The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy & Somatic Psychology

[Courtenay Young]

Dear Colleagues, Acquaintances and Friends 

 

(and also the multitude of those of you who happen to be on my various e-mail lists - for some reason - and so, some of you, can probably ignore the rest of this e-mail, if you so wish).

At last - this massive 'tome'; this definitive 'volume'; this delectable 'dilatation' (but there I go again); this (dare I say it) 'book' - 

The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy & Somatic Psychology 

- is now out - published by North Atlantic Books - (officially) on 8th Dec 2015 - and is on sale (i.e. available) - now - FOR YOU - if you want it !!!

At this point, some of you may decide to opt out: and that's OK.

I just wanted to inform you that this 'book', 'volume', 'tome', etc. - has taken about 4-5 years out of my life in the process of editing this particular edition of this book; and a substantive part of my laptop's hard-drive (given all the different versions); as well as many over-long nights; several rants and raves from my long-suffering wife; delicate negotiations with over-sensitive authors (not you, of course); some meetings with obscure people in obscure places; and - of course (nowadays) - a massive amount of e-mail correspondence. 

This is - of course (inevitably) - the last, the very last - wave of that.

There is a link to this encyclopaedia of emotional experience (here) (- and also here and here or even here) - and I would be very grateful if you could possibly look at one of these links, and then possibly (hopefully) recommend it to all your friends, colleagues, acquaintances, customers, trainees, students, aged aunts, grandchildren, and e-mail lists as well, etc. ... as this book describes - very well (even though I say it myself) - something of the essence of whole field of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology - with which I (and many of us) have been intimately involved with for many years. 

It also - potentially - describes something quite unique and essential about yourself or your Self) ... as you have a body, and it is not just a vehicle with which to carry your head around. 

It is a part of - actually an essential part of - your very Self. I could go so far as to say that it actually is Your Self - as what would you be without it?

So you might begin to realise that you - and your body - are an indivisible whole - a unit - a functioning unity. 

And what has happened to your body has affected your mind; and what has happened in your mind has affected your body ... how not!

And so ... this book might just interest you - and your colleagues, friends, lovers, or whatever.

However, it is quite a massive tome - and it is therefore quite ... (dare I say it?) - somewhat pricey - but, of course, well worth it (of course).

However, I also notice that Amazon (in various different countries) are doing their very best to capitalise on this book - and are discounting it quite radically - with free postage !!! 

(which is quite something, as it weighs in at 2.1kg  or over 4lbs). So, maybe you can get a copy of this book, this way.

However, the potential success of this book is not surprising, as ... it has contributions from about 82 authors; has about 93 chapters; and has more than 500,000 words - all of which I have had the privilege to read (at least) 4 times (or more)! 

Plus it has a name index and a subject index - and a nicely designed cover! With all the authors names on it!

This is a (fairly) definitive book - and, if you know of someone who would like it as a Christmas gift (or as a doorstop), please order it forthwith (see links above).

If you have contacts with academia, then perhaps you could try to persuade your university library to order a copy.

If you enjoy massages, and touchy-feely stuff, and intimacy, and skin, and ... such stuff (!!!) ... etc. - now you can now find out why!

If you feel that your upbringing lacked (something?) - then this book may give you the answer.

And if you - like me - enough to want to add to my prosperity (in my old age) - then please buy a copy (or two)!

PS: You may have got more than one copy of this e-mail: sorry about that. At 4 am, in the morning ... I was trawling through e-mail connections.

PSS: If you were one of the 81 (other) authors, then I sincerely apologise for the fact that the "contract" with North Atlantic Books did not include a free copy for all of you (82) authors. 

What else can I say? As editors, we thought that we were lucky to get a complimentary copy (or two).

Anyway, now you know that it is OUT; it exists; and is - actually - almost certainly worth dipping into. 

You might even find out something about yourself and your relationship with your own body: That it is a priceless pearl ! (of course).

Yours

Courtenay Young

(PS: Some of may have got this once, twice or even three times - depending on which lists you are on).

The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology provides a comprehensive overview of body-centered psychotherapies, which stress the centrality of the body to overcoming psychological distress, trauma, and mental illness. Psychologists and therapists are increasingly incorporating these somatic or body-oriented therapies into their practices, making mind-body connections that enable them to provide better care for their clients. Designed as a standard text for somatic psychology courses, The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology contains nearly 100 cutting-edge essays and studies by respected professionals from around the world on such topics as the historical roots of Body Psychotherapy; the role of the body in developmental psychology; the therapeutic relationship in Body Psychotherapy; and much more, as well as helpful case studies and essays; as well as articles on on the use of Body Psychotherapy for specific disorders. This anthology will be indispensable for students of clinical and counseling psychology, somatic psychology, and various forms of body-based therapy (including dance and movement therapies), and is also an essential reference work for most practicing psychotherapists, regardless of their therapeutic orientation.

Contributors: Gustl Marlock, Halko Weiss, Courtenay Young, Michael Soth, Ulfried Geuter, Judyth O. Weaver, Wolf E. Büntig, Nicholas Bassal, Michael Coster Heller, Heike Langfeld, Dagmar Rellensmann, Don Hanlon Johnson, Christian Gottwald, Andreas Wehowsky, Gregory J. Johanson, David Boadella, Alexander Lowen, Ian J. Grand, Marilyn Morgan, Stanley Keleman, Eugene T. Gendlin, Marion N. Hendricks-Gendlin, Michael Harrer, Ian J. Grand, Marianne Bentzen, Andreas Sartory, George Downing, Andreas Wehowsky, Marti Glenn, Ed Tronick, Bruce Perry, Susan Aposhyan, Mark Ludwig, Ute-Christiane Bräuer, Ron Kurtz, Christine Caldwell, Albert Pesso, Michael Randolph, William F. Cornell, Richard A. Heckler, Gill Westland, Lisbeth Marcher, Erik Jarlnaes, Kirstine Münster, Tilmann Moser, Frank Röhricht, Ulfried Geuter, Norbert Schrauth, Ilse Schmidt-Zimmermann, Peter Geissler, Ebba Boyesen, Peter Freudl, James Kepner, Dawn Bhat, Jacqueline Carleton, Ian Macnaughton, Peter A. Levine, Stanley Keleman, Narelle McKenzie, Jack Lee Rosenberg, Beverly Kitaen Morse, Angela Belz-Knöferl, Lily Anagnostopoulou, William F. Cornell, Guy Tonella, Sasha Dmochowski, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar, Jacqueline A. Carleton, Manfred Thielen, Xavier Serrano Hortelano, Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton, Thomas Harms, Nicole Gäbler, John May, Rob Fisher, Eva R. Reich, Judyth O. Weaver, Barnaby B. Barratt, Sabine Trautmann-Voigt, Wiltrud Krauss-Kogan, Ilana Rubenfeld, Camilla Griggers, Serge K. D. Sulz, Nossrat Peseschkian, Linda H. Krier, Jessica Moore Britt, and Daniel P. Brown.