From the Background Paper for the Future of Bodywork Seminar
"Where Do We Go From Here?" held November 19, 2009
by Jack Blackburn, MTS-SD, LMP
Somatic Interactions with Clients
a. Somatics, inner/outer awareness, client involvement
One of the biggest revolutions in health care and the other caregiving professions is somatics, meaning recruiting the body-mind of the client or patient into active engagement in their own healing process through their own feeling awareness in their body. As with placebo effects, there has not been enough research to fully understand the effects of the patient’s own somatic awareness upon their own health and healing from disease and disability. But preliminary work has shown that client involvement can have tremendous benefit to the caregiving process. Also there is much to do in terms of client recruitment and willingness to trust their own input. Just like the search for nuclear fusion, somatic awareness, somatic medicine, psycho-immunology and psychobiology are new and ancient approaches that seem to offer a bright future for humanity and the Earth’s; but each seems elusive and hard to investigate. Bodyworkers who work somatically are discovering their own results in this direction. Because we spend much hands-on time with our clients and their bodies, we can be in the forefront of this potential revolution.
b. Client education
Bodyworkers in general believe that part of their function is to bring more understanding of the body and its functions to their clients. But there is little time devoted to this aspect in their training. Many practitioners cross ethical boundaries by giving advice and information to their clients, which they honestly believe will be helpful. Also many use their perceived educative function to preach to their clients about why they are so stuck in their lives and how certain lifestyle changes and products are important. Client education is an important function of the educated bodyworker. Perhaps we need to look more closely at what is legitimate information, and get trained about how to pass it on. What is the role of client education and how can it be given with integrity?
c. Combine with spiritual, psychological, coaching programs
All bodyworkers have clients that make significant life changes as a result of the support they receive from their sessions. These results are similar to the quality of life shifts that are goals of spiritual direction, transpersonal psychology, and life coaching. Bodyworkers who are also trained in these other approaches can possibly have a deeper understanding and appreciation of their clients’ life changes. The witnessing relationship between client and practitioner team seems to be a very large factor in supporting the life changes. Also the amount of session time devoted to attitudinal shifts and life changes by both client and practitioner is comparable. This is quite different from medical approaches: medicine, psychiatry, medical massage, physical therapy.
For more information about this event, or biographies of the panelists, please visit the Future of Bodywork.
