ABSTRACT
Body–mind relationships are at the theoretical and clinical core of body psychotherapy. The starting point of body psychotherapy assumes that the act of attending to the body creates a dynamic bridge. Embodiment is a body-mind position and a body-mind action, and body psychotherapy is unique in its work with embodied positions and actions. This chapter deals with the tension between body and mind and body-mind. It explains the tension between the individuals and the relationships created by them, within which they are created. The chapter examines the theory of mind through the systemic thinking of Gregory Bateson, as well as considering contemporary psychoanalytic approaches and other philosophical sources. Indeed, there is an accumulated body of knowledge in the fields of trauma research, attachment, and brain research which supports the efficacy of therapeutic methods incorporating somatic interventions. The chapter looks at body–mind interaction and connection, through exploring neurological models, as discussing three phenomena: embodiment, intersubjectivity, and emergence.
