Body psychotherapy is a distinct branch of psychotherapy rooted in the work of Wilhelm Reich. The European Association of Body Psychotherapy states that body psychotherapy involves an explicit theory of mind-body functioning. The underlying assumption is that the body reflects the whole person and there is a functional unity between mind and body rather than a hierarchical relationship.
Excerpt from the paper, In Support of Body Psychotherapy, Will Davis
In the words of the founder of this work, Will Davis:
Functional Analysis is the meeting place between psyche and soma. The body and mind always work together – in both health and in illness.
Through focusing words, we guide the cognition to a deeper consciousness to enter into a clear experience of one’s self. We then use this self to self relationship as the basis upon which to build all our other relationships.
Somatically, we do the same. By gentle touch, we mobilise the bio-energetic properties of the connective tissue bringing the person deep within to meet himself, his essential endo self, and then, with this secure knowledge, he can move safely out to the world again.
In Functional Analysis, through both touch and words, we contact and explore that profound center in each of us where all our emotions, thoughts, movements and dreams flow together and from which all our life experiences spring.
Will Davis, Functional Analysis, GEMS
In a humanistic oriented body psychotherapy such as Functional Analysis the “internal environment” of the patient is what has always been focused on; the patient’s experience of him or herself; interpretive interoception
The Points&Positions Touch Technique in Functional Analysis is specifically designed to take advantage of the plasticity of connective tissue but in a different manner than either the manual, and the movement therapies or traditional Body Psychotherapy.
By mobilizing the instroke it is possible to work safely with trauma patients by going below the cortical level of cognition and emotions, below the defenses and even below the trauma itself, thereby contacting the undamaged endo self state whereby the patient can “heal” her/himself.
It is possible to treat trauma patients below defenses, working with the “undamaged” endo self that exists before the trauma.
A demonstration of the Points and Postitions work at the 2014 training in Senigallia, Italy