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Bodyspace Groups for Self DevelopmentAnalytical Body Psychotherapy Weekly Ongoing Groups
Since much of life takes place in groups (that is any gathering of 3 or more), conflicts specific to group situations are often most readily dealt with in a group setting, which has as its task the resolution of these very same conflicts. In a group there is space for laughter as often as tears, generosity as much as loathing, intelligence as well as passion. The group is a place where you may explore your past, your present or your future. It is a place where you may discover and develop the meaning you give to your life. Successful groups at times move beyond problem solving into states of enhanced awareness, creativity and delight.
PSYCHODYNAMIC. The traditional more verbal approach permits a natural re-experiencing of many but not all difficulties. A group engages in a more or less spontaneous interaction and discussion that may often mirror individuals experience outside the group. Contact with others gives stimulus, support, and challenge. Opportunities arise to change unhelpful perceptions and behaviour. Over a period of time whatever is unconscious will be uncovered, researched and integrated into consciousness. Methods - Free association. Recall of dreams and manifestations of the unconscious. Interpretation of defenses eg. splitting, projection, denial. Reflection of the group process. PSYCHODRAMA. A creative action-based therapy where the approach is 'show us' as a way to 'tell us'. Thus through taking roles in a situation new responses are discovered and skills for living practiced actively and awarely. Everyone can do this, there is no need to be an actor. Methods - Enactment of a scene brought in from your life outside, past or present. Dramatisation of here and now issues within the group. Drawings, guided imagery and visualisation. BIOENERGETICS. A body oriented therapy emphasising the energetic processes of breathing and movement,sexuality and emotional self-expression. Bioenergetics addresses the bodily interruption of pleasurable functioning in these linked elements of your experience. Bodywork is used in the group to ensure contactful presence from head to foot. Methods - Focus on body sensations, embodied attitudes, spontaneous movements, breathing rhythms. Suggested expressive movements accompanied by verbal or non-verbal voicing, sometimes noisy. Exercises to develop grounding, centering and facing. This is an integrative and holistic approach to groupwork, combining essential elements of both humanistic (actively structured) and traditional (free ranging discussion) group therapy. There is an alternation between the activated phases (through bioenergetics and psychodrama) and the more open ended talking phases (psychodynamics), each enriching the other. Interventions aim to mobilise the unique resources present in each group member and each group as a whole. An analytical body psychotherapy group functions at an intense level.
Every group features a slice of the population and will not necessarily include anyone you would ordinarily develop a friendship with. However in the alchemy of groupwork these strangers invariably transform into people with whom you are able to be at least as, if not more intimate with, than many people you choose to live your life with. Usually there is a mixture of age and cultural backgrounds. All groups are mixed and where possible a balance is kept between women and men. The differences between people bring into focus parts of yourself that might otherwise remain disowned. The people composing a group change slowly. Some will be there for several years, others for a few months, while someone else may happen to join at the same time as you, depending on when places come free. Groups have been running continuously since the 1980's. The dates people may join and leave are known in advance, and in between normally no new members are admitted, (one group has a different contract). After a minimum period of seven sessions you decide in due course with the help of the group and the therapist when it is time to leave. When full there will be ten or twelve people in a group. Newcomers to groupwork or people experienced in groups are equally welcome. Some group members will be concurrently in individual therapy, others not. Members of a group are expected to prioritise attending. Deep and effective work is compromised by irregular presence. There are agreed groundrules for the safety of group members, in particular confidentiality is required. Each meeting of a group is like a bus journey where the destination is unknown. Group members are both driver and passengers. The therapist is usually the conductor, occasionally the inspector.
Groups take place in EC1 at The Open Centre, two minutes walk from Old Street tube station (Exit 6). One group is in N7, five minutes walk from Finsbury Park tube station.
Groups are available at different times, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They follow a termly rhythm throughout the year, with breaks at Christmas, Easter and a longer break over August. Sessions take place in continuous blocks of six or seven weeks, usually with a half-term week off in between. Occasional one or two day weekend groups are available as an optional supplement to membership of an ongoing group or alternatively as a one-off experience, that you may repeat as and when you can. Occasional one day theme workshops at weekends (Sensations Series) allow for intensive focus on a topic. Regular evening introductory talks provide a chance to ask questions and meet without further obligation.
You may ring at any time to ascertain current availability of places and starting dates. I will ask you to attend an initial interview. This may help you to decide whether to go further. It will establish what it is you are bringing to the group and is often a helpful session in its own right. No interview is necessary for weekend groups but if you have not previously worked with me please phone before booking.
Fees for ongoing groups range from £22 to £27.50 per session depending on whether the group has 2 hour or 21/2 hour sessions. Fees are payable monthly in advance or at the first session of a six or seven session block. In case of financial hardship fees may be rescheduled by agreement. Concessions are only available for weekend groups, for which the usual fee is £50 for one day, £95 for two days.
is a body psychotherapist who has been working for twenty years with ongoing and weekend groups at The Open Centre, the long established (1977) independent personal growth centre . He is accredited as a group psychotherapist and bodywork practitioner by the Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners and is a graduate of three trainings - The Institute for the Development of Human Potential (2 years). The Institute of Psychotherapy and Social Studies (3 years) and The British Association of Analytical Body Psychotherapy (5 years). He supervises practitioners in a variety of settings. He is interested in the politics of the therapy profession and the cultural value of groups for personal growth.
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