[Adta] Re: RE: Movement Profile of Eating Disorder

Mon Feb 5 19:53:55 EST 2007

While we are having a discussion re: ED's - I'd like to recommend a website called www.any-body.org.  Please visit this website which has wonderful resources regarding body image.

----- Original Message -----
From: skdmt2
Date: Monday, February 5, 2007 3:04 pm
Subject: RE: Movement Profile of Eating Disorder
To: nava_lotan at yahoo.com, adta at adta.org, awenner at optonline.net

> Hi Nava, Anne & others interested in this subj.
>
> Nava said: " Watching the body of ED women lately, it is very
> clear to me that it is a syndrome which is built on
> many different manifestations. The ED symptoms may be
> similar but each body "tell" a different story-
> require a different intervening strategy. Some are
> more into Verticality, exploring boundaries and others
> are more horizontal. Did you or anyone else looked
> and published about movement profiles of ED?"
>
> I agree & think the ED is a very complex disorder
>
> My forte has not been in the area of movement profiles of ED but
> more in
> understanding the experience of ED & helping women move their ED
> aside to
> reclaim their bodies & their "self"
> Perhaps others can respond though re this issue, as well as what
> I am
> including below.
>
> I have my own way of describing what I see-, perhaps not
> terribly efficient
> but more in terms of metaphor, countertransferential responses
> that I
> attempt to balance & to use, etc.
> I think I addressed that in an ADTA conference presentation in
> 2004 in New
> Orleans.
> Here's my abstract.
> Use of Self as a Dance/Movement Therapist: Our Greatest
> Therapeutic Tool
>
> Human beings communicate through their bodies long before they
> learn to
> talk (Kleinman & Hall, 2003). As we develop we add words to our
> communication, however, body language remains our most acute
> means of
> recognizing our needs and expressing ourselves (Chace with
> Dyrud, 1993;
> Kleinman & Hall, 2003). Yet, when faced with difficult therapeutic
> situations, dance/movement therapists often look to techniques
> or props,
> rather then trusting their own sense of self, to determine their
> responses.According to Yalom, "Above all, the therapist must be
> prepared to go
> wherever the patient goes". .I believe technique is facilitated
> when it
> emanates from the therapist's unique encounter with the patient"
> (2002).The therapists' own experience of embodiment, ability to
> access their own
> unconscious material, and way of being in their body, is part of
> their sense
> of self, and plays a role in the healing process between
> therapist and
> client ( Harris & Kleinman, 2003). According to Virginia Satir,
> "When I am
> in touch with myself, my feelings, my thoughts, with what I see
> and hear, I
> am growing toward becoming a more integrated self. I am more
> congruent, I am
> more 'whole,' and I am able to make greater contact with the
> other person."
> Satir, V, p27 (1987).
> As dance/movement therapists, we need to be especially
> sensitive to the
> subtle dynamic between our own body/mind experience and that of our
> patients. Our use of "self" is, in essence, our greatest
> therapeutic tool.
>
> Harris, R. & Kleinman, S. ( 2003). Training for becoming an Embodied
> Therapist. Presented at The 13th Annual Renfrew Center Foundation
> Conference, Feminists Perspectives on Body Image, Trauma and Healing.
> Philadelphia, PA.
> Kleinman, S.& Hall, T. (2003). Dance/movement therapy: A method for
> embodying emotions. The Renfrew Center Working Papers, Volume 1, Fall.
> Satir, V. (1987). The therapist story. In M. Baldwin & V. Satir
> (Eds.), The use of self in therapy (p. 23). New York: The
> Haworth Press.
> Yalom, I. D. (2002). The gift of therapy (p. 34). New York:
> HarperCollins.
>
> Susan
>
> Susan Kleinman, MA, ADTR, NCC
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nava lotan [mailto:nava_lotan at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 10:28 AM
> To: skdmt2; adta at adta.org
> Subject: Movement Profile of Eating Disorder
>
> Thank you Susan
> What a wonderful response. You know, I wonder if we
> can speak about Somatic Transference, counter
> transference and projective identification
> (kinesthetic empathy, attunement etc..) by using
> mirror neurons language-
>
> Watching the body of ED women lately, it is very
> clear to me that it is a syndrome which is built on
> many different manifestations. The ED symptoms may be
> similar but each body "tell" a different story-
> require a different intervening strategy. Some are
> more into Verticality, exploring boundaries and others
> are more horizontal. Did you or anyone else looked
> and published about movement profiles of ED? ..and
> again I really appreciate relating so quickly to my
> inquiries.
> best
> Nava Lotan
> Israel
> --- skdmt2 wrote:
>
> > Hi Nava!
> > You said: " Hi Susan
> >
> > I watched the movie THIN, which I believe was filmed
> >
> > in your center (yes?) last year. After the film, my
> >
> > students and I felt an urge to eat and we
> > experienced
> >
> > a feeling of starvation. As if we have/must eat
> >
> > immediately and eat a lot! It was very strange.
> > The
> >
> > movie is difficult to watch and I wonder if this is
> >
> > something you experience and what you are making of
> >
> > it? somatic transference?
> >
> >
> >
> > Hope you don't mind the question and will appreciate
> >
> > your comments
> >
> > feel free to respond through the list,
> >
> >
> >
> > thanks
> >
> > Nava Lotan "
> >
> >
> ................................................................
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yes, I think you are probably experiencing somatic
> > transference & I am not
> > immune however, I believe it can be transformed into
> > a very useful
> > therapeutic tool, if we are able to understand what
> > is we are dealing with-
> > what is getting triggered for us.
> >
> > I am including a section of a Working Paper on group
> > therapy- see
> > below-unfortunately it is no longer available- that
> > explores this issue.
> >
> >
> >
> > Interesting isn't it! let me explain a bit I think
> > is relevant. People w/
> > ED tend to make everything about food, physical
> > weight, size, body parts
> > instead of the issues that underlie ED. I compare
> > living w/ ED to living in
> > a very restricted space in one's house & trying to
> > keep everything under
> > control in that space. Over the weekend in Central
> > Florida, there were some
> > terrible tornados & one woman was shown on TV who
> > sought refuge in her
> > bathroom. When she emerged after the tornado, she
> > found everything intact in
> > her bedroom but when she opened the door to the rest
> > of her house, it was a
> > shambles- That's kind if what happens w/ an ED- The
> > ED person, in an attempt
> > to deal w/ life, tries to use only ED behaviors as
> > coping mechanisms because
> > they are so scared or overwhelmed re their life.
> >
> > In their development & history there may be lots of
> > control, trauma, perhaps
> > some genetic factors also- a predisposition to an
> > ED, they feel so
> > overwhelmed & often frightened dealing w/ life
> > through a more "normal"
> > route, that they detour & try to restrict their
> > feelings & thoughts, pick on
> > themselves, put themselves down, run from themselves
> > to try to find relief,
> > to find ways to purge their feelings, stuff them
> > inside & try to protect
> > them, etc. Eventually, this turns into what is
> > called an eating disorder.
> >
> >
> >
> > I try to refocus the women I see on the underlying
> > issues & also to
> > separate food from feelings, physical weight &
> > hunger from emotional weight
> > & hunger, etc. I let the nutritionists & medical
> > staff deal with those
> > issues & try to understand & help them understand
> > what they are
> > experiencing, express it, & connect the meaning of
> > these feelings, patterns,
> > events, etc, in their lives, as well as to challenge
> > them to take risks to
> > live more expansively.
> >
> >
> >
> > Also, may people w/ ED have OCD or very ritualistic
> > behaviors & that is seen
> > of course in their whole movement repertoire, as
> > well as in the dining room,
> > where food rituals are not allowed. Cognitive
> > thinking is often so black &
> > white- so linear- it's like swimming in a pool- up
> > one lane & back, rather
> > then including abstract thinking- being in the gray
> > areas- of course, d/mt
> > is grey.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Also, FYI As you noticed, I'm sure, barely any
> > therapy was shown in THIN,
> > although it was filmed. It just wasn't what the
> > director chose to show.
> >
> >
> >
> > I see that I've gotten somewhat off track from your
> > specific question but
> > realize that what was triggered for me was one of
> > the most impt issues I
> > believe in treating ED & that is understanding & as
> > d/mts, that means
> > getting involved & working to understand & balance
> > our own personal
> > responses- physical, emotional-cognitive, often as
> > cues.
> >
> >
> >
> > Perhaps others who work w/ ED will also respond to
> > these issues raised by
> > Nava & her students. Patrizia, you also may have
> > some things to add ( see
> > below)
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks for writing.
> >
> >
> >
> > Susan
> >
> >
> >
> > Susan kleinman, MA ADTR, NCC
> >
> >
> ................................................................
> >
> > Reference info: Kleinman, S., Gerstein, F., Botwin,
> > S., Developing
> > Connections in Group Therapy. The Renfrew Center
> > Working Papers, Volume 2,
> > Fall., 2004
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > From Developing Connections in Group Therapy
> >
> > Fran Gerstein, PhD, Shari Botwin, LCSW, Susan
> > Kleinman, MA, ADTR, NCC
> >
> >
> >
> > "... Managing Countertransference
> >
> > Eating disorder therapists are prone to certain
> > types of
> > countertransferential, often visceral in nature.
> > One notable somatic
> > reaction to dealing with anorexic patients is that
> > therapists can find
> > themselves hungry and fantasizing about food during
> > a group session. It is
> > as if the therapist picks up the sense of "hunger"
> > and deprivation the
> > patient is attempting to ward off. Because Renfrew
> > therapists deal with so
> > many patients with eating disorders, they are prone
> > to very specific types
> > of somatic countertransferential feelings. Pallaro,
> > in
> === message truncated ===
>
>
>
>
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