Body-mapping with therapeutic practitioners: An embodied exploration of therapists’ perceptions of the body, and use of embodiment within therapy

Bond, Zenia

Abstract

Alongside the growth of body-oriented approaches to therapy over the past couple of decades, ‘embodiment’ and the ‘embodied relationship’ have become increasingly cited constructs within the therapeutic and psychological worlds, and yet, the use of embodiment in these contexts is still largely under-explored, particularly regarding therapists’ embodiment. For this reason, this research has focussed on therapeutic practitioners’ perceptions of their embodiment, and their use of embodiment in the therapeutic context, with the aim of contributing to an understanding of how an embodied awareness in therapists could add to the practice of counselling psychologists. As part of the research process, the therapeutic practitioners’ experience of participating in a body-focussed reflection exercise called body-mapping was explored and the value of embodied exercises like these considered.

This research also recognises that there are parallels between the therapeutic and research contexts in the way bodies are an ever-present and yet often under acknowledged aspect of their respective processes. Consequently, this research aimed to contribute to the growing literature on embodied qualitative research methods by taking up this approach, adopting body-mapping as an embodied data collection method, and centralising both researcher and participant bodies throughout the process.

A phenomenologically orientated reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore the therapeutic practitioners’ embodiment. The artistic body-mapping exercise was incorporated as a means of encouraging embodied reflection and capturing these reflections on a life size, visual ‘map.’ Practitioners were asked to reflect on this exercise, alongside their wider experience of embodiment. Ten body-mapping sessions and reflective interviews were conducted with therapeutic practitioners. These were carried out face-to-face (one interview) and online via Teams/Skype (nine interviews). The interviews were transcribed and then analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis (2012, 2019).

The analysis produced six themes: (1) Thinking head, feeling body, and ‘I’; (2) A life in this body; (3) Body control; (4) Embodiment is here-and-now; (5) The energetic body; and (6) Know thy body to use it. In addition, the analysis outlined two topic summaries: (1) Embodiment in an online or telephone context; and (2) Reflections on the body-mapping exercise.

The analysis suggests that, despite there being some discomfort and vulnerability in incorporating bodies in both the therapeutic and research contexts, centralising bodies can make processes more alive, creative, present in the here-and-now and more connected to feeling. In addition, by making more time and space to increase our awareness, understanding and ways of communicating our embodiment in both these contexts, we can gain a valuable source of information and a resource for clinical and research practice in counselling psychology, and lessen the likelihood of therapist/ researcher bodies impacting practice and processes detrimentally.

In the remainder of the introduction, I consider the dualistic thinking underlying Western culture, and counselling psychology’s stance on this. I then explore the ways in which the phenomenological perspective underpinning counselling psychology is an appropriate lens through which to consider bodies. Next, the concept of embodiment is outlined, and the place of embodiment in both therapeutic and research contexts. I will then outline body-mapping, the embodied method used to stimulate reflection on embodiment in this research, before finally, outlining the research aims.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 28, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10107465
• Award Date: Jun 19, 2023