A CHANGE OF HEART
The dynamics of psychological resistance and emergence in self-managed mind-body healthcare
Abstract
Though the mind-body connection is increasingly recognized as a therapeutic resource, therapies that tap into it can trigger psychological dynamics of resistance. These dynamics affect both the individual who tries to implement mind-body healthcare, and the practitioner who is enabling it. The suggestion of this paper is that mind-body healthcare requires a substantial transformation in an individual's worldview and sense of identity. Consequently it may be better understood as a dramatic transformational process involving psychological death and birth, rather than the simple acquisition of some self-care techniques. Therefore practitioners may require particular skills when they seek to guide their clients
