Opening toward life: Experiences of basic body awareness therapy in persons with major depression

Abstract

Although there is a vast amount of research on different strategies to alleviate depression, knowledge of movement-based treatments focusing on body awareness is sparse. This study explores the experiences of basic body awareness therapy (BBAT) in 15 persons diagnosed with major depression who participated in the treatment in a randomized clinical trial. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology inspired the approach to interviews and data analysis. The participants’ experiences were essentially grasped as a process of enhanced existential openness, opening toward life, exceeding the tangible corporeal dimension to also involve emotional, temporal, and relational aspects of life. Five constituents of this meaning were described: vitality springing forth, grounding oneself, recognizing patterns in one's body, being acknowledged and allowed to be oneself, and grasping the vagueness. The process of enhanced perceptual openness challenges the numbness experienced in depression, which can provide hope for change, but it is connected to hard work and can be emotionally difficult to bear. Inspired by a phenomenological framework, the results of this study illuminate novel clinical and theoretical insight into the meaning of BBAT as an adjunctive approach in the treatment of depression.

Meanings of “acceptance” for patients with long-term pain when starting rehabilitation

“…For example, they utilized increased awareness of the body signals in "pain as a guide" strategy in order to prevent increased pain or deterioration (Lofgren et al, 2006). Danielsson and Rosberg (2015) investigated experiences of BBAT with patients with major depression. They found that body awareness made the persons more open and full of vitality, despite depression.…”

Being present with the patient—A critical investigation of bodily sensitivity and presence in the field of physiotherapy

“…We intend to support this claim by situating our article as a logical continuum of the work of earlier scholars. Our context is primarily the Nordic countries, where since the 1990s scholars of physical therapy have contributed to examining and developing a theoretical framework for understanding the role of the body in physical therapy (Bjorbaekmo, 2011;Dahlberg, 2013;Dahl-Michelsen, 2015;Danielsson and Rosberg, 2015;Engelsrud, 1990Engelsrud, , 2006Nicholls and Gibson, 2010;Råheim, 1997;Rosberg, 2000;Schriver, 2003;Thornquist, 2003). These researchers challenge the traditional approach to physiotherapy, which views the body as a medical object and gives a paramount role to the practical techniques for interacting with it.…”

A constant conversation: tuning into and harmonizing the needs and priorities of the body and mind

“…Patient education programmes such as body awareness therapy, which employ movements, breathing, massage, and awareness to try to restore balance, freedom, and unity of body and mind (Gard, 2005), have been explored for a variety of conditions including fibromyalgia, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression (Danielsson & Rosberg, 2015; Eriksson, Möller, Söderberg, Eriksson, & Kurlberg, 2007; Gard, 2005). With regard to diabetes, there are efforts to develop patient education programmes aimed at increasing patients’ self-awareness, specifically through recognition of the symptoms that signify hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia for them (Hernandez, Bradish, Rodger, & Rybansky, 1999; Hernandez, Hume, & Rodger, 2008).…”

“…It has been argued that body awareness, defined as the ability to recognize subtle body cues, can be helpful in the management of various conditions including chronic low back pain, congestive heart failure, chronic renal failure, and irritable bowel syndrome (Mehling et al, 2009). The concept has also been characterized as a kind of awareness involving mindfulness, non-judgemental acceptance, and a sense of self grounded in experiencing physical sensations in the present (Danielsson & Rosberg, 2015; Mehling et al, 2012). In addition, patients may combine an awareness of their embodied experience with information from test results, often in the process of discerning patterns of their condition (Wolf & Veinot, 2015).…”