Abstract
This article discusses the central roles of issues of narcissism, omnipotence and limits in early sequences of human development, as well as how these issues are dealt with in the psychotherapeutic process developed by Al Pesso and Diane Boyden-Pesso (Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor, PBSP). The article describes practical steps for strengthening the client's ability to contain omnipotent forces and wishes, and offers suggestions on how to avoid pitfalls and negative therapeutic outcomes when dealing with these powerful impulses emerging in therapy sessions ('structures') in which the body is involved.
"...In this new millennium, the unmet need for limits and the necessity to contain powerful, violent and destructive forces is alarmingly evident, not only on an individual, psychological level but also on a social, ethical, political and global scale. Although psychotherapy in principle is a profession that is humbly oriented toward individuals and small systems, increasing social fragmentation is forcing our awareness of the need for safe and clear limits in our society as a whole. This urgent problem stresses the necessity to think about how to apply safe limiting techniques in a therapeutic context. It seems useful to reflect on how methods and techniques developed in a body-based psychotherapy like Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor might contribute to the effectiveness of psychotherapy in general and to our thinking of the issue of limits on a daily life level...."
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