Embodied Intersubjectivities
The body in the era of online therapy
Recorded Friday 4 December 2020
With Roz Carroll, Ruella Frank and Margaret Landale
CPD Credits: 4 hours
As therapists move their practices online, what are we discovering about the significance of embodied presence in the shadow of its absence?
Surprisingly, therapists have reported that certain kinds of connection are actually intensified online. For example, close-up facial expressions provide an immediate intimacy between the two. Transference and countertransference enactments can still find expression, and narratives can easily unfold with less inhibition.
READ MORE...However, much is also now absent from the session: the full-body language of therapeutic couples as they respond to each other, the subtle shift of a foot, a stomach rumble or a tightening of the muscles; the ambience, smells, light and textures of the therapy room itself; the sanctuary of that room and the ritual of the journey. Deep within the body we know that intimacy is related to proximity, to bodies synchronising and regulating each other, to the non-verbal, non-conscious minutiae of communication and what this recalls of earliest interactions. By considering the constituents of embodied intersubjectivity, our speakers will explore the extent to which working online has highlighted the need for bodily-based attunement, three-dimensional presence and, conversely, the extent to which the therapeutic couple can find new forms of intimacy.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits for 4 hours are available as part of the course fee. You will need to fill out an evaluation form and pass a multiple choice questionnaire related to the content in order to receive your certificate.
Access to the Talks On Demand runs for 365 days from the date of purchase.
FULL PROGRAMME
Margaret Landale
Being in touch remotely
This talk is based on the premise that embodied intersubjectivity is vital to relational psychotherapy. We will explore modes of adaptation and adjustment when meeting on the phone or online with our clients. In particular, we will take a fresh look at cultivating and maintaining embodied presence under these circumstances and how to adjust our sense preferences from visual clues to listening more deeply, supporting our intuitive perception of the felt sense. The talk will draw on clinical material to illustrate processes of mindful enquiry and empathic attainment.
Q&A
Ruella Frank
Developing Presence
The capacity for presence is already part of human experience, unfolding within the relational situation. It is our capacity to respond fluidly, giving and receiving, in order to gain something new from the environment. This presentation will illuminate the underlying moving-feeling experience required for developing presence as it emerges or is thwarted within both the baby-parent and patient-therapist dyad.
Therapists will learn how to enhance the potentiality for developing presence in themselves and their patients and, in doing so, clear obstacles that may prevent us from finding each other. Attention will also be given to the special conditions of working online.
Q&A
Roz Carroll
On the ground and in the air: embodied intersubjectivity as online becomes mainstream
Lockdown gives us a window on the future: progressive pressure to work online – for safety, for convenience and to reduce pollution. We are learning that it’s possible to do creative work via video and to sustain nourishing therapeutic relationships. We can adapt.
But what is lost? What is at risk from not being physically present? Digital over-exposure and a stream of encounters ‘in the air’ create a deep disorientation through sensory depletion. Landing and locating means feeling the ground under our feet and a sense of inhabiting three-dimensional space so that we can feel the embodiment of our intersubjectivity. In this presentation I will consider how we can do this both on and off line. I will illustrate ways of connecting with clients through movement and gesture through both video, and outside and indoor encounters.
Q&A
Discussion and Q&A with all speakers
End.