theory, blockade, armor, Reich, Neoreichian, affect block, Stern, activation contours, vitality affects, basic emotions, vegetative affects, core affect, affective cycle model
PRESENTER 3- AYNUR YILDIZ: Regulation Of Emotion In The Body
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological change arising from the interaction of an individual with biochemical and environmental effects. It is the main factor that determines the individual’s sense of health and plays a central role in individual’s daily life. Without any doubt, emotion has reflections in the human body. Although the how humans’ body and mind relate has always been problem, it can be said that body is a place where emotions dwell. Therefore, the role of the body in the regulation of emotions, which might be automatic or controlled, conscious or unconscious, cannot be denied. At this point, Gendlin’s concept of “focussing”, which means paying attention to the unspoken, has an significant place in emotion regulation. According to his technique after focussing on bodily-felt sense, the emotion that exists is desired to be determined, and a lot of information is obtained by focusing bodily-felt sense which is a bodily experience, not a mental. The bodily felt sensation is relaxed and unleashed, together with emotional awareness. Needs of the emotion are determined and the needs are discussed. When the emotion is expressed sufficiently, regulation begins. The re-meaning and full expression of emotion in experience relaxes bodily-felt sense. The practice is terminated by relieving the body and emotion. Through this technique an unusual, deep awareness is reached that many therapists cannot bring out. If the aim of a therapy is transformation, the answers that lead to the change in the person are not in our mind but in our body.
Key Words: Bodily-felt sense, emotion, Gendlin, focussing, body