Somatic Perspectives: Mindfulness & Psychotherapy

How we use meditation to practice being more in a sensing mode, i.e., directing our attention to sensations as opposed to thoughts.

I invited my friend and colleague Leslie Ellis tohave a conversation about Active Imagination in therapy and in life.

Peter Levine talks with Serge Prengel about his personal journey through trauma and how he came to develop Somatic Experiencing.

What does it mean to pay attention to our body? A lot opens up when we bring our awareness to the silent, invisible parts.

Pablo Márquez talks about his meditative approach to photography. He describes how his art emerges from his being present.

Linda Modaro and Nelly Kaufer are the authors of: Reflective Meditation: Cultivating Kindness and Curiosity in the Buddha's Company.

In conversation with Raja Selvam, we explore the practice of developing the capacity for emotions by making more room for them in the body.

Seth Zuihō Segall talks about his journey, making sense of life through the practice of psychology, Buddhism, and philosophy. We talk about values, and the value of pluralism in a divided world.

Maia Szalavitz blends personal experience and years of investigative research into an inspiring perspective on addiction.

We do our best to avoid anxiety, and in so doing, risk missing out on the best of the depth and mystery of existence. We also risk compounding the very anxiety we hoped to avoid and becoming destructive as a result.

How does the Polyvagal Theory affect our understanding of mindfulness? Blake O'Connor, Education Director of the Polyvagal Institute, interviews Serge Prengel.

The topic of this conversation is different from usual. We discuss how the past of Sing Sing prison gives us perspective on building a fairer society. Brent Glass is the Executive Director of the Sing Sing Prison Museum. Please note that we are currently running a survey to determine your preferences in terms of podcast […]

In this conversation, we talk about freeing meditation from the pressures of what we believe it should be and welcoming every aspect of our inner experience. Dr. Elizabeth English began meditating as a student in 1983. Three decades later, she was appointed as Cambridge University's first ever Mindfulness Practitioner. Her courses are the subject of research published in The […]

Antonio Damasio described Nora Arikha as “a poet and a painter with the soul of a scientist.” Our conversation is informed by psychology and neuroscience. It is grounded in the firm intention to pay attention to the embodied quality of our experience and the context in which it emerges. Noga Arikha is a philosopher and […]

Lawrence Berger and Serge Prengel discuss how we make sense of the world and our place in it, i.e. what is usually called philosophy or spirituality. We approach this from somewhat different perspectives:– One emphasizes a connection with a sense of something greater than ourselves in which we can find meaning and purpose (“there's nothing […]

We explore a concept that is very important to Bruce Gibbs, finding the right distance from our experience. We talk about how the right distance varies with the context, for instance how it is different in meditation and in Focusing. And we talk about what finding that distance entails. Bruce Gibbs, Ph.D., has explored consciousness, […]

The Relational Implicit podcast is now located on the Active Pause website. Our focus is on redefining mindfulness based on trauma-informed therapy and the Polyvagal theory. This change reflects the experiential and intersubjective nature of what we do as therapists. We are not providing impersonal “treatment” to people we are observing as detached observers. We are […]

The following conversation with Ken Benau serves as an introduction to shame and pride-informed psychotherapy with adult survivors of relational trauma, the theme of his book, Shame, Pride, and Relational Trauma: Concepts and Psychotherapy. Ken Benau, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in clinical psychology with a subspecialty in adult psychotherapy at Georgia State University in Atlanta, […]

In this conversation, our intention is to share with you what we like about the notion of “inquiry,” and to do so by giving you a flavor of what we mean by it. Dr. Marjorie Schuman is a clinical psychologist who teaches, writes about, and practices mindful psychodynamic psychotherapy. Serge Prengel is the editor of […]

We start this conversation from the perspective that human beings are self-interpreting animals, and go on to explore what gives us a sense of meaning. Lawrence Berger has been practicing mindfulness for many years while developing a philosophy of attention in his academic pursuits. He was formerly a business school professor at the universities of Iowa and Pennsylvania, […]

We talk about bringing a quality of fierce love to our life, as a person and as an agent of change. The Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D. is Senior Minister for Public Theology and Transformation at Middle Church in New York City. She uses her gifts as author, activist, preacher, public theologian toward creating an antiracist, […]

Jeffery Smith describes a 5-step pathway to go beyond the fragmentation of the different schools of psychotherapy and define how psychotherapy works. He discusses: (1) What psychotherapy treats (at 0′ 13″) (2) Entrenched Maladaptive Patterns (at 5′ 28″) (3) The learned fear paradigm (at 16′ 06″) (4) Requirements for change (at 29′ 12″) (5) How […]

We talk about metaphors that Salvador Moreno-López uses to understand and orient interaction in psychotherapy and daily life, such as the music of the speech and a jazz duo. Dr. Salvador Moreno-López, Ph.D., Universidad Iberoamericana, in México City. Certified Focusing Instructor and Certifying Coordinador for Mexico of the International Focusing Institute. Has been a professor […]

In this 9-minute video, Serge Prengel describes an embodied perspective on how we experience a sense of being (part of) something larger. Published November 2021.

See the audio recording below the text. Today, I am going to describe to you a one-minute practice. Now, when I say one minute, it could be 50 seconds or five minutes. We're not timing it. You sit on a bench or a chair, with your feet touching the ground. If you are on a […]

This conversation starts with a guided, experiential exploration. Then we talk about early developmental experiences, with a perspective informed by trauma therapy and mindfulness. Cherionna Menzam-Sills, Ph.D., began teaching Embodied Embryology through somatic movement in 1997 as part of her doctoral studies in Pre- & Perinatal Psychology, which led to her teaching at Naropa University […]

Elliot Jurist and I had planned to have a recorded conversation about his perspectives on the human mind. Ten days before our conversation, his father passed away. So we talked about the process of mourning and how it relates to the human condition. Elliot Jurist, Ph.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at The City College […]

In this conversation, Jan Winhall describes how therapists can respectfully understand addiction and treat trauma responses with deep embodied listening. Jan Winhall M.S.W. F.O.T. is a psychotherapist, teacher, and the author of Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model. She is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Social Work, University of Toronto. […]

In this conversation, Jan Winhall describes how therapists can respectfully understand addiction and treat trauma responses with deep embodied listening. Jan Winhall M.S.W. F.O.T. is a psychotherapist, teacher, and the author of Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model. She is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Social Work, University of Toronto. […]

In this conversation, we discuss the felt sense as the experience of living (i.e., interacting) from a neuroscience perspective. Peter Afford has been practicing and teaching Focusing for years. Based in London, he is a Coordinator for TIFI and a founder member of the British Focusing Association. He also works as a counsellor and therapist […]

In this conversation, we discuss the felt sense as the experience of living (i.e., interacting) from a neuroscience perspective. Peter Afford has been practicing and teaching Focusing for years. Based in London, he is a Coordinator for TIFI and a founder member of the British Focusing Association. He also works as a counsellor and therapist […]

In this far-ranging conversation, we talk about the limitations of “McMindfulness” and discuss what it feels like to explore a new sense of self in the context of interaction. Ronald Purser, Ph.D. is the Lam-Larsen Distinguished Research Professor of Management at San Francisco State University. His latest book, McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist […]

So, just human… Just human… So, for me, that is in contrast to those times when we talk about something transcendent, something like religious ideas, ideologies, and something out there that gives meaning… Whereas — just human — we are at the center of meaning [as something essentially subjective]. So, just human… Just human… As […]

In this conversation, we explore faith as a human experience. That is, it need not be attached to any religious narrative. We talk about finding faith organically in the midst of darkness and doubt — far from the contrived positivity of “have faith!” Monica Gomez Galaz is a Focusing Coordinator in Mexico City. She is […]

Annie Bloch has been practicing meditation and Focusing. She talks about Focusing as a direct connection with our inner wisdom. Annie Bloch is a hunter- gatherer-gardener in the fields of systems thinking, cognitive sciences, and psychotherapy. French and half American, on a dual path: Buddhist and Jewish. Published June 2021.

Mark Schenker defines addiction and talks about his integrative model. Mark Schenker is a licensed psychologist with 40 years of experience working with patients with substance use disorders. Dr. Schenker has written “A Clinician's Guide to Twelve-Step Recovery” (Norton, 2009) and the chapter “Addiction Treatment Settings” for the APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology (APA, 2016). […]

Mark Schenker defines addiction and talks about his integrative model. Mark Schenker is a licensed psychologist with 40 years of experience working with patients with substance use disorders. Dr. Schenker has written “A Clinician's Guide to Twelve-Step Recovery” (Norton, 2009) and the chapter “Addiction Treatment Settings” for the APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology (APA, 2016). […]

Suzanne Noel talks about what sustains her: swimming, riding a motorbike, and connecting with others. Suzanne Noel is a Certifying Coordinator for the International Focusing Institute.in New York. She developed Recovery Focusing (the crossing of the 12 Steps for addictive process with Felt Sensing), out of which she developed her H.O.W. We Heal model for groups. […]

Bruce Gibbs talks about what his practices of meditation and Focusing have in common, what is different about them, and how they can enhance each other. Bruce Gibbs, Ph.D., has explored consciousness, both academically and experientially, for many decades. He has practiced Yoga, Vipassana, and Zen meditation. He teaches Focusing and meditation, has developed a […]

Merete Holm Brantbjerg talks about the deeply satisfying bodily experience of finding what sustains her. Merete Holm Brantbjerg developed Relational Trauma Therapy, a psychomotor and systems-oriented approach. She is an international trainer, group leader, and therapist based in Denmark. See her website. See other conversation with Merete Holm Brantbjerg. Published March 2021.

In this conversation, Gregory Kramer compares the perspectives that psychotherapy and Buddhism have on dealing with human suffering. Gregory Kramer teaches, writes, and is the founding teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community. His primary focuses are sharing a relational understanding of the Dhamma and teaching Insight Dialogue, an interpersonal form of Buddhist insight meditation. He […]

Susan Rudnick talks about mindfulness within the broader context of Buddhism and the Zen tradition. Susan Rudnick LCSW is a Focusing-oriented therapist in private practice in Westchester NY. She has a long-term practice in Zen Buddhism, and recently has been integrating this consciousness with her roots in Judaism. In her seventies, she wrote and published […]

Evelyn Fendler-Lee and Serge Prengel have been exploring creative ways to think about thinking in such a way that it opens up new horizons. This process involves sharing some of what comes up as we proceed. We feel that the sharing broadens our exploration as it stimulates further thoughts in you.  For a transcript, see […]

Gregory Kramer talks about integrating Buddhist wisdom with our everyday life. Gregory Kramer teaches, writes, and is the founding teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community. His primary focuses are sharing a relational understanding of the Dhamma and teaching Insight Dialogue, an interpersonal form of Buddhist insight meditation. He has been teaching worldwide since 1980. In […]

In this conversation, Michael Changaris talks about how crucial touch is to our sense of self and our well-being. He refers to research as well as examples in clinical practice and in everyday life. The conversation concludes with an invitation to a simple way to experience this in your life. Michael Changaris, PsyD. is the Chief Clinical […]

Francesca Maximé talks about how to find mindful, embodied responses to racialization and racism. Francesca Marguerite Maximé is a Haitian-Dominican Italian-American embodied antiracism educator, somatic psychotherapist, award-winning poet/author, certified mindfulness meditation teacher. She also hosts the ReRooted podcast on Ram Dass’s Be Here Now Network focusing on neuroscience, trauma healing, social justice, and the creative arts. […]

Jan Winhall and Serge Prengel talk about making meaning. Or, rather, feeling it, sensing into it. Jan Winhall, M.S.W., R.S.W., F.O.T., is a psychotherapist in Private Practice and Director of Focusing On Borden, a centre for teaching Focusing and Focusing Oriented Therapy. Jan is the author of “Addiction From The Bottom Up: A Felt Sense […]

To be effective, therapy has to address the implicit pressures that shaped our clients and continue to shape them. This includes the implicit messages people derived from their upbringing (e.g. parent implicitly encouraging child to act out while explicitly not doing so). This also includes the social milieu which exerts implicit pressure for them to […]

Richard Gillett is the author of It's A Freakin Mess: How to thrive in divisive times. Here, we talk about how personal and social divisiveness manifests and its huge costs to our physical and mental well-being. We talk about how to change the pain of polarization, and how we feel so much better and become […]

Political conversations tend to bring out activation and polarization. This is not a reason to avoid them. To avoid falling into the pitfalls of polarization, use a mindful approach that fosters curiosity. Instead of defending a position, make it your goal to know more about each other through the discussion. This talk describes a format that helps […]

The other day, I saw a poster. It’s the iconic picture of Rambo with bulging muscles and a bazooka. But, instead of the head of Sylvester Stallone, it has the head of Donald Trump. The caption goes, “Trump. No Man. No Woman. No Commie Can Stump Him.” My first reaction was to think of it […]