The Most Important Aspect Of Psychotherapy

by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist, Artarmon, Sydney

THE TASK OF A THERAPIST IS TO START WITH NOT KNOWING
What works for one person does not necessarily work for another.

Our tasks as psychotherapists is first of all to put aside all our knowledge and theories and to listen. To embark on a journey of discovery. To discover what the person we are working with needs.

Then to discover, step by step, how we can use our skills and knowledge to help our clients progress in their therapeutic journey. read more

How to Learn the Language of Emotions

by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist and Educator, Artarmon, Sydney

To learn the language of emotions, we need to understand that emotions are not logical, and cannot be communicated meaningfully in logical terms alone.

You can tell someone “I feel down” or “I feel great” in three simple words. Telling them exactly how and why can be far more challenging, especially when you might not even know yourself. read more

Expectations – What Expectations?

J:“I’ve given up all expectations”

M: “OK”

J: “OK? OK? Is that all you have to say? I thought you’d be a little more excited than that!!”

We all have expectations

We all have expectations,  some stated, some unstated and taken for granted.

Some of the biggest problems in relationships, causing us stress both at work and in our personal lives, are caused by expectations that are not clearly communicated. read more

Somatic Psychotherapy Is About Being Not Doing

by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist and Educator at Core Development Sydney

What is the most important skill of a Somatic Psychotherapist?

You may think that the most important skill of a somatic psychotherapist is their ability to understand your process, to make sense of what you’re going through. That’s helpful but it’s not enough.

No matter how well the therapist understands your process, it is only when you are able to understand it yourself that you are able to make meaningful change. read more

What do CORONAVIRUS, VACCINATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND PSYCHOTHERAPY have in common?

by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist Sydney

Consider this :
“IT’S EASY FOR MEAT-EATERS TO SHARE A KITCHEN
IT’S EASY FOR VEGETARIANS TO SHARE A KITCHEN
THE CHALLENGE IS FOR MEAT-EATERS AND VEGETARIANS TO FIND WAYS OF SHARING A KITCHEN WITH EACH OTHER!”
Quote from Sun Bear, Native American Medicine Man
read more

TECHNOLOGY AND AN OLD FISHERMAN : A FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE


by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist and Educator, Artarmon, Sydney, Australia I will share an experience that I had when I was 20 years old. I grew up in Malta, and I happened to meet an interesting guy at a party one night. I started chatting with this man, and discovered that he was one of England’s leading meteorological experts and that he had been hired by the government to help set up a met office in Malta.

He told me that he went to a fishing village a few days before and he was chatting with a local fisherman. The fisherman looked out across the sea and up to the sky and said:

“Tomorrow it will rain”.

The met office expert went on to explain to the fisherman, who was illiterate, had never been to school, and had never traveled more than a few miles from his village, that the met office was able to determine with the help of modern technology that tomorrow would be a sunny day. read more

Somatic Psychotherapy and Indigenous Wisdom

by Donald Marmara, somatic psychotherapist and educator, Core Development Sydney

My Initial Diagnosis: Clinical Anxiety and Depression

At the age of 14 I was diagnosed clinically anxious and depressed and prescribed an ever-increasing dosage of psychotropic drugs. I was told that I would be dependent upon these drugs for the rest of my life.

I would probably have continued to be dependent on these drugs if I had tried to adjust to the values of society . read more

Somatic Psychotherapy Beyond Labels : The CoreDevelopment Method

Core Development’s method of Somatic Psychotherapy

Core Development offers:

  • FACE-TO-FACE  PSYCHOTHERAPY SESSIONS IN SYDNEY
  • ZOOM AND PHONE PSYCHOTHERAPY SESSIONS WORLDWIDE

Orientation

Core Development’s method of body-inclusive or somatic psychotherapy enables us to learn from our own experiencing.

Core Development takes the view that symptoms that are often labelled in our society as ‘sick’ or ‘dysfunctional’ are in many cases the opposite – they are pathways to creating more fulfilling and successful lives. read more

Counselling, Somatic Psychotherapy and Emotional Healing: Reflections

PERHAPS IT”S TIME TO STOP FIGHTING AND START LISTENING.

Not listening in order to convince others that we’re right and they are wrong, but listening to understand, listening to empathize.

Perhaps its time to remember that our humanity unites us all. We may have conflicting beliefs and strong feelings, but underneath all this we are all human beings. read more

SCHOOL by Arnold Greenberg

One of my favourite poems.

SCHOOL – by Arnold Greenberg

Our teacher handed us some seeds and said, “Go plant these in your yard and water them, then let your questions grow with every leaf. He hardly spoke except to ask what’s on our minds, and when we didn’t say a word, he’d shake his head and say, “Well that’s too bad- We’ve nothing to discuss,” And then he’d sit down on a rock and look up at the sky or at the dirt and think. One day we asked him why he wouldn’t teach and he replied, “I am.” “What do you mean?” we asked. And when he said- “I gave you seeds to plant And everyday I ask what’s on your minds and now I’m waiting patiently for you to learn your teacher is inside of you. I’m just a friend with questions of my own, but if you asked what’s on my mind, I’d have so many thoughts to share we’d talk all day, if I believed you cared- and only then .

That’s when our school began. read more