Body of Awareness

Merging scientific theory with a practical, clinical approach, Body of Awareness explores the formation of infant movement experience and its manifest influence upon the later adult. Most significantly, it shows how the organizing principles in early development are functionally equivalent to those of the adult. It demonstrates how movement plays a critical role in a developing self-awareness for the infant and in maintaining a healthy self throughout life. In addition, a variety of case studies illustrates how infant developmental movement patterns are part of the moment-to-moment processes of the adult client and how to bring these patterns to awareness within therapy. Body of Awareness is intended to help therapists, new or advanced, to enhance their skills of attunement. They can do this by heightening their observations of subtle movement patterns as they emerge within the client/therapist relationship, and by respective their own developing feelings within session as essential information to the therapy process. And as developmental patterns are central to psychological functioning, a background study of movement provides the therapist with critical insight into the unfolding psychodynamic field.

Ruella Frank, Ph.D., is on the training faculty at the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy, the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy, adjunct faculty at the Gestalt Institute of Norway in Oslo, and the Center for Psychotherapy and Psychology in Madrid. She also trains within the United States and throughout the world.

Introduction. Part I: Opening Dialogue. The Emerging Dyad: Rachel and Alex. The First Session. Part II: Developmental Patterns and the Processes of Differentiation. Contacting and the Emergence of Pattern. Primary Supports for Contacting and Their Disruptions. A Closer Look at Differentiation. The Emergence of Toddling. The Adult Psychotherapy Client: Karla. Primary Orienting: Gravity, Earth, and Space. Orienting Through Weight. The Developing Experience of Weight. Yielding. The Moro Response. Orienting Possibilities and the Adult Therapy Client. Sharon: The Process of Yielding and the Experience of Support. Rhonda: Losing and Making Support. Part III: Reaching and Being Reached. The Developing Dynamics of Reaching. The Rooting Response: Reaching with the Mouth. The Adult Therapy Client. Bob. Cynthia. Brenda. Part IV: The Upright Stance. The Anatomy of Upright Being. Difficulties of Being Upright. Upright Behaviors in Infant Development. How Disruptions Develop. Dilemmas in Righting: The Adult Client. Lisa. Karen. Part V: Coming Into Wholeness: Annie's Story. Annie: 1985. Our Early Sessions. The Therapy: 1985-1996. Annie: 1996. Part VI: Resources for Therapists.