Article

A multitude of bodies - Psychomotricity and the development of psychomotor therapy in Northern Europe.

By Ea Suzanne Akasha, president of the Danish Association of Psychomotor Therapists.

We all have one single body that

Moves
Senses
Perceives
Feels
Acts
Relates
Remembers
Relaxes
Is

Yet at the same time we possess and inhabit many different bodies. We have a social body, which presents us to the world, enables others to recognize us and identifies us by the authorities. Another body dimension is the experienced body, which gives us a sense of identity. We also have a mental body-image, which is an inner representation of our body.

These are complex phenoma and central issues in the work of the psychomotor therapist. Another central issue is that no matter how hard we try to understand the body, it will always remain a mystery. The body is both fascinating and difficult to grasp.

Psychomotricians always bear in mind that the body is the basis of the individual. The body is simultaneously an object and a subject for the individual as well as a social phenomenon interlinked with our social sphere.

Human perception of the world is based on bodily experience and all human experience takes place in a living body. The body is the basis of our perception of the world around us and the body makes it possible for us to reflect on ourselves as well as on our relations and actions.

A fully integrated body consciousness is essential to the development of a well-functioning self and important in order to develop an acceptance of the self.

In this presentation I will give a brief overview of how Psychomotor Therapy was established as a profession in in Northern Europe and a brief introduction to the pratices that subsequently developed.


BIRTH OF THE PROFESSION
Our profession was created in the 19 th century, the same century that saw psychoanalysis, psychology and relaxation therapy come into being.

In Northern Europe psychomotor therapy was created in the last period of the century, except for Denmark where the profession established itself in the first period of the century.
But no matter in which period psychomotricity evolved, and no matter in which country it emerged, it was - and is - based on identical values and on the same understanding of the body.

Psychomotor therapy is based on the notion of a close relationship between body and psyche. That is a connection between muscle tonus and psychological functioning. This understanding of a psycho-physical connection is based both on the psychomotoric development of the child and on the individuals interaction with the surroundings.

In northern Europe psychomotricity was created out of a wish to find ways to work with the body, which deal with the fact that the body is a living expression of who we are, and not an object to be trained, formed or disciplined. The founders wished to rise above a technical approach, that was - and still is - the basis of most health and sports-professions.
New questions were asked such as: What are the bodily sensations†? How does it feel†? What insight comes from these sensations and feelings?
In this way a professional field was created concerned more with perceived, sensorial and experienced aspects of the body than with functional aspects.

Psychomotor therapy concentrates on the awareness of the quality of movement and of the quality of relaxation. The aim is to assist the individual in her physio-emotional development and not to create a culture of bigger, better and faster.

In northern Europe the professional field was created in the 1930-ties. The Danes were the first to establish a three year training course in relaxation and movement therapy. In the 1940-ties end 1950-ties Movement Education and Psychomotor Therapy was established as an independent profession in Holland. Recently Sweden, Finland and Norway offer both professional forums and post graduate courses.

In northern Europe psychomotor therapy is both varied and specific. Northern Europe has developed different methods†such as: Relaxation therapy, movement therapy, play and interplay oriented therapy as well as methods in rehablitation.

In Denmark the field was created by artists and health professionels working mostly with adults.
In Holland the profession grew out of work carried out by psychiatrists and physical educators working in the psychiatric field.
In Norway, Sweden and Finland the profession was created mainly by teachers, physical educators and researchers working with children.
This has led to different practical concepts and practices, that I will talk about in the following section.

DENMARK
In Denmark different forms of relaxation therapy has evolved, as the profession came into being in the thirties, the forties and the fifties. An example of this is the manual treatment, which is a discipline practiced by all Danish psychomotricians. An era that saw interest in the treatment of neurosis through relaxation.

Psychomotor therapy has since the establishing of a three year full time training program in 1943 been an independent study in Denmark. Gerda Alexander, who was a well-known teacher of Dalcroze eurytmics, came to Denmark from Germany in 1929. Together with other artists such as actress Marussia Berg, who was trained by the famous method actor Stanislavski in Moscow, Ingrid Prahm, a ballet dancer from the Royal Ballet and women from the health professions, who were nurses and speech therapists, they created psychomotor therapy. Their work included both relaxation therapy and movement therapy. The aim was to coordinate the muscles anew to create a “rebirthing” and to reinstate “the natural and inborn muscle functions characteristic of the tribal peoples and healthy children.”

The “First International Congress on Release of Tension and Re-education of Functional Movement” was held in Copenhagen in 1959. The congress had more than 300 participants from all over the world. The organizers wished to create an international commitee to plan further research and said in an newspaper interview, that the work was of a pedagogical nature and it would assist in resolving the problems of modern society: “We teach how to move, how to behave appropriately. As a result hereof several diseases disappear - without cure - if the individual finds the right balance of muscle tonus, then the psyche will balance itself.”

Individual manual treatment is a profylactic as well as curative treatment discipline practised by all psychomotor therapists in Denmark. The psychomotor therapist uses her hands in a finely tuned dialogue with muscles, tissues and the nervous system of the client. The manual treatment regulates and balances muscle tonus and integrates body, emotion and cognition. In 1959 Gerda Alexander said that the technique, then used for more than 30 years, had produced the most unexpected results, which seems to point to connections existing between skin, tissue-tension and memory. Things long forgotten seem to emerge from the memory as clearly as when seen in pictures at the moment of release. (note 1)

In addition to working with movement and relaxation therapy with individuals and groups new grouporiented approaches emerged in the 1970-ties. Movement therapeutical methods were created based on the understanding of a functional identity between body and psyche - between action and being. Body conscioussnes and body expression is the basis of the work and the group is seen as a place where social interaction is in focus and new ways of functioning can be tried out.

Many psychomotor therapists are employed in the field of health service, for example in the profylactic field working with expectant families. Since the 1940-ies psychomotor therapists have been giving pre- and post natal classes for groups of expectant and newborn mothers - and now also fathers. The psychomotor therapist teaches breathing techniques, relaxation and psychomotor development of the newborn child and creates an environment that enables the family to adapt to the new situation.

In the last decades psychomotor therapy has also established a position in the field of rehabilitation. The practitioners are employed in institutions working with the physically og mentally ill as well as working within social psychiatry.
Recently psychomotoric approaches to working with ergonomics has spread. A number of collegues has been involved in public campaigns where employees are encouraged to take better care of their bodies at work or at home in front of their computers.

HOLLAND
In Holland Movement Education and Psychomotor Therapy has grown out of work done with psychiatric patients. In the last century doctors, psychiatrists and physical educators took an interest in helping the mentally ill through different kinds of movement activities as gymnastics, folk dancing, walking or working in-or outdoors.

In the 1940-ies and 1950-ies Movement Education and Psychomotor Therapy developed as a discipline of its own within the psychiatric institutions, the practioners being mostly psychiatrists and physical educators. In the 1960-ies the need for a formal training led to the establishment of post graduate courses and in the 1980-ies educations in Movement Education and Psychomotor Therapy began.
Today movement educators and psychomotor therapists graduate after four years of study at either highschools or university. The university offers a scientifically oriented degree.

Today Holland has many movement educators and psychomotor therapists in public employ within the field of health- and mental health care. These professionels work with both children and adults in many varied forms as Holland has a rich practical and theoretical tradition. Even a post-graduate course of two years of duration is offered to Movement Educators and Psychomotor Therapists. Much research is undertaken by the Dutch collegues.

Movement educators and psychomotor therapists aim at developing human potential and promoting socio-cultural exchange. Movement is more than mere muscle action. The work as movement educator has a pedagogical aim and is - in Dutch terms - defined as “bewegingsagogie”. It is a planned intervention helping a person to develop her potential of movement and communication. It is carried out within a tonic-emotional relation between movement educator and participant and stabilizes or builds personal identity.
Movement educators and psychomotor therapists also undertake therapeutical treatment of persons with psychological or socio-psychological needs. The treatment is based on different body interventions or movement activities that promote physio-psychological functioning and build or stabilize personal identity and give insight into the roots of psychological complexes or problems.

Besides working in psychiatric institutions and working with people with mental handicaps the dutch pscyhomotricians have for some time been expanding into the field of rehabilitation. In general rehabilitation has a limited focus, namely that of re-establishing physical abilities, but psychomotor therapy has a broader scope. Psychomotor therapists are trained to work with physio-emotional aspects of the body for instance coming to terms with losses or coping with chronic pain.

NORWAY, SWEDEN AND FINLAND
In Norway, Sweden and Finland psychomotricity is a postgraduate qualification that attracts teachers, pedagogues, physical educators and scientists.
The organisations for psychomotricity were established in Sweden in 1992 and Finland in 1994, so in these countries the profession is still finding its feet amongst other professions.

In Norway, Sweden and Finland psychomotricity mainly centers on working with children with special needs, thus placing emphasis on psychomotoric re-education. The founders back-ground are in the field of education and there is much inspiration from pioneers such as professor Kiphard from Germany. The main emphasis is on playing, non- competitive games and sport-related activities.

In Sweden Psychomotor training is used with the aim of developing a joyful and playful attitude to movement activities that encourages the childs development and learning abilities.

Psychomotor training aim at developing the following areas of competence:
Competence of the self
Competence of the object
Social competences/skills

If a child has a learning problem, or a problem with laterality, the structuring of space-time, coordination, or if the child is hypo-or hyperactive, or has attention difficulties*, the psychomotor therapist can offer individual or group session. This will often take place in a school setting, as the practioners of psychomotricity are pedagogues, teachers or physical eduactors. The psychomotor therapist will engage the child in sessions where the child is free to move, to play and to engage in symbolic actions and to interact with the therapist. In the course of the sessions the child will gain body-awareness, will establish appropiate limits and build a meaningful tonic-emotional relation to the psychomotrician. The joy of being will be recreated as well as the needed skills acquired. Verbalisation will be used as it favours the childs psychomotoric integration. The focus will be on creating a safe and stimulating learning environment that at the same time facilitates expression and communication.

The social potential of physical activity is often stressed in psychomotor work in this part of the Nordic countries.

THE BODY OF THE PSYCHOMOTOR STUDENT
In all psychomotor training programmes in Northern Europe the student has to undergo his or her own psychomotor development. All students need to gain bodily insight in the practises of psychomotricity. It is imperative that the coming psychomotor therapist develops the ability to be in contact with the body and its sensations as well as with cognition and actions.

A psychomotor therapist has to be able to engage his or her entire personality in an authentic relation.

A DREAM COME TRUE
The First International Congress on Release of Tension and Re-education of Functional Movement was held in 1959. Today at the first world congress in the third millenium we are fulfilling the aspirations of the organizers by bringing together practitioners, teachers and researchers of psychomotricity and by already having established European as well as International fora of professional exchange and research.


Note 1. The rest of the quotations is “..in the case of a 50 year old man sent to us for relaxation treatment by his doctor as he was suffering from a heart neurosis, because my mother was never home when I returned from school”.

From Thirty years of work and research. Gerda Alexander School. Copenhagen. 1929 - 1959.

ADHD disorders: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

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