Name
Address
Phone
Date of Seminar
Location of Seminar
Instructor
SomatoEmotional Release® 2
Study Guide
John E. Upledger, DO, OMM
Lee Nugan, M.A.
Susan D. Pinto, M.D., C.F.P.
with additional contributions by
Chas Perry, Ph.D., and Susan Steiner, O.T.R./L.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
COPYRIGHT © 1992-2011 BY UII ENTERPRISES
Revised 2011
All rights reserved.
No part of this study guide may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means
without the written permission of the publisher.
For additional copies of this study guide, please call
UPLEDGER INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL
1-800-233-5880
(561) 622-4334
Upledger Institute International
Workshop Admission Policy
Continuing-education workshops conducted by Upledger Institute International (UII) are designed to augment the professional practices or educational programs of healthcare practitioners. Admission requires each participant to hold a current healthcare license or certificate, or be enrolled in an educational program granting licensure or certification. Upon course completion, participants must also assume responsibility for understanding which techniques fall within the scope of their practices.
Special consideration may occasionally be given to laypersons who wish to attend our workshops. In these cases, UII carefully evaluates personal and/or professional circumstances. If granted a waiver of our licensure/certification requirement, the layperson must sign a consent form stating that completion of an Upledger workshop will not, by any means, provide licensure or certification for hands-on bodywork.
The modalities taught in these workshops demand a solid anatomical and physiological working knowledge. Therefore, all participants must assume responsibility for advance preparation.
FOREWORD
It may have become obvious by now that when you engage in this work, you embark on a journey toward increased self-awareness. Some of the tools you need for this journey will be found, rediscovered, or honed and polished through practice with the concepts presented in the SomatoEmotional Release workshop. We encourage you to experiment with the exercises, to play with the ideas, and to use them in your own way. As you become more familiar with yourself and your personal guides, you will become better equipped to help your patients/clients in their endeavors. The ground becomes fertile for healing.
Table of Contents
Energy Cysts — An Overview
Causes and Origins of Energy Cysts 2
Location of Energy Cysts by Whole-Body Diagnosis 2
SomatoEmotional Release — An Overview
Comparison and Contrast between SomatoEmotional Release
and Energy Cysts and Their Techniques 6
The “Avenue of Expression” — An Overview
Technique Protocol 8
Following the Patient’s/Client’s Inner Wisdom/Nonconscious
Through the Therapeutic Process 10
SomatoEmotional Release and Gestalt: Integrated
Introduction and General Background 12
Practical Applications 13
Dialogue 13
Figure/Ground Relationship 14
Whole/Part Relationship 14
Closure/Unfinished Business 15
Obstacles and Resistances 16
Self-Awareness 17
Exercises 18
Therapeutic Imagery and Dialogue
Nonconscious Helpers 22
Language and Communication 22
Resistance 23
Therapist/Facilitator Baggage 23
SER Releases From the Body Tissue 24
The Holistic Focus — Work with Mind, Body and Spirit Concurrently 24
SER Without Dialogue 25
Carl Jung and SomatoEmotional Release
Introduction and General Background 28
Practical Application 29
Personal Unconscious 30
Collective Unconscious 30
Individuation 32
Active Imagination 33
Exercises 33
Continued
Completion of the Biological Processes
Definition and Background 36
Facilitation Process 38
The Model 39
The Psychosynthesis Model and SomatoEmotional Release
Psychosynthesis: Introduction and General Background 42
Practical Application 43
Exercises 45
Variations of Mind-Body-Spirit Models—
Integration of these Models 46
Recent Developments in CST, SER and Related Subjects 47
Afterword 48
SomatoEmotional Release 1 Review Material 49
Next Workshop in the Series 55
Appendix:
CranioSacral Therapy Curriculum Flow Chart A-1
Upledger Institute International and Its Educational Curriculums A-2
CST Diplomate Certification A-4
International Alliance of Healthcare Educators® Programs A-6
Model for Research Case Study or Single-Subject Design A-9
UII-Approved Study Groups A-10
Energy Cysts —
an overview
Reference:
SomatoEmotional Release and Beyond by John E. Upledger
Definition: The energy cyst in one model may be thought of as a walled-off, localized concentration of energy that is not in tune or integrated with the organized energy system(s) of the rest of the body in which it resides. The walling off is done by the host’s body energy as a defense against the dispersion of the disorganized energy throughout a wide volume of host tissues. It is assumed in this model that the smaller the volume of host tissues affected by the energy cyst, the lesser will be its disruptive influence.
Causes and Origins of Energy Cysts
Our concept of energy cysts originally arose from work with patients who had suffered physical trauma in accidents and so on. Now we realize energy cyst formation can result from emotional trauma, microbial invasions or infections, toxicities, exposure to radioactivity and, probably, other causes that we have not yet encountered. Currently, we are describing energy cysts as, “energy cyst due to (insert origin)” in order to clarify the situation.
Location of Energy Cysts
by Whole-Body Diagnosis
Arcing
Locates the active lesion.
Location of Energy Cysts by
Whole-Body Diagnosis (Continued)
Dural tube evaluation — locates segmental facilitative and/or meningeal restriction, which may indirectly suggest location of the energy cyst.
Craniosacral rhythm, range, vitality, symmetry and fascial glide are affected by the presence of the energy cyst, but indicators are not specific for the energetically active lesion such as the energy cyst. They are also affected by the residue of healed active lesions.
Notes:
SOMATOEMOTIONAL RELEASE—
AN OVERVIEW
Definition — SomatoEmotional Release® (SER) may be defined as a release from the body tissues of energy that has been stored in the tissues for some time subsequent to an incident resulting in the placement of this energy in those tissues. The energy, which is foreign to the tissues in which it resides, almost invariably has within it an emotional component. When the SomatoEmotional Release technique is effectively carried out, the emotion is re-experienced by the patient/client and, most often, a rather vivid memory of the incident during which the energetic placement occurred comes into conscious awareness.
Comparison and Contrast Between SomatoEmotional Release and Energy
Cysts and Their Techniques
SER is a very general approach in which the patient’s/client’s nonconscious is in charge —
the objective is totally unknown to the therapist.
Energy cyst release is locally focused in the patient’s/client’s body. The specific objective is to release a particular energy cyst. Given the opportunity, the energy cyst release will frequently lead into a full-body SomatoEmotional Release.
THE “AVENUE OF EXPRESSION”—
AN OVERVIEW
References:
SomatoEmotional Release and Beyond by John E. Upledger
CranioSacral Therapy by John E. Upledger & Jon D. Vredevoogd
CranioSacral Therapy 2: Beyond the Dura by John E. Upledger
It is essential that the Avenue of Expression (as presented in SER 1) is open before we can gain the most from our experience in SER 2. You must recall that the cranial vault, the intracranial membrane system, the dural tube and its osseous anchors, and the hard palate must have been evaluated and reasonably treated in preparation for work with the Avenue of Expression.
Technique Protocol
Before beginning the protocol, do the following:
1. Evaluate and release osseous and membranous restrictions related to the total dural
membrane system and its related structures.
2. Evaluate and release mandible and TMJs as indicated.
Cranial vault (with special attention to the temporal bones) and the sacrum must be free and mobile before beginning this protocol.
Thoracic Inlet
Infrahyoid Tissues
sternohyoideus muscles
sternothyroideus muscles
thyrohyoideus muscles
omohyoideus muscles
Retrohyoid Tissues
constrictor pharyngeus medius muscles
posterior belly of digastricus muscles
stylohyoideum muscles
Zygomata
Hard Palate Release and Mobilization
maxillae
vomer
palatines
Rebalance Hard Palate
Suprahyoid
mylohyoideus muscles
geniohyoideus muscles
anterior belly of digastricus muscles
Tongue
Teeth and Gums
Rebalance Hard Palate
Nasal Bones
Rebalance Mandible
Always end practice session with CV-4
Following the Patient’s/Client’s Inner Wisdom/Nonconscious Through the Therapeutic Process
In SER, it is mandatory that the therapist step aside as a director. The patient/client leads the way. The assumption is that every patient/client has an inner wisdom that knows just what he/she needs. The therapist’s job is to connect with the inner wisdom and follow its guidance without any suggestion or judgment.
SOMATOEMOTIONAL RELEASE AND GESTALT: INTEGRATED
References:
In and Out the Garbage Pail by Fritz Perls
Gestalt Therapy Verbatim by Fritz Perls
A gestalt is a unified whole, a pattern or an organized field that possesses specific properties which cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts.
Introduction and General Background
Gestalt psychology holds the view that physiological and psychological phenomena may not be understood simply by studying the parts in detail. Behavior is more than the summation of individual reflexes and sensations. Clearly, this approach to psychology has a well-deserved place in the modern healthcare movement toward “holism.”
Gestalt psychology has come about largely as a countermovement in response to the classical approach exemplified by Helmholz, J.S. Null and others. In the classical approach, the attempt to understand the human mind is carried out by dissecting it into perceptions, reflexes, instincts and the like. This classical approach holds that the whole can be understood by the study of its parts. The Gestaltists such as Wertheimer, Koffka, Kohler, Perls and others felt that this approach was incorrect and unrealistic.
Gestalt therapy is a noninterpretive approach that emphasizes personal responsibility and
holism. Mind and body receive approximately equal emphasis. As a therapy, it began to achieve prominence in the U.S. and U.K. in the 1960s. Gestalt therapy is often used in conjunction with other approaches. Its boundaries are not clear. This lack of specific definition fits very well with its central philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt is a German word. It is taken from the psychology of perception and it refers to a pattern or figure that can be distinguished against a background or a field of perception. In English, the concept of “gestalt” is applied whenever and wherever a figure emerges from a background or ground.
Fritz Perls (1893-1970) was a main founder of Gestalt therapy. His major focus was to help the patient or client to differentiate figure from ground (background). His belief was that well-differentiated and organized figure-ground complexes promote good health. Much of Gestalt therapy may be called awareness training. The therapist facilitates patient/client awareness of self and his/her environment, and the interaction between the two.
Practical Applications
The primary goal of Gestalt therapy is the development of a meaningful, organized and functional whole. There are several Gestalt approaches that integrate well with Somato-Emotional Release and therapeutic imagery and dialogue. The complementary nature of Gestalt and SER should become obvious as we discuss, experiment with, integrate and practice some of the techniques.
Some of the Gestalt techniques and ideas we consider and integrate with SomatoEmotional Release are dialogue, closure of unfinished business, figure/ground relationship, whole/part relationship, obstacles and resistances, and self-awareness.
Dialogue
In the quest to understand the meaning of the whole, it is helpful to imagine yourself as a part
of that whole. You can become a part of your body, a part of your environment, a part of your dream or any image that may present itself. Actually, you can become anything you allow yourself to imagine that you are. Once you have become the part, you can speak as the part. Speaking as the selected part with the whole via the therapeutic facilitator gives valuable
self-knowledge.
As the therapeutic facilitator, you can use the “significance detector” of the craniosacral rhythm as a valuable tool, along with the effect of intentioned touch.
Figure/Ground Relationship
In Gestalt psychology, the context in which an element appears is called the “ground.” It is the ground against which the figure or element stands out. In art, negative space is the background and positive space is the foreground.
Rigid or repressed figure formation interferes with completion of Gestalt. When you feel good, the relationship between figure and ground is fluid, and you can bring something forward into consciousness easily. You do not repress it. Dialoguing strengthens this ability. It can bring into awareness previously forgotten situations quite painlessly. Sometimes it requires persistence on both the patient’s/client’s and therapist’s part. Clients usually express gratitude when therapists remain present and involved.
Whole/Part Relationship
Fritz Perls is perhaps the most well-known and accomplished Gestalt therapist in America. Perls felt that the greatest value in the Gestalt approach lay in the idea that the whole, rather than being the sum of the parts, actually determines the parts. It is the “meeting” of the therapist and the patient/client which we in CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release have come to call “blending” that gives high-quality energy to the therapeutic session.
In CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release, we are constantly meeting, blending and becoming a part of the body, mind and spirit of the patient/client.
Closure/Unfinished Business
Human beings have an inherent need for closure. This need demonstrates itself in many ways. In looking at a basic series of dots, the eye tends to close the design. Likewise, in human behavior, there is a strong desire to complete unfinished business, be it a conversation, relationship or biological process.
In Gestalt work, when we are doing therapeutic imagery and dialogue, we are helping a client satisfy this need for closure by identifying meaningful events and people who were or are major players in life’s game. We bring these players forward in the patient’s/client’s consciousness, giving them the opportunity to say whatever they would like to that person now. The client’s self-awareness is heightened in this process. Sometimes as an emotion is expressed, it changes. What may have begun as anger can turn into sadness and then perhaps to the realization of another feeling. Usually that feeling is love.
It is interesting to note that many times we find that a specific closure generalizes to other aspects of a client’s life. For example, someone may experience closure by completion of a biological reproductive process. Then in their work life they may “give birth” to a new, important and meaningful project such as a book, work of art, piece of music, etc.
An exercise on unfinished business will show how valuable it can be to express feelings that have long been denied. You will be asked to consider whether you have someone in your life to whom you may want to say something that you have not said. This exercise will provide the opportunity to express your feelings to that person, as well as to hear his/her response, and thus to gain insights and achieve closure to that issue.
Obstacles and Resistances
In Gestalt work, the patient/client is asked to focus on feeling. He/she is given tasks or exercises to perform and is then asked what he/she is feeling while doing it. With this method, the therapist helps bring to the surface the patient’s/client’s problem areas. It is not the task itself, but that which interferes with the successful completion of the task that becomes the most important aspect of the session.