Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Giacometti – Nauman exhibition at the Schirn Mueseum in Frankfurt Germany. Here I came across this beautiful Giacometti sculpture.
This woman immediately transported me back to my psychotherapy rooms. She reminds me of many of the people I have worked with over the years affected by trauma.
Look closely. What does her body tell you?
I see armpits that cannot breathe, a tight belly, a body in contraction.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapists, working with trauma have a saying, “tension is a precursor to movement”.
For us trauma therapists and counsellors, physical tension isn't always structural, but is often an indication of a motor movement wanting to happen. Some patterning that exists in the body, stuck or distorting, in search of satisfaction, release or completion. A push, a movement into flight, maybe a reaching for support or care.
I can't help wonder what happened to Giacometti's lady. Does she carry her own trauma history?
http://www.schirn.de/en/exhibitions/2016/giacometti_nauman/