The postural dynamics of a psychoanalytical process

Postural dynamics is a model and a coding system that allows researchers to scan the postural dimensions of any interaction. In this paper I will show how this model can be used to scan complex dimensions in a psychotherapeutic interaction, and to clarify some of the issues involved. I shall use Beatrice Beebe's published psychoanalytical case study of Dolores as a concrete example to show that postural dynamics is particularly useful when it analyzes how a setting and individual particularities regulate. 1. An homage to Gregory Bateson At the last EABP congress, in Holland, I had the honor of presenting to you a fascinating anthropologist, Mary Catherine Bateson. I hope that this meeting helped some of you to remember how important anthropology has always been for body psychotherapists. That meeting was particularly intense because of three ingredients: A) Mary Catherine's immense knowledge, which has so much relevance for our field (e.g., M. C. Bateson, 1994). B) The meeting occurred just after the 9/11/2001 bombing of the New York towers. We were all shocked, and thankful to Mary Catherine Bateson for her knowledge of Muslim cultures to help us digest what was happening. C) The main reason for her presence was because 2001 was the centennial of Mary Catherine's mother, Margaret Mead, who has done so much for the understanding of women and the education of children. This year is the centennial of Mary Catherine Bateson's father, the anthropologist Gregory Bateson. With his colleague, Ray L. Birdwhistell, he convinced many psychotherapists that gestures play a central role in psychotherapy. Studying gestures was part of a general strategy, developed with Bateson's colleagues in Palo Alto, which permitted psychotherapists to focus more efficiently than in the past on how individuals communicate. His rationale for highlighting body dynamics was that it is the only visible dimension of the complex cybernetic and systemic web that organizes the behavior of individuals who interact with each other. This is only one of the many contributions that Gregory Bateson made to psychotherapy theory, and more generally to psychological and social sciences. However, it has had such a massive impact 1 This conference was hosted by me, as main speaker, at the October 2004 congress of the European Association of Body Psychotherapy (EABP), near Marathon, in Greece, October 11, 2004. Last revision: December 1, 2004. Although the final result is under my responsibility, I am grateful to Judy Ramsay-Jensen for the many corrections she has introduced to improve my English and clarify my thoughts. Copyright: Michael Coster Heller. Last revision: December 2004. Postural Dynamics & Psychotherapy on our work that I find it important, as a main speaker of this conference, to honor this centennial, and to dedicate this presentation to the work Gregory Bateson began with Margaret Mead when they published Balinese Character in 1942. Gregory Bateson's work has influenced most of us, both directly and indirectly. The discussion between a psychoanalyst and an expert on body communication I will summarize in this paper was published six months ago. It did not mention Gregory Bateson. However, I am convinced that neither Beatrice Beebe nor I would be talking as we are today, if Bateson's wisdom had not been an important chapter in our training. This presentation is thus an example of Gregory Bateson's indirect influence.