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The Use of Body-Centered Psychotherapy in Working with Prenatal and Perinatal Imprints within a Group Context Marti Glenn, Ph.D. President Santa Barbara Graduate Institute Proceedings, 3rd United States Association of Body Psychotherapy Congress: Convergence and Emergence in Body Psychotherapy, June, 2002 Introduction Current research demonstrates that our earliest somatic experiences " conception, gestation, birth and bonding " create the template out of which we live our lives. These imprints, often less than ideal, shape the foundations of our health, personality and relationships. Prenatal and perinatal psychology employs energetic and body-oriented interventions that help heal these early patterns and traumas. Group psychotherapy naturally engenders a re-enactment of the family of origin. A group psychotherapy model that incorporates somatic referencing and interventions would not only elicit our core imprints, the foundations of our dysfunctional patterns, but could be the modality of choice for healing. Therefore, it seems prudent that group psychotherapists have a model that incorporates a paradigm for this early material, and that therapists choosing a modality of treatment for clients dealing with early issues consider a pre- and perinatal oriented group. This paper explores the rationale and the protocols for somatically-oriented psychotherapeutic work with a prenatal and perinatal focus within a group context. The similarities and differences between this and conventional group therapy are highlighted. Rather than being a scholarly treatment of this work it is intended as a framework to guide somatically-oriented practitioners in facilitating the resolution of prenatal and perinatal issues which arise within a group therapy context. | ||
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