Body Psychotherapy: History, Concepts, and Methods

by Michael C. Heller, Marcel Duclos (Translator)

Overview

From yoga to neuroscience, a tour of major ideas about the body and mind.

Body psychotherapy, which examines the relationship of bodily and physical experiences to emotional and psychological experiences, seems at first glance to be a relatively new area and on the cutting edge of psychotherapeutic theory and practice. It is, but the major concepts of body/mind treatment are actually drawn from a wide range of historical material, material that spans centuries and continents.

Here, in a massively comprehensive book, Michael Heller summarizes all the major concepts, thinkers, and movements whose work has led to the creation of the field we now know as body/mind psychotherapy.

The book covers everything from Eastern and Western thought—beginning with yoga and Taosim and moving to Plato and Descartes. It also discusses major developments in biology—how organisms are defined—and neuroscience. This is truly a comprehensive reference for anyone interested in the origins of the idea that the mind and body are not separate and that both must be understood together in order to understand people and their behavior. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393707663
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	08/20/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	862
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Michael C. Heller is a USA and Swiss citizen, born in Paris. He is a psychologist who has studied, as a researcher and a clinician, the relation between mind and body. As a researcher, he has primarily studied the nonverbal behavior of suicidal and depressive patients in the Geneva University Psychiatric Institutions. As a clinician, he trained in body psychotherapy in Gerda Boyesen’s school, and has participated in the development of body psychotherapy with his colleagues of the European Association of Body Psychotherapy (EABP). He has participated in the creation of several journals in the field of body psychotherapy, and has occupied key posts in the EABP (Vice-president, chair of the Ethics Committee and Scientific Committee). He publishes and teaches regularly on clinical and research issues related to body and mind. He is now psychotherapist and supervisor in Lausanne, Switzerland, while continuing to teach and publish at an international level.

Editorial Reviews

"Amazing . . . exciting . . . remarkable. Tracing the historical roots of this field to its emergent disciplines today, this tome is a vital reference book for body psychotherapists and body workers of all types. It is also a profound reference for any clinician wishing to study this field seriously. Thank you Michael Heller for this gift of incredible scholarship. "

Peter A. Levine

"Michael Heller has taken on the herculean task of compiling the vast wealth of scientific and theoretical knowledge that has contributed to the field of body psychotherapy into one massive volume. Without adhering to a particular school of thought or methodology, he presents an authoritative, enthusiastic, but yet unbiased synopsis of historical and current trends and forces, themes and thinkers struggling to comprehend the interface of body, mind and more. This textbook will prove an informative and vitalizing resource to both seasoned practitioners and students of body psychotherapy for years to come."

Pat Ogden

"[F]ull of fine detail . . . [A] book rich with information for the body psychotherapy practitioner or student, one which will reward frequent returning to."

Metapsychology

"This is a book about the complete intellectual history that informs psychotherapy practices – it is a well written critique with respect to all modalities housed under the term body psychotherapy. . . . To say I loved the book is an understatement. I was enthralled with the history and read the first 300 pages straight through. . . . [T]he time spent delving into this book is time well spent."

Somatic Psychotherapy Today