Haptonomy and somatodrama

1.Haptonomy

I am going to introduce you to a psychological method that is only practiced by a few professionals in our country. I am proud to have had the privilege of learning this method, which is not really a method, but a way of life, an attitude, under the wing of Jean-Luc Deconinc, President of the French Association of Somato-Psychotherapy.

Haptonomics can be useful if you are in acute or chronic pain, during surgical recovery, during pregnancy and can also help you to heal. It is also proven in a wide range of other areas.

I.History

The method of haptotherapy was created by Franz Veldman (1921-2010), a Dutchman who spent the last years of his life in France. Among his inspirers are names such as Bernard This and Francoise Dolto. It was in the concentration camps during the persecution of the Jews that Veldman observed the importance of affective contact for survival. From this insight, he developed the science of haptonomy, affective contact, which explores people's behaviour in social interactions and emotional relationships.

The word haptonomy in classical Greek dapsis (touch, touch, touch) and nomos (law, rule, norm) is derived from a compound of the words. A acid from the verb hapto I touch, I reconnect, I connect, I connect, metaphorically: I connect by touch, to make someone whole, to affirm their existence.

 II. General introduction to the method

Today's culture of medical consultations and treatments is professionalised by protocols that define the way treatment is carried out. Protocols protect us from complaints and insurance lawsuits, but they leave no space or time for therapy that takes into account the client's individual needs. The method of haptonomics focuses on the individual, allowing for an intuitive understanding of how the person perceives the world and what motivations drive their behaviour.

It is like a journey of discovery, which the client can undertake in an atmosphere of trust and intimacy, allowing the sharing of inner experiences. The aim of the haptotherapy process is to allow the client to experience a basic affective safety, to feel safe to connect, to share, to express their suffering and emotions in a gentle and delicate environment. The method is equally suitable for unpacking painful situations and for experiencing new, empowering and recharging experiences. This can have many beneficial effects, including raising the pain threshold and increasing stability.

An authentic haptonomic approach also places a strong emphasis on personal development. The therapeutic relationship, which includes the psycho-tactile relationship, provides opportunities for personal growth and development. Haptonomy approaches the client with an interpersonal, emotionally affirming attitude. It encourages him to use his emotional capacities and to base his life path on them. The haptonomic phenomenology of contact differs from other types of contact in that it has a central role for touch, which is so distinct and prominent that it is called psycho-tactile because of this characteristic. This touch is different from all the experiences we have had in doctor's surgeries, examinations and other somatotherapeutic methods. In fact, haptonomy is not a method, not a technique, but an art of being human, a way of life, an attitude.

III. Range of indications

The approach has proved to have a significant impact in a wide range of areas beyond the perinatal context. The haptonomic approach has also proved effective in psychotherapy, where the aim is to help people suffering from existential anxiety, frustration and lack of fulfilment to find their own inner vitality and thus regain their health.

Another area of application is haptosynthesis, which seeks to promote a sense of physical comfort through the promotion of human dignity. It seeks to restore a sense of wholeness in people whose bodily integrity has been compromised by psychological trauma or illness. In the case of post-traumatic stress, it helps people to return to a sense of basic security. Both hapto-psychotherapy and haptosynthesis can be used effectively in palliative care, supporting the dying and their relatives.

IV. Perinatal autonomy

There is obstetric, prenatal care - called perinatal haptonomy, which continues into the first years of the infant's life. Its aim is to nurture and support the relationship and dialogue between father, mother, siblings and the foetus and then the infant, to strengthen the mother's sense of security, to keep the baby in the pelvis, to support labour and birth/delivery, to care for and hold the newborn, etc. The soft method of haptonomy is also particularly suitable for dealing with foetal, birth or early childhood trauma.

IV. Conduct of the meeting

A haptotherapy session lasts half an hour to an hour and a half, it is difficult to give an exact time frame. The patient and the therapist establish a relationship beyond the talk, through the CONTEXT OF SENSITIVE CONTACT THAT PROVIDES PERSONAL CONDUCT. The therapist conveys unconditional love and acceptance to the patient. The therapist himself pays great attention to his feelings, surrendering himself to the patient's experience, which permeates his whole being without overwhelming it. The therapist invites the patient to experience and express his or her feelings through touch contact and verbal expressions, and affirms the patient in what he or she is experiencing. It is not a question of doing or giving something as a therapist, but only of inviting the other person to come, to let go, to speak freely, because this is how the therapist can listen and thus confirm what has been communicated to him or her in confidence.

2. Somatodrama

Somatodrama is a body-oriented, somato-psychotherapeutic, body-based method of self-awareness, which gives us the opportunity to learn more about and influence the hidden workings of our own body in a creative, playful way, and thus to be able to perceive and heal ourselves from a complex, psychosomatic perspective.

The process allows us to meet the hidden secrets of our bodies and to get in touch with our own body parts - symbolically as well as in reality - in a more emotional way. The method is based on the principle that understanding and transforming our perceptions of our own bodies can trigger healing processes in our bodies, often by unblocking a stubborn, unconscious block. Often, behind the physical process, the drama of the soul unfolds, with forgotten childhood memories, family conflicts, unmourned losses, buried shame causing our complaints. The healing process begins with surprising speed as soon as we bring to light what has been hidden and repressed. In addition to deepening our physical and spiritual self-awareness, the aim of the meetings is to better understand our physical processes and symptoms and to remove obstacles to physical and spiritual healing.

How does somatodrama therapy work?

The method is usually used in a group setting, with the psychologist using dramatic methods to sensitively guide the participants. The therapist guides the play with understanding, but stays in the background as much as possible.When we use dramatic means to stage someone's body parts or bodily processes, we create a platform for new insights and also an excellent malleable surface, where symptoms and body parts can be represented through other people. We always start from the body, translating the body's 'speech' of symptoms and complaints into theatrical language, then into the language of the soul, then back into theatrical language, to release a transformed pattern back into the body.The dramas unfolding before the participants' eyes give them the opportunity to take on different roles, even trying out what it is like to be, for example, a sore knee or a woman in utero after a miscarriage. The dramatic method gives the participants the opportunity to act out emerging bodily themes, giving them the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies and persons, and to be creative. The effect is individual and varied, but whether the experience is cathartic or a silent contemplation of what is experienced, it certainly leaves us with much to think about and change in the days following the drama.