Encountering the Shadow

Working with Negativity in the Therapeutic Process

Authors

  • Vita Heinrich-Clauer

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2020-30-39

Keywords:

negativity, Gollum, externalization, vocal expression, tongue

Abstract

The interacting unconscious in the contact between therapist and client, the (self) sabotage and destructiveness observed as resistance in the contact to oneself and to others, is explained conceptually and illustrated with case studies. Therapeutic techniques will be presented which allow a creative and energizing, vocally expressive handling of the hostility bound up in the introject, in which the patient «embraces” their own shadow. The bases for the practical work are the well-known concepts and interventions of Bioenergetic Analysis, and this perspective is extended by reference to the anatomical-functional and the neurovegetative contexts of vocal expression. The tongue is of particular importance as it is a universal organ of expression for rejection, contempt, aversion as well as for desire. The familiar and the new are placed within a specific therapeutic framework.

Author Biography

Vita Heinrich-Clauer

Dr. Vita Heinrich-Clauer, Dipl.-Psych., is a member of the IIBA Faculty. She works in private practice in Osnabrück/Germany, and teaches Bioenergetic Analysis in various European countries and in New Zealand. She has published articles in several Journals, including the IIBA Journal, and lectures in Germany. She is the editor of the Handbook Bioenergetic Analysis (2011), which has now been published in several languages.
039-058 36012

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Published

2020-03-01

How to Cite

Heinrich-Clauer, V. (2020). Encountering the Shadow: Working with Negativity in the Therapeutic Process. Bioenergetic Analysis, 30(1), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2020-30-39

Issue

Section

Articles