a new theory of embodiment.
i've been working more on my dissertation proposal. of my three chapters, the third one is still quite shaky. my third chapter is proposing a new psychotherapy of embodiment... yet, i'm really struggling to create a new psychotherapy out of thin air. which mainly means, i need to set it within a tradition. obviously my first thought is to set this within a feminist therapeutic tradition. another suggestion i received was to incorporate a relational psychoanalysis approach to answer some of these concerns. any other thoughts on main traditions??
some initial thoughts on embodiment within feminist psychotherapy: with the basis of feminist therapy as recognizing the oppressive hierarchy (patriarchy) in society and desiring to subvert those structures, an embodied focus in feminist therapy would highlight the importance of our bodies in connection with the social structures. it is in our bodies that we experience oppression. feminist therapy is keenly aware of power dynamics and an embodied feminist therapy would seek to put individuals in touch with the inherent power dynamics of their body--this is in regards to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, able-bodiedness, etc. there is some sense of men's bodies having more power (in our culture) than women's bodies. why is that? what is it about a woman's body that this inherent power has been subjugated or stripped from us? perhaps it's recognizing that, given our history, the male body may have an almost inherent sense of domination. an embodied, feminist approach would seek to make the body explicit in therapy.
some questions that still need to be explored: what does an embodied (feminist) psychotherapy actually look like? how would an embodied (feminist) psychotherapy uniquely respond to bodily issues in therapy -- cutting, rape, domestic violence, physical trauma, menopause, infertility, insomnia, sexual issues, etc??
2 comments:
I've always found that if I hold a problem/dilemma in front of me as I live and read and struggle with it and related issues, that I find the ways that things I read or think or that people say might be applicable to what I am trying to sort through. And the more I struggle and think about it (endlessly) the more likely I am to have a sudden flash of synthesis or insight when I am not thinking about it at al. i.e. the shower, the car, or when I should be listening to my wife talking to me ;o)
Just read everything with a pen or highlighter, and mark everything that seems like it might be a piece to a puzzle you're not really sure what it's supposed to look like. Eventually something starts to take form and you begin to fill in the gaps. I think what you have written as initial trajectories is absolutely fantastic, and HIGHLY promising!
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