Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy

Implicit communications analyzed alongside verbal communication in therapy.

Body language, facial expression, and tone of voice are key components in therapeutic interactions, but for far too long psychotherapists have dismissed them in favor of purely verbal information.

In Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy, Gill Westland examines the interrelation of the verbal and the non-verbal in the context of clients and therapists working together. The physiology of communication is also discussed: from overwhelming emotions that make it difficult to speak to breath awareness that makes it easier. Therapists will be able to cultivate non-verbal communication through mindfulness practices and “right brain to right brain communication.” It is not just the client’s actions and emotions that are significant; it is important that therapists relate in a way that makes it clear to their clients that they are receptive and inviting, and Westland expertly depicts the bodily dimensions of this encounter between client and therapist.

The book brings together insights from a range of psychotherapeutic traditions, including psychoanalysis, arts psychotherapies, humanistic psychotherapy, and, in particular, body psychotherapy, for clinicians who want to expand their communication abilities. Drawing on 30 years of clinical experience, and providing illustrative clinical vignettes, Westland has written a guide both for those who might not have any experience in the theory of non-verbal communications and for lifelong psychotherapy practitioners. She lays as groundwork recent research into the neurobiology of interaction and the foundations of non-verbal communication in babyhood, continuing throughout from a bodymind perspective that pays due attention to the physicality of the body. Westland urges therapists to learn how to leave their comfort zone and try new ways of helping their clients. Writing in a richly evocative, lucid language, Westland seeks to bring about change in both psychotherapist and client as they navigate both the verbal and non-verbal aspects of embodied relating.
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Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy

Implicit communications analyzed alongside verbal communication in therapy.

Body language, facial expression, and tone of voice are key components in therapeutic interactions, but for far too long psychotherapists have dismissed them in favor of purely verbal information.

In Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy, Gill Westland examines the interrelation of the verbal and the non-verbal in the context of clients and therapists working together. The physiology of communication is also discussed: from overwhelming emotions that make it difficult to speak to breath awareness that makes it easier. Therapists will be able to cultivate non-verbal communication through mindfulness practices and “right brain to right brain communication.” It is not just the client’s actions and emotions that are significant; it is important that therapists relate in a way that makes it clear to their clients that they are receptive and inviting, and Westland expertly depicts the bodily dimensions of this encounter between client and therapist.

The book brings together insights from a range of psychotherapeutic traditions, including psychoanalysis, arts psychotherapies, humanistic psychotherapy, and, in particular, body psychotherapy, for clinicians who want to expand their communication abilities. Drawing on 30 years of clinical experience, and providing illustrative clinical vignettes, Westland has written a guide both for those who might not have any experience in the theory of non-verbal communications and for lifelong psychotherapy practitioners. She lays as groundwork recent research into the neurobiology of interaction and the foundations of non-verbal communication in babyhood, continuing throughout from a bodymind perspective that pays due attention to the physicality of the body. Westland urges therapists to learn how to leave their comfort zone and try new ways of helping their clients. Writing in a richly evocative, lucid language, Westland seeks to bring about change in both psychotherapist and client as they navigate both the verbal and non-verbal aspects of embodied relating.
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Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy

by Gill Westland
Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy

by Gill Westland

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Overview

Implicit communications analyzed alongside verbal communication in therapy.

Body language, facial expression, and tone of voice are key components in therapeutic interactions, but for far too long psychotherapists have dismissed them in favor of purely verbal information.

In Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Psychotherapy, Gill Westland examines the interrelation of the verbal and the non-verbal in the context of clients and therapists working together. The physiology of communication is also discussed: from overwhelming emotions that make it difficult to speak to breath awareness that makes it easier. Therapists will be able to cultivate non-verbal communication through mindfulness practices and “right brain to right brain communication.” It is not just the client’s actions and emotions that are significant; it is important that therapists relate in a way that makes it clear to their clients that they are receptive and inviting, and Westland expertly depicts the bodily dimensions of this encounter between client and therapist.

The book brings together insights from a range of psychotherapeutic traditions, including psychoanalysis, arts psychotherapies, humanistic psychotherapy, and, in particular, body psychotherapy, for clinicians who want to expand their communication abilities. Drawing on 30 years of clinical experience, and providing illustrative clinical vignettes, Westland has written a guide both for those who might not have any experience in the theory of non-verbal communications and for lifelong psychotherapy practitioners. She lays as groundwork recent research into the neurobiology of interaction and the foundations of non-verbal communication in babyhood, continuing throughout from a bodymind perspective that pays due attention to the physicality of the body. Westland urges therapists to learn how to leave their comfort zone and try new ways of helping their clients. Writing in a richly evocative, lucid language, Westland seeks to bring about change in both psychotherapist and client as they navigate both the verbal and non-verbal aspects of embodied relating.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393711318
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 08/24/2015
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 320
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

Gill Westland founding director of Cambridge Body Psychotherapy Centre, trains body psychotherapists and teaches on the MA body psychotherapy at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. She also co-edits Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Setting the Scene 1

1 Neurological Foundations of Non-Verbal Communication 27

2 How Babies Relate: Infant Development and Communication 45

3 Being With the Self, Being With the Client 71

4 Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication: Two Communication Streams Interacting Together 103

5 Breathing and Relating 135

6 Being With Emotions 161

7 Free Association Through the Body: Guiding Implicit Communications of Clients Toward Fuller Expression 195

8 Touch: Direct Communication 217

9 Using Creative Media for Expression 241

Conclusion: Going on From Here 263

Glossary 267

References 271

Index 291

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