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101-2145
W. Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6K 4L3
(604) 323-6669
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Contents
The Organic
Process
is one of the many forms of therapy known as primal.
Primal
may have begun with Freud. It's been reported that early in his career
he experimented with a form of primal before abandoning it for the
psychoanalysis
with which we are familiar. True or not, Wilhelm
Reich, a protégéé of Freud, appears to be the
first person to have focused on and made explicit the role of the body
in the understanding and resolving of emotional difficulties. Reich can
truly be called the father of primal Reichian methods are still
practised, mostly in the northeast U.S. Since Reich’s death in 1954, a
number of persons who were involved with him have devised their own
methods.
These are called Neo-Reichian. Among these are the Bioenergetics of
Alexander Lowen and the Radix
Body-Education of Charles Kelley.
Although
related, primal
is a different path. Many people were practising various primal
processes
for many years before Arthur
Janov made primal a household word with the publication of his
book,
"The Primal Scream." Dr. Linn was trained in Organic
Process
Therapy--a unique form of primal--in 1977, by its creator, Daniel
Miller, Ph.D. Dan describes it as a "multidisciplinary approach,
drawing
upon methods of Primal, Gestalt,
and Bioenergetics."
For the
most
part, the
Organic Process deals with "pain." Pain is comprised of
more
than such physical distresses as a headache or broken bone. It also
comprises
disappointment, anger, hurt, scare, shame, guilt, and so on. Pain is
any
sort of distress, any perceived interference with one’s hope for
fulfilment
of one’s desires (for comfort, safety, ease, love, success, wealth...).
One of
the
hallmarks of
the Organic Process is the focus on true acceptance/non-coercion. In
guiding
you in the Process, your primaler does not attempt, through
explanation,
to dissuade you from what you feel or reassure you that there is
nothing
to worry about. Nor does he or she attempt to force or badger you into
feeling any particular way. You will find that no matter what your
pain,
e.g., stuck, guilty, ashamed, discouraged, enraged, hateful, scared,
Your
primaler will not tell you what to feel but will endeavour to
acknowledge
and accept you, to encourage and guide you in being just as you are.
There
are a
number of
implicit--but inaccurate--beliefs about feeling and emotion that
clients
often bring to the Process. Among these are:
| |
BELIEF |
FACT |
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|
1.
|
If
I feel, I’ll die. Strong emotion is dangerous. |
In
fact, unless your body has already been damaged, (e.g., you have
diabetes
or a damaged heart), being fully emotional is not dangerous, it is
healing. |
|
2.
|
If I
cry, I’ll never stop. |
In
fact, no matter how wounded you are, no matter how intensely you cry,
it
will not last forever. It is not likely to last more than five to
fifteen
minutes.In reality, the more fully you embody your grief, the briefer
it
will be. |
|
3.
|
If I
get angry, I’ll
destroy
the world. |
In
fact, if you embody your unfinished anger in the primal room, although
you may destroy someone in effigy, all you will do is get beyond that
anger
and find relief. |
|
4.
|
If I
let go, I’ll go crazy
and never come back. |
In
fact, in letting go in the primal room, you’ll discover that it is not
the source of craziness, but of sanity.You will thereby gain confidence
that you will not go crazy, while discovering how to maintain your
sanity. |
Giving
yourself over in
these ways in the primal room will enhance your ability to be assertive
in your dealings in the world and will actually diminish your risk of
being
socially inappropriate.
One
common
experience
that brings people to primal is the feeling of being choked up, of
there
being something "inside" (possibly a scream, but not necessarily) that
seems to want to come out, but doesn’t seem able. Another is the
experience
of being unable to contain emotional expression (often, tears). Whether
it is something they cannot get out or something they cannot keep in,
they
are likely to believe that there is something wrong with them for not
being
able to put it behind them once-and-for-all.
Other
indicators include
a sense of depression that never seems to leave for long, anxiety, low
self-esteem, a sense of not belonging or of being stuck or lost. In
addition, crises,
such as the ending of an important relationship or a death, are primal
opportunities. At these moments, we are usually less guarded and more
available
to openly and deeply express ourselves.
The
Organic
Process is
based on the thesis that whenever emotional expression is withheld in
our
lives (e.g., for fear of hurting someone, or of being
punished
or otherwise rejected), this expression continuously "strives"
to
be realised. As a result, it must be actively, concretely and
persistently
withheld (often, through subtle adjustments of breathing or the tensing
of various muscles, such as clenching the jaw or masking held-back
tears
with a frozen smile) The Organic Process facilitates
completion
of this perturbed "movement," this interrupted expression.
It will
be
necessary for
you to check with your physician to determine whether it is safe for
you
to engage in strenuous physical exertion. Heart damage, epilepsy,
diabetes
or high blood pressure may be contraindications. Since psychoactive
substances can impede the Process, the work will not be undertaken
with anyone who is abusing drugs or alcohol. Likewise, it is rarely
engaged
in with anyone who is taking psychiatric
or narcotic
medication (Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis). If
accepted, you will need you physician's permission to discontinue such
medication.
Before
actually engaging
in the Process, you will need to spend a number of treatment sessions
interacting
with your primaler in more traditional ways in order for you to get to
know one another and to build a ground of trust for the work ahead.
Organic
Process sessions
usually occur weekly. But they might take place more often during
periods
of crisis (or during weekend workshops, which consist of four sessions
during a weekend; or "intensives," which usually involve 5 to 10
sessions
a week for a one-, two- or three-week duration). They might also occur
less often, usually during the later stages of care. Generally, the
course
of treatment is shorter than in "talking" processes; it is usually more
intense and tends to plumb issues that are more at the "core" (hence,
primal),
issues that are less likely to be discovered in "talking"
processes.
There is
no
forcing, demanding,
or compelling. You will always retain the right and the
ability
to refuse to proceed further. Should you do so, your therapist will
stop
and discuss it with you, then and there, in order to determine whether
you might be willing to continue on. If you’re still unwilling, the
Process
the be stopped (hopefully, only for the present session), without
criticism.
While
your
work in some
sessions will be more intense than in others, there is no such thing as
a good primal or a bad one. Nor is any one primal more important than
another.
We each have our own style of working, our own mode of coming to terms
with our painful pasts; we must journey down our own unique paths.
Therefore,
comparisons are meaningless. Today’s seemingly lacklustre session is
the
basis for tomorrow’s intense and obviously freeing experience.
Over the
course of care,
you will become increasingly skilled in the Process, as you learn to
trust
your body/self. You’ll learn that it’s okay to be you: You’ll become
more
open and vulnerable and, at the same time, you’ll become more competent
at dealing with your life. You will have ample opportunity to talk
about
these experiences and to explore ways to integrate what you discover
into
your everyday life. You will probably choose some sessions to be
"talking"
sessions.
You will
come to these
sessions dressed in loose, non-constricting clothing (e.g., jogging
clothes)
and will work without shoes or stockings. You will remove all
jewellery,
glasses, false teeth, and the like, which could cause you injury. You
will
be asked to not use alcohol, nicotine, caffeine or other drugs (which
we
consider to interfere with authentic emotional expression), at least
during
the day of your session. In addition, you will be instructed to not
consume
any food during the three hours before the beginning of the session.
(Folks
who test this quickly discover that consuming food within this time
period
significantly and painfully interferes with the Process.)
The room
in
which you
will work is soundproofed, so that you can be loud without fear that
others
will hear. For your safety, the room is also padded, both floor and
walls
(four inches of foam on the floor and on the walls). Most likely, you
will
begin to work lying down, on your back, on the mat. The room will be
dim
and your eyes will be closed throughout the session.
After
you
and your primaler
greet one another, you will change into what you will wear while you
work.
When you present yourself in the primal room, the ins and outs of the
work
wiill be explained (e.g., keeping your eyes closed, breathing with your
open mouth, not swallowing, etc.). Then, the focus will be on you: on
the
distress that you experience, on your understanding of its roots, on
your
hopes and expectations, and so on. (You may be asked to bring a six or
seven page autobiography to the first session--to be written no more
than
three days prior.)
For you,
the
client, the
first session--like the first of anything--is primarily an orientation.
It necessarily involves your beginning to learn "how" to primal, and to
trust the process. As with anything new, you will inevitably "make
mistakes"
and struggle with not being "perfect;" as time goes on, you will become
more at-home with the Process. For your primaler the first
session
is particularly a process of discovering you, and how to work
with
you; to discover "how" you choke down feeling, how you came to do so,
and
how to guide you back to yourself.
Another
significant departure
from most talking processes is the presence of touching. Whereas
touching
is characteristically absent in talking sessions, it is of central
importance
in the Organic Process. It often serves to reassure and encourage. It
may
also function to guide you to breathe properly and to facilitate the
release
of the muscular contracting that you use to inhibit feeling awareness
and
expression. There is no sexual or other inappropriate touching.
Not
withstanding the different
context, primal sessions generally begin in much the same way as do
more
traditional sessions: with attempts to reconnect-usually necessary
after
a week’s absence/distancing-through greetings and inquiries about how
things
are going. However, the contract between you and your primaler involves
an intention and expectation of "authentic" and often intense
expression
on your part.
(By
contrast, in other
processes there are almost always at least implicit limitations
demanded
by office walls through which others can hear if one is loud,
caregivers
who are frightened by and do not encourage or facilitate intense
catharses,
and chairs and dressy and tight clothing--such as belts, brassieres and
buttoned collars--which constrict free expression.)
At first
during these
sessions, you are likely to employ the variety of strategies you have
probably
learned early and practised long to evade experiencing your distresses
(e.g., joking, changing the subject, thinking of pleasures, swallowing,
holding your breath, trying hard). Your primaler's task is to "track"
you, in order to help you stay "focused." If successful,
at some point you will become "triggered;" that is, you
will
become "emotional."
As your
primaler continues
to track you and to help you keep breathing and stay focused, you will
experience yourself falling into what is called a primal space,
a more-or-less-sudden and spontaneous (that is, you don’t will it)
outflowing
of intense emotion, of a sort that you are unlikely to have ever
experienced
before. Generally this will seem at once very surprising to you and yet
absolutely appropriate. During this phase of the session, as you are
emoting,
you are likely to be curiously observing yourself. You are also likely
to be seeing "movies," that is, scenes in your life
during
which you were affected in the particular way that you are now being
affected,
but held back from fully expressing it. All of this is part of your
process
of healing.
In
addition,
during this
outflowing, you are likely to express yourself in the voice (as well as
the movements and breathing patterns) that was yours at the age you
were
in the particular scene. (Believe it or not, at times you may well
sound
like an infant or a three-year-old or a ten-year-old, etc.) You may
spend
a whole primal session at one particular age or you may "skip" from one
to another to another. Similarly, you may dwell with a single emotional
theme (such as anger or dread) or you may "flip" from one to another.
The
process
is a collaboration.
It is not something that your primaler does "to" you. Since deep
breathing,
sound and movement facilitate it, you will frequently be reminded to
breathe.
Your primaler will likely to ask you to speak to various people in your
life (as though they were actually in the room), as well as to make
sounds
(expressing what you are feeling at the moment). In addition, your body
will move, often without your realising it. At such times, your
primaler
will call your attention to it and encourage you to let it happen.
More
than
anything else,
what makes this possible is your willingness to let it happen, to give
yourself over to it. By contrast, you might try to make it
happen in a particular way, strive for a particular kind of experience;
or you might attempt to keep it from happening. These efforts will
obstruct
the Process. You needn’t worry about this, though. It is your
primaler's
job to guide you.
Usually,
the
session will
continue until you arrive at what is called a clear space.
When people are clear, they describe themselves as feeling "peaceful,"
"calm," "relieved," "empty" (of their pain), "mellow," "good."
What
to Expect
You can
expect to feel
anxious and/or scared as you begin a session. (As Janov says, everyone
has to be prodded.) After all, you choked yourself down in the first
place
because you were too anxious and frightened to express yourself. You
can
expect to feel very intensely, and to discover that you can safely do
so;
first in the session, then "out there." You can expect to discover lots
that you knew, but had forgotten, as well as much that will surprise
you,
about you and your life and about other people in your life. You may
also
find yourself temporarily experiencing old maladies, such as the
shyness
that you thought you had surpassed. You can expect to notice changes in
the way you deal with your life and with others, and in how you feel
about
yourself.
Signs
of Change as a Result of the Process
Noticeable
and desired
changes generally take place very early, often even after the first
session.
At first, although you might notice the changes, you may be scared to
believe
it and will tend to ask a lot whether it really is
happening.
These changes are apt to include diminished anxiety and depression, and
increased confidence, esteem and sense of being able to handle burdens
and confrontations.
Sometimes,
as you become
more aware of how you feel during the early stages of the Process, it
may
appear to you that you are feeling more distressed.
(Actually,
you are not more distressed, simply more aware of how
distressed
you are and have been.) At the same time, however, you will also
acknowledge
the changes just mentioned.
The aim
of
the Organic
Process is to help you complete your presently unfinished and disowned
past in order for you to rediscover and reclaim it, alleviate
confusion,
and stop living out others’ dreams of who you are; it is also to gain
relief,
esteem, hope, insight, and a passion for life. While there will always
be issues to work through, as you feel better and better about who you
are and about the life you are creating for yourself, you will feel
less
and less in need of care. There is no hard and fast rule about when to
terminate; however, as you become ready, it will begin to be a question
for you. You are likely to wonder how much longer you will have to
remain
in care, first to yourself and then aloud. You and your primaler will
probably
discuss it and arrive at a mutual decision about when it will be best
to
end care. This is not an irreversible decision. The option to return is
always available. In fact, we all need periodic "tune ups," and some
primalees
opt to come back for a few sessions from time to time.
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101-2145 W. Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6K 4L3
(604) 323-6669 |
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Coordinator:
Deb Denman
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Content
Copyright ©2000 Empowering People |
Design
by Robert M. Thomas
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