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About Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, Misc

The Mighty Pneuma or Breath

Breathing is the greatest low hanging fruit of changing one’s mind-body state. I tend to hyphenate mind-body because that is how I see it, as one entity, one system. Not Decarte’s humunculus in the head puppeting a body.

As a therapist, I teach virtually every adult and adolescent I work with, at least one breathing technique to be used in therapy sessions and in everyday life.

Breathing is always there. And it’s intimately tied to both the entire nervous system and emotional system.

The old school somatic/body oriented and experiential psychotherapy approaches (I’m talking “Gestalt Therapy” and “Reichian” body work from the 1940’s and 50’s) all used to emphasize one major problem observed with clients: Most people do not know how to breathe!

Most modern people breathe shallow, usually into the chest but some into the belly. I also observe that many people use excess effort to breathe out. As if to control the breath and tense against feeling in both the in-breath and out-breath.

As yoga has become popular in recent decades, many every day people are becoming familiar with pranayama or the yoga of breathing. This is great essentially that many everyday people are learning to work with and control breathing.

But I have one major criticism of pranayama techniques compared to the more western approaches to breathwork: Control. Pranayama emphasizes control of breathing to control and manipulate breathing.

Even some popular teachers of breathwork such as this Wim Hof who has become popular in the biohacking community (I still highly respect his work and what he is doing despite this point) us that ‘C’ word too often.

Here’s an important point of which I wish I can proclaim on the hills: The mind-body already knows what to do! It is simply blocked in it’s natural process of growth. What in AEDP terms is called ‘The Transformance Drive.’

Essentially, the highest ‘yoga’ of breathing would be to relax and allow the body to breathe you fully and deeply, moving through the entire body. All the while you’re aware of the breath without manipulating it.

Therapeutically, we begin by specific techniques to calm the overactive nervous system and anxieties of stress and trauma. Quiet powerfully I might add. And such is the breath itself.

But techniques lead to the natural ability to be open to the natural breath.

This occurs almost invariably in moments of great change. There is a natural deep breath and sense of core space, like emotional constrictions in the belly and chest are released and one can breathe deeper and much fuller with great sensations of positive emotion and relaxation.

So, keep in mind during my next post on specific breathing techniques that techniques are a large first step but ultimately, the body knows how to breathe itself.

 

 

About Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, Misc

Psychodynamic in the Purest Sense of the Term

 

The origins of the work that I do as a therapist has roots in the Psychodynamic tradition of psychotherapy. More notably, a small movement within this field (two to be precise) that moved away from the old insight oriented and overly past digging schools of therapy to a more moment by moment focus on present felt experience and empathy to lead directly to change.

 

Because most individuals out there without graduate degrees in clinical psychology may not be familiar with what psychodynamic means, I’ll introduce the term:

 

Psychodynamic is an umbrella term for a movement in Psychoanalysis, the original movement beginning with Sigmund Freud that founded Psychotherapy. The Psychodynamic approach went away from the old way of laying on a couch and not interacting with the Psychoanalyst, but to sit face to face (a real innovation believe or not, for the 1930’s and 40’s).

 

They also began to emphasize how the past experiences with early family and caregivers is projected onto the therapist, and therapist relationship.

 

What I want to put out there is that I personally LOVE the term Psychodynamic. But it unfortunately comes with tremendous baggage. It has a whole way of working and belief systems of what causes problems and what leads to change.

 

What I strikes me about this term is it broken into two: Psychological-Dynamic… Psychodynamic. Or Psyche-Dynamic.

 

If I let go of the history and baggage, I feel that this term speaks to the work that I do and is beautifully carried out in this new wave of experiential psychotherapy approaches.

 

My work and my AEDP approach in general begins from no particular place or theory other than a theory of change and creating a safe and helpful therapeutic working relationship from which this drive to change can occur.

 

This “gentle experiential” approach to change, in my humble opinion is dynamic, or psychodynamic in the purest sense. Meaning it begins from where the client is and follows their experience wherever it naturally leads.

 

Some forms of therapy deny the past to focus on the present or future. Some focus on the present. Some focus on the past too much.

 

My approach respects the dynamics of the person and how organic this work unfolds. Sometimes one’s inner world flows organically without prompting. Sometimes prompting is needed and the past, present, or future is avoided as difficult or painful. Sometimes difficult experiences and emotions are there, sometimes it’s positive or adaptive emotions and experience you want to move towards.

 

In any case, I consider my work to be psychodynamic in the purest sense in that it works with the flow of the whole person in relation to self and others, past/present/future. The whole body-mind system as is present in the room at any given moment.

 

This creates an ease in which nothing particularly has to happen and the other’s inner world is not forced into a cramped theoretical box that gets in the way of authenticity, genuineness and the direction of transformation.     

 

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Experiential Psychotherapy Introduction

This article is an introduction to the work of Dr. Eugene Gendlin.

He’s to me and my work what Sigmund Freud is to a Psychoanalyst (the old school method of therapy where you lay on a couch and talk at length about your past to get at insights to your problems.)

I personally believe that my core school of psychotherapy: Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy innovated Gendlin’s monumental work but still owes its effectiveness almost solely to the idea that we need to sense inside ourselves and body and go beyond “talk therapy.”

Psychotherapy’s Best Kept Secret

Misc

5 Methods to Lessen or Stop Panic

 

 

If there is one main issue that many of my clients deal with outside of our sessions that can completely render them feeling helpless and potentially to unbidden hospital visits, it is panic attacks.

 

I used to view panic as a category unto itself. As if panic and anxiety itself were two separate things. But my mentor: the “Yoda” of psychotherapy of whom I study under, has told me “panic is just anxiety.”

 

It’s the exact same physical response in the body-mind. The difference is that panic is anxiety that has gone to a level that it is out of control. It is unregulated, such as how you regulate the flow of water or steam from a pipe.

 

One symptom of traumatic experience, especially trauma that has repeated throughout childhood and adolescence, are panic episodes that seem to come out of absolute nowhere, with no known triggering events whatsoever.

 

One theory on this is that there is a global sense of being unsafe and that the other shoe is always about to drop. There are other ideas but it’s beyond the scope of this post.

 

I want to offer five means of working with panic in your day to day life, if you are suffering from anything like I have described. These may not cure your panic, but if you find at least two that work for you, your panic will be more and more under your control:


1. Breathing:

Breathing is the lowest hanging fruit for changing how one feels and reacts. Meaning, it takes the least effort over any other technique or exercise but beautifully tends to be the most powerful.

 

There are many methods of breathing. In an episode of panic or near panic, breathing incorrectly can make everything worse or cause a full blown panic. The correct ways of breathing can change everything. So it’s very important to know how to breathe just right when you’re in a place of anxiety.

 

Here is the general method that I teach my clients to calm themselves, both in session and as a skill to use in everyday life:

 

  • Take a gentle but full breath into your upper belly, where your ribs end
  • Breathe in for about 4-5 seconds
  • Hold for about one second
  • Let the breath out for at least 5 seconds until a pause.
  • Allow the out breath to be entirely passive, taking no effort whatsoever

 

 

2. Listen to guided meditation

It may be passive but it can be highly beneficial to hear a soothing voice, guiding oneself into a different state.

I’m a fan of something called Open Focus, which is based off of something called Biofeedback. Here’s a 20 minute track on contemplating an Open Focused state of space:

 

https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditation-inner-space-gateway-to-open-awareness/

 

Youtube has a mix of quality, but there is a gigantic amount of material. Here’s a simple search for guided meditation for panic as an example:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=meditation+for+panic+attacks

 

3. State the thought that you may be fixated on.

There is emotion, anxiety and reactions that are in direct relation to the outside stressor or even. These are called primary emotions, and then there are emotions and reactions that are in reaction to the primary emotions. These are called secondary emotions.

One feature of secondary emotions is that they tend to (but not always) involved some story or belief that drives them.

For example, in the case of anxiety and panic: imagine a person has a stressful reaction to their partner and automatically feels anxious, maybe frustrated and deflated. This is the primary reaction. Then, let’s imagine that this person has a long history with rejection and takes this stressful event as a rejection just as has occurred many times in the past. This person now thinks this over and over again. Or maybe another channel, as in imagines past and future scenarious of rejection. Suddenly the world becomes overwhelming and they are flooded with anxiety causing a panic attack.

To work with situations such as this, it is helpful to stop the process in its tracks. Ask:

  • What is the thoughts or the stories that are driving this reaction?
  • What is the primary or main experience or reaction that I’m reacting to?

 

-State or write down everything you can that is perpetuating and escalating what is happening inside you.

 

4. Use imagery to separate from the negative feelings that may be at the core of the panic

Different techniques and resources may work very differently for many different people. But I tend to consider this to be the most powerful technique if you can figure out a method that works best for you.

This is also called “clearing a space” which is used in the technique and paradigm of psychotherapy called Focusing.

It involves using inner dialogue and imagination to get a place of inner space from a problem or inner set of feelings.

 

Take whatever the inner feeling, reaction, or Felt-Sense and ask it to separate from you.

Imagine these things moving to the side of you, maybe in an empty chair where you can visualize it all and get more of a sense of.

Maybe imagine filing it away for later or moving into the next room. Or a safe room or locked chest in your imagination.

It can be helpful to begin by breathing and attempting to relax a little more before you can develop this healthy working distance from whatever is bothering you.

Not everyone can contact and separate from their inner experience using their imagination channel. Some people may be helped by acting it out. Like moving your arms in a pushing or throwing action, or dialoguing with this overwhelmed part in their inner experience.

 

Here is an introduction to focusing and and clearing a space:

https://www.focusing.org/gendlin/docs/gol_2234.html#hd3

 

More on this technique and merging with experience in a later post…

 

5. Listen to healing tones or find a go to app:

Again, there is a high rate of good and bad on youtube, but there is a wealth of material out there using meditative tones that can possibly be an adjunct to difficult and overwhelming states.

Look up healing tones for anxiety or relaxation. The main words for these tones are: binaural beats, monaural beats, and isochronic tones. DO NOT use beta or gamma tones for this, as they are highly stimulating. Also, be careful about using these sounds too much, such as for hours at time, as they can burn out the nervous system with too much use.

Look out for “sound entrainment” companies that make exaggerated and outrageous claims. Also avoid companies that charge hundreds to thousands of dollars for this technology in packages and tiers. This technology has been around a long time and should not cost so much anymore. There is some good science demonstrating that this technology can serve as an adjunct for anxiety and focus, but it’s still needs further study for the long term benefits.

Another idea is to find a go to set of apps. There are many mental health related apps these days. I cannot say I have used these personally, but here is a list of a few that sound helpful for anxiety:

  • DBT Diary Card and Skills Coach, Breathe2Relax, Insight Timer, Headspace, iSleepEasy, Deep Sleep With Andrew Johnson

As always, when overwhelmed by any state of emotion or anxiety, reaching out to others, whether it be trusted friends and family, or professionals, such as therapists or crisis services is always the best option.

About Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, Misc, Science of Experiential Psychotherapy

Free Association

(Note: this was an old post that I had originally written for a more academically oriented blog that I discontinued, so it may use more clinical language than my more recent posts will use.)

 

Free Association Isn’t Dead!

This title is meant to reference a famous magazine article (I think it was Time) that announced on the cover that Freud isn’t dead. I remember a professor in my psychology undergrad who referenced the cover in a presentation about psychoanalysis. Now I am not a psychoanalyst but recently I have begun to see what of his theories have stood the test of time.

First, is transference. Is it any wonder why transference and counter transference are widely taught in modern social work or counseling programs? Next, there is the idea of ego defenses. They’re everywhere, albeit re-constructed on in many ways they have stood up to much empirical testing and exist to keep reality distorted and difficult affects at bay. For some reason I always think of Beck’s cognitive distortions when I think of ego defenses. I believe he was an analyst at one point.
Anyways, a quick look upon the EBSCO search engine revealed a surprising number of hits. Many from modern day psychoanalysts and many from other fields such as research. Why am I interested in free-association? Why do I think that it’s relevant?
What are we as clinicians doing in therapy? Why talk, listen to stories and so on? Why, because we are waiting for associated material to arise in relation to narratives that can be worked with. How is memory formed? By associations. What are the moments that cause vivid memories to be stored? Those moments during high sympathetic arousal. Pain and pleasure cause long term potentiation in the brain. Before Freud abandoned the trauma theory on neurosis he discovered disowned memories and affects would arise when the mind was taught to flow freely. Defenses would stop this flow and as worked through they would reveal more places of disowned experience and memories.
The analyst Ferenczi believed that the ability to free-associate in and of itself was a marker of termination of therapy (Free Association). What does this mean? When one’s experience can flow without having to be defended one is healthy. The world of psychoanalytic interpretation and over theorizing is hubris. I’m saying this harsh statement from an experiential humanistic standpoint. I do love many ideas in psychoanalysis but the over theorizing has always been a limitation to the field.
Perls and Jung were both influenced by early Freudian ideas but took free association in other directions. Perls taught a continuum of awareness where free association was moved to the realm of the body and behaviors (Naranjo). Jung taught his active imagination where the image generating aspects of the mind were cultivated freely. Then there was Karen Horney who wrote the first self-help psychoanalytic book (Horney). Her method is essential to let the mind flow when issues arise until the cause of the feeling or character pattern comes to light.
Some describe free association as exposing the cracks in the mind and how this leads to a deeper contact with energy-motivational systems leading to greater wholeness (Barratt 2013). This same author, himself a psychoanalyist makes a great argument for the use of the body in free association. In a way that seems common sense to me, free association has a relation to imagination (Lothane 2007). Even though Jung rejected the free association method (Hoffer 2001), his method of active imagination could be likened to a free associating or free flowing of the mind in relation to one’s subjectivity brilliantly represented by images. Even psycholanalysts with a foot in hard neuroscience (who’d ever thought) argue that free-association is a holistic mind-body method of bringing implicit memory to the fore (Klockars 2004). Barratt above also describes the method as radically opposed to Cartesian dualism. Lothane (2006) makes an argument that a therapist is much more effective if they are in touch with their own flow of associations in their mind and body in dyadic relationship. This reminds of a superb book called “Attachment in Psychotherapy” where Wallin (2007) writes at length about being in touch with somatic and cognitive associations in relation to the client’s process. At times the author’s examples of his associations are so spot on to what is unconscious in the client it is freaky. As if he has this 3rd eye that can see inside the other. I’m sure mirror neurons and other great things from the field of interpersonal neurobiology can explain these phenomenon easily.
A final interesting aspect of free associating that I have found in a surface researching of the topic, is that positive affect appears to relate to more global associations while negative moods and states cause more narrow and binary associations (Brunye et al. 2013). For example, a person in a negative state has the tendency to associate warm with cold, light with dark and so on. A person in a positive state may have an enhanced tendency to association warm with Summer breeze, or light with a feather. This brings to mind clients living in an inner world of dysphoria, generally depressed to feeling terrible from their struggles. Their world is much more constricted and defended. Their minds may lack the tendency to go towards narratives that bring out healing on their own and thus need guidance for this to occur. Sound plausible?
Personally, I am not a psychoanalyst, although I have studied much of it to see what gold can be milked from the field. So I am not very apt to sit behind a client while they lay on a couch and free associate while I interpret with a notepad divided in half. But I have found great benefit in assisting clients to free associate in “spurts” when stuck on an issue or when there’s a felt-sense (more on this later) they’re stuck with feeling. I say things such as “let your mind flow around it without censoring anything” or “just let whatever comes up be and tell me what’s happening.” Something like that. It can be difficult for more guarded, anxious-dismissing attachment styles to be able to let their mind-body system flow for the fear of dreaded vulnerability or emotion in general to arise. Then the other end of the spectrum: anxious-preoccupied or disorganized individuals may easily associate but may appear overwhelmed by any part of their narrative of associations that arise. I find deep breathing and mindfulness techniques to bring them out of their inner world helpful. I’m sure you have your own.
Overall, I find that anything that leads to a communication between body, mind and emotion facilitates the person as a self-righting process. It’s even fun to do on your own, you truly cannot predict what will arise.

 

 

References:
Barratt, B. B. (2013). Free-associating with the bodymind. International Forum Of Psychoanalysis, 22(3), 161-175. doi:10.1080/0803706X.2012.729860
Brunyé, T. T., Gagnon, S. A., Paczynski, M., Shenhav, A., Mahoney, C. R., & Taylor, H. A. (2013). Happiness by association: Breadth of free association influences affective states. Cognition, 127(1), 93-98. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2012.11.015
Hoffer, A. (2001). Jung’s analysis of Sabina Spielrein and his use of Freud’s free association method. Journal Of Analytical Psychology, 46(1), 117.
Klockars, L. (2004). Linking mind, body and language: Free association revisited. The Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review, 27(2), 105-112.
Lothane, Z. (2007). Imagination as reciprocal process and its role in the psychoanalytic situation. International Forum Of Psychoanalysis, 16(3), 152-163.