Exploring how four master body psychotherapists came to adopt body psychotherapy and how they approach their practice

• Main Author: Shoop, Else Maléne
• Other Authors: Hett, Geoffrey
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: psychotherapy; mind and body therapies; UVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Education::Educational psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/1938

Elements of heuristic inquiry and interpretive interactionism were used to investigate how four master body psychotherapists came to adopt body psychotherapy and how they approach their practice, with the underlying purpose of re-examining the notion of credibility. Co-participants were purposefully selected from four body psychotherapy models: Bodynamics, Hakomi, Somatic Experiencing ® (SE) and Integrative Body Psychotherapy (IBP). Each co-participant described the experience of a transformative epiphany, either major or cumulative, that compelled her to adopt body psychotherapy as a way of practice. The analysis of the metatheme "approach to practice" was informed by Lang and Taylor's (2000) concept of artistry in practice and Jarvis's (1999) concept of the practitioner researcher. Co-participants blended the art and science of psychotherapy in their approach to practice, and acknowledged the critical role that scientific research plays as body psychotherapy continues to establish its credibility and legitimacy within the broader domain of psychotherapy.