Therapeutic Communication

Catalog description

This course provides an overview of key concepts and methods in therapeutic communication, integrating psychodynamic, humanistic, and other approaches. Appreciating the dynamic unity of psychological and bodily experiences, this course presents the foundations of therapeutic theories and techniques integrating traditional and somatic perspectives. Emphasis is placed on personal and interpersonal somato-psychological issues as well as on basic treatment considerations including the therapeutic container, empathy, boundaries, assessment, transferences, interventions, impasses, and embodying one's self as therapist. Stages of therapy, the scope of practice, and an appreciation of multiculturalism are elaborated. Specific clinical approaches in somatic psychotherapy are introduced including explorations with sensory mindfulness, breath, movement, and touch. Emphasis is placed on appreciating, from a somatic perspective, 1) individual organization and expression, 2) family and social systems, and 3) practitioner self-awareness and development. RESTRICTED TO MA SOMATIC PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS