The Role of Emotions in Therapy
The Role of Emotions in Therapy can not be understated. The impact of Materialism and Reductionism in western medicine and psychology saw human emotions sidelined as unimportant when compared to the mind and the thinking processes of our human condition. Emotions were marginalised in the understanding of how to treat people undergoing psychotherapy and psychology sessions as a result.
Neuroscience has changed all that. We now understand that basic emotions are fundamental powers of the human mind and body, playing key roles in both mental and physical health, mental disorders, relationships and even our reality.
Neuroscience recognises 5 core organisers to the formation of moments of human existence. The 5 are:
- Cognitions / Thoughts / Words
- Feelings / Emotions
- Present Moment Experience and bodily sensations
- Images
Treatment that involves galvanising emotions is now understood to be the critical language of the body and brain which creates and alters our neural pathways. The engagement of the 5 core organisers, which includes our emotions, then translates into making deep and lasting changes to our unconscious limbic brain.
As our unconscious informs our conscious brain and conscious awareness, this means clients can make real and lasting changes to their beliefs, thoughts, unconscious emotional responses to triggers, and resolve states of trauma in their life.
The concept of traditional healing is also now being taken seriously by scientists and clinicians as a powerful tool to engage and use emotions to effect positive psychological and physical change in humans. The tired old notion that healing is a superstition or a placebo is now discredited by Neuroscience and by leading medical researchers. Healing is now being understood as a valid process with characteristic mechanisms that therapists and healers need to understand.
A key issue in Body Psychotherapy is the use and regulation of emotions. Many people either inappropriately use their emotions, or disown their emotional life and instead “live in their heads”. Each stance has its consequences on the bodymind health of a person. Relationships live or die around emotions and the communication of emotions. Correct use of emotions allows us to repair, heal, grow and learn.
We recognise this critical aspect of the human condition and hold a safe space for clients to express and learn to contain emotions without their being abusive, overwhelming or flooding the client. Clients learn to re-integrate their emotional life into their wider sense of self, discover their joy, love, health, well being and vitality.
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