International Association of Analytical Psychology(IAAP)
XIX Annual Conference
Co-facilitators: The workshop will be led by IAAP colleagues from different parts of the world who are among those working to develop dance/movement as a form of active imagination: Joan Chodorow, Renate Oppikofer, Anita Greene, Jackie Gerson, Tina Stromsted, Antonella Adorisio, and Margarita Mendez.
“…Jung’s early interest in the multi-sensory, emotional, living moving body energized and shaped the development of analytical psychology. His studies of complexes led him to understand that the emotions are at the foundation of the psyche (CW 3, par. 78) [elements Jung drew, painted and elaborated on in his Red Book]…. This workshop links Jung’s early contributions to recent neurobiological research. Co-leaders will offer integrative exploration through dance/movement as a form of active imagination. Attention is turned to the ongoing stream of multi-sensory images, sensations, feelings and emotions, which are then allowed to develop into spontaneous movement. The work is done with one’s eyes closed in the presence of a witness, whose task it is to hold and contain the experience of the person moving.
The mover-witness relationship offers a way to explore the nonverbal world of implicit experience, expression and communication underlying analytic conversation. Analysts use the connection between body and psyche as a central clinical tool, yet there may be few opportunities to further develop this dimension. This workshop offers a structure within which analysts can both have a practical experience of their own moving imagination as well as enrich their understanding of its application in analytic practice.” (Excerpted from Joan Chodorow’s workshop summary.)