March/April 2019

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Editor's Note

Rich Simon

For many years after, body therapy remained a semi-underground movement within the field. Now increasing numbers of clinicians are utilizing highly interactive, body-based approaches to help clients locate the somatic sources of their pain as well as discover new pathways to aliveness and joy.

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Two hands touching fingers

The Touch Taboo

Are We Missing a Vital Source of Healing?

Deb Dana

Polyvagal Theory offers a new kind of somatic road map for guiding both therapists and clients toward safety and connection. It can also empower therapists to tap into a vital source of healing that most view with great trepidation—the power of touch. Read More
A headshot of a man

From Margin to Mainstream

Peter Levine’s Bottom-Up Approach to Healing

Lauren Dockett

Body psychotherapy, once shrouded in controversy, has gained growing acceptance in the wider field. So how do these popular bottom-up approaches actually work? Read More
Peter Levine presenting

An Interview with Peter Levine

Turning Psychotherapy Bottom Up

Peter Levine

Peter Levine, developer of Somatic Experiencing, takes us inside his seemingly intuitive approach and reveals the guiding principles that inform his work. Read More
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Character Work

What Therapists Can Learn from Actors

Mark O'Connell

Therapists can flop in their “performance” with clients, coming off as inauthentic or over the top. One former actor discovers how to embody the kind of “scene partner” his clients need him to be. Read More
Chairs

Tips for a Sedentary Profession

Sitting Up!

Betsy Polatin

Therapists spend much of the day sitting in a chair. But most don’t consider how the way they sit affects the therapy experience for both them and their clients. Read More
An illustration of two figures dancing

Kindling the Spark

The Healing Power of Expressive Arts

Cathy Malchiodi

Aliveness is not an experience we think or talk ourselves into; it’s a state of being we feel in our bodies. An expressive arts therapist shows how creativity, movement, and play can help traumatized clients find their way toward vitality and healing. Read More

Extra Features

An orange flower in a field of lavender

Welcome to Holland

When Life Takes a Detour

Lori Gottlieb

What do you do when your life’s expectations get turned upside down? Read More
An illustration of a hand holding a cable connected to an EKG diagram

Dying Well

Humanizing Our Overmedicalized System

Katy Butler

Hospital protocols have replaced the time-honored customs that once enabled the dying to be lead actors in their life’s final drama. Why do we spend so much on last ditch medical treatments while depriving so many of what they need to die with dignity and peace? Read More

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