Events Archive

1 March 2008

Too Hot To Handle?

Thinking about touch in the psychotherapeutic space

Few would disagree that touch plays a fundamental role in human life, yet it is mostly forbidden in psychotherapy. While the use of touch is neither straightforward, nor self-evidently useful, it may nevertheless be an inevitable part of the clinical encounter and a potentially valuable mode of interacting with clients. This conference examined arguments for and against the use of touch in psychotherapy, and explored ways in which touch may be handled or mishandled in the therapeutic relationship. The conference was organised with Graeme Galton, editor of Touch Papers: Dialogues on Touch in the Psychoanalytic Space (Karnac Books).

SUSIE ORBACH
(Psychotherapist, author and co-founder of the Womenâs Therapy Centre)
Too hot to touch: Introductory remarks

ABRAHAM BRAFMAN
(Psychoanalyst and author)
Touching and affective closeness

VALERIE SINASON
(Psychoanalyst, author and poet)
No touch please - we're British psychodynamic practitioners

NICK TOTTON
(Embodied-relational therapist and author)
The possibility of touch

ROZ CARROLL
(Body psychotherapist and author)
Multi-sensory intersubjectivity: Why touch matters

EM FARRELL
(Psychoanalytic psychotherapist and author)
Plenary introduction: The presence of the body in psychotherapy

Chairs: Susie Orbach and Graeme Galton (Psychotherapist)