身心覺受(Embodiment* 體化認知）是最近培訓和心理輔導的一個大趨勢。不同的身心介入方式或心理治療如正念靜觀、體感療癒、心理專注介入或舞蹈動作治療等，已經變得越來越流行和實證為本。

 

根據APA心理學字典，體化認知是這樣一個概念：「人類的思維在很大程度上是由人體的結構（形態、感覺和運動系統）及其與物理環境的相互作用所決定的。換句話說，人類的思維在很大程度上受到我們的身體以及它們與周圍的物理世界相互作用的影響。

 

身心覺受（Embodiment） 實踐源自於體感心理學/治療（Somatic Psychology）。體感心理學/治療專注於身心之間極為重要的界面，這是一種具包容性且全方位的整體治療方法。身心覺受是心理學與輔導界日益興起的趨勢，旨在彌合身心之間的鴻溝。透過將身體整合放進療癒過程中，我們得以處理那些傳統『談話治療』可能無法觸及的壓力與創傷。

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當我們感到壓力時，這份壓力並不只存在於『腦海中』——它也潛伏在我們的肌肉、呼吸和神經系統裡。因此，身心介入治療師利用『以身體為導向』的技術來釋放這些生理張力，讓受助者能夠超越言語溝通（談話治療）的局限，達到更深層的轉化。透過這種方式，張力與疼痛不再長久積壓於體內。在這種治療模式下，受助者能突破言語溝通或傳統談話治療的局限。治療師運用身心整合技術，旨在協助釋放那些在生理與情緒上造成負擔的重壓。

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精神健康治療師以多種方式運用體感治療或身心覺受治療。他們透過『以身體為導向』的模式，利用以下活動來改善受助者的身心狀態，包括：身體覺察、舞蹈與動作、聲音工作、冥想、意象導引、漸進式肌肉緊繃與放鬆、接地練習 （grounding）、按摩，以及五感感官刺激等。

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身心覺受的核心模式

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靜觀是一種治療技術，可以幫助您管理和預防抑鬱、壓力、焦慮或不滿情緒。 它使任何實踐的人都能過得更加專注、感恩和充滿活力的生活。 保持正念就是要意識到自己的經歷，時時刻刻，不加評判。

 

於過去二十年在學術界、醫學界越來越受重視。在學術界，每年有關靜觀的文獻數量由2001年28篇急升至2011年397篇。於2014年2月更被《時代雜誌》以靜觀為一個革命設為封面。在美國，於不同的組織包括醫院、中小學、商業機構，甚至監獄也有各種不同的靜觀課程，以提升不同人士的身心健康和生活質素。​

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體感療癒 是一種新穎的治療形式，由同時是精神科醫生及心理學家Peter Levine 博士在過去 45 年間（1977, 1997, 2010）發展而成。它專注於解決慢性壓力和創傷後壓力的症狀。SE 與認知療法的不同之處在於，它的主要干預策略涉及『自下而上』的處理方式：它將受助者的注意力引導至內部感覺，包括內臟感受（內感覺，Interoception）以及肌肉骨骼感受（本體感覺與運動覺，Proprioception and Kinesthesis），而非優先處理認知或情感經驗。

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體感療癒具備嚴謹且精確的理論與技術，為理解靜觀冥想過程中發生的轉變提供了路徑。這不僅涵蓋了靜觀對心理、情緒及生理帶來的益處，也解釋了當創傷記憶浮現時，可能出現的『情緒氾濫』（Flooding）或『解離』（Dissociation）現象。此外，體感療癒能提供專業建議，指導如何調整靜觀冥想的練習方式，使修習者能夠安全地處理創傷資料，並讓受創傷人士能有效地運用以靜觀和體感為基礎的技術來促進康復。

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舞蹈動作治療已有60多年的歷史，是一種有效的全球公認實證為本的治療。美國舞蹈治療協會（ADTA）將舞蹈動作治療定義為治療師引導特定具有治療效用的動作來促進個人情緒、社交、認知和身體整合的心理治療。這並非學習舞蹈，而是了解自己的肢體語言、身心訊息和潛意識，而處理及轉化自身狀態。​

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治療主要特色

​​透過不同活動提升身體覺察，及情緒在身體的感受，從而處理身心受困的問題，以及探索內在需要

• 體驗感官訊息或身體/動覺同理感，提升自我或自他溝通及理解能力

• 以身體或動作介入調節神經系統，達至相對較平衡狀態

• 提升當下專注力，正向體感能力，連繫及整合身心

 

服務對象

• 受身心或關係/情緒困擾的人士

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*What is Embodiment?

 

Embodiment is a big topic in recent training and counselling trend.   Different body-mind based practice such as mindfulness, somatic experiencing, focusing, dance movement therapy and etc. has become more popular and evidence-based.

 

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology,  Embodiment is that the human mind is largely determined by the structures of the human body (morphology, sensory and motor systems) and its interactions with the physical environment. In other words, human cognition is shaped significantly by the nature of our bodies and how they interact with the world around them.

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Embodiment practices are derived from somatic psychology.  Somatic psychology focuses on this very important mind/body interface. This form of somatic therapy is inclusive and takes a holistic therapeutic approach. Embodiment (or somatic/body awareness) is a growing movement in psychology and counseling that seeks to bridge this gap. By integrating the body into the healing process, we can address stress and trauma that traditional "talk therapy" might leave untouched.

 

When we experience stress, it isn't just "in our heads"—it lives in our muscles, our breath, and our nervous system. Body-mind therapists use body-oriented techniques to release this physical tension, allowing patients to move past the limitations of verbal communication. Tension and pain no longer take up residence in the body anymore. In this kind of therapy, patients go beyond where verbal communication or talk therapy can take them. Somatic therapists employ mind-body techniques for the sake of releasing what’s weighing on you physically and emotionally.

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Mental health practitioners use somatic therapy or embodiment therapy in a variety of ways. They employ body-oriented modalities for the betterment of patients in these types of activities including body awareness, dance and movement, voice work, meditation, visualization, Progressive muscle tightening & relaxing, grounding exercises, massage, five senses stimulation, etc.

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Core Modalities of Embodiment

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Mindfulness is a therapeutic technique that can help you manage and prevent feelings of depression, stress, anxiety, or discontent. It enables anyone who practices it to live a more attentive, appreciative and vibrant life. To be mindful is to be aware of your own experience, moment to moment, without judgment.

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In the past two decades, it has received increasing attention in the field of psychology and medicine. In academia, the number of articles on mindfulness has risen sharply from 28 in 2001 to 397 in 2011. In February 2014, it was featured on the cover of Time Magazine with the idea of presenting it as a revolution. In the United States, different organizations, including hospitals, primary and secondary schools, commercial institutions, and even prisons, have various meditation courses to improve the physical and mental health and quality of life of different people.

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Somatic Experiencing is a novel form of therapy, developed by  Levine (1977, 1997, 2010) , who is both a psychiatrist and psychologist, over the past 45 years. It focuses on resolving the symptoms of chronic stress and post-traumatic stress. SE differs from cognitive therapies in that its major interventional strategy involves bottom-up processing by directing the client's attention to internal sensations, both visceral (interception) and musculoskeletal (proprioception and kinesthesis), rather than primarily cognitive or emotional experiences.

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The sophisticated and precise theories and techniques of SE offer a way of understanding the processes that occur during mindfulness meditation, both the beneficial mental, emotional and physiological effects of mindfulness meditation and the flooding or dissociation that can occur when traumatic memories surface. In addition, SE can suggest ways in which mindfulness meditation practices could be modified to enable meditators to process traumatic material, and traumatized people to use mindfulness-based and somatic techniques to help them recover.

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Dance and Movement Therapy has over 60 years of history and it is an effective evidence based practice.  The American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) defines dance/movement therapy as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive and physical integration of the individual.  It is not about learning dance, but aware of own body language, body-mind messages and subconscious mind to process and transform own state.

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Key Therapeutic Features

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• ​Enhance body awareness and the physical sensations of emotions through various activities, thereby addressing psychosomatic issues and exploring inner needs.

• Experience sensory information or somatic/kinesthetic empathy to improve self-awareness and communication/understanding between self and others.

• Regulate the nervous system through body-based or movement interventions to achieve a more balanced state.

• Increase present-moment focus and positive somatic capacity to connect and integrate the mind and body.

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Targeted Service Recipients

Individuals experiencing psychosomatic, relationship, or emotional distress.