Category: General

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 them 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

Points To Ponder

WORKING WITH TRAUMA

“Trauma is all about speed and reflexivity—which is why, in addressing trauma, each of us needs to work through it slowly, over time.

We need to understand our body’s process of connection and settling. We need to slow ourselves down and learn to lean into uncertainty, rather than away from it. read more

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF EMOTIONAL LEARNING

WORTH REMEMBERING DURING THESE TURBULENT TIMES “We live in a community of people not so that we can suppress or dominate each other or make each other miserable, but so that we can better and more reliably satisfy all life’s healthy needs”. Wilhelm Reich, M.D.

This is the TRUE PURPOSE OF EMOTIONAL LEARNING:

To Respect, Value, Deepen and Enrich our experiences, our relationships and our lives.

So why do we need Core Development ?

Just as a high proportion of the causes of problems in the atmosphere lie beneath the surface, in the soil and under the sea, many and possibly most of the causes of our emotional and mental challenges, and the resources needed to heal them, lie beneath the surface of our consciousness. read more

DO YOU USE TOUCH IN YOUR WORK?


Sometimes I use touch, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I work with clients who know each other, sometimes I don’t.

When I asked one of my supervisors, David Boadella, what contract he had with his clients, he answered “which client and when?”

The creative process does not work according to any standard formula. Flexibility is the key. read more

Dealing with Anxiety, Depression and Trauma

So you’re feeling anxious or depressed. Or you don’t feel quite right but you find it hard to describe how you feel.

You know your life can be better but you don’t know how to get there. You may have already tried various approaches, perhaps even been to counsellors and psychotherapists but not been able to get the results you’re looking for. read more

Restoring Our Capacity To Give and Receive Love

ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND CORE DEVELOPMENT

This is what my work in experiential and emotional learning  is about. Restoring our capacity to give and receive love.

As a society, and indeed as a human race, we have moved so far away from our true nature, from what we know in our hearts – ie that our true nature is loving, cooperative and compassionate – that we we have come to believe that human nature is destructive. read more

THE POWER OF CHOICE: A FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE

When I was 18 years old, I was a good amateur table-tennis player. I never made it to a final, but I made it to a semifinal and a number of quarterfinals.

In the first round of a national competition I was drawn against a player who had one leg shorter than the other and consequently limped and was unable to move fast. read more

What is the most important skill of a Somatic Psychotherapist?

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“EVERY TIME WE TEACH A CHILD SOMETHING, WE PREVENT HIM FROM INVENTING IT HIMSELF!” Jean Piaget

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. read more

THERE IS BEAUTY ALL AROUND US…..

I DON’T THINK THE WORLD IS CHANGING IN THE WAY I’D LIKE IT TO.

In these times of upheaval, confusion and anxiety, however, I think it may be useful to consider this:

“There is beauty all around us, only for so many people it is buried and perhaps obscured by fear, hurt, frustration, anger, hopelessness, confusion……. read more

The Most Important Aspect Of Psychotherapy

by Donald Marmara, Somatic Psychotherapist, Artarmon, Sydney

“Be wary of those who say they have the answers.
Seek instead the company of those who are trying to understand the questions.”

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