Psychotherapy Process

Why Body Psychotherapy Works Bottom-up

Bottom-up Therapy vs. Top-down-therapy - Methods of Body Psychotherapy

Why is a bottom-up approach promising in psychotherapy?

By supporting bottom-up processing in body-oriented psychotherapy, it is possible to initiate changes in the body in the here-and-now that are difficult to access in consciousness. In this way, it is possible to make changes possible in the present and to free yourself from the burdens of the past.

Processing of perception

When processing perceptual impulses, a distinction is made between top-down processes and bottom-up processes.

  • Top-down processing comes from conscious thinking, i.e. from expectations, assumptions, concepts, beliefs. Thoughts influence the interpretation of perception.
  • Bottom-up processing, on the other hand, is based on sensory information from the body and the environment in the present. This information and experience is often preverbal and preconscious.
Top-down-Approach of Psychotherapy vs. Bottom-up-Approach of Body Psychotherapy

Procedure in psychotherapy

The top-down approach in therapy attempts to change thoughts and conscious actions through conscious decisions and will effort.

  • The top-down approach is used in particular in cognitive behavioral therapy
  • This is productive when there is little emotional charge. In this case, the cerebrum / prefrontal cortex are online and to some extent flexible and capable of accommodating changes.

The bottom-up approach is particularly productive in psychotherapy because it allows for new experiences. Through sensual perception, I avoid both conscious and unconscious expectations and assumptions.

  • The bottom-up approach is used in particular in the body-oriented methods of trauma therapy
  • Especially when the topic is emotionally charged, the bottom-up approach is more promising: It is then easier to change the perception itself. Afterwards, I can also change concepts and thoughts more easily.

In body psychotherapy, I support processes that affect the mind from the body and the brain stem – from the bottom up, so to speak. This makes it possible to initiate changes that would be difficult to achieve through purely cognitive work.

Bottom-up vs. Top-down Approach in Psychotherapy

Bottom-up Approach

Bottom-up perception processes

  • Unfiltered absorption of sensory information (from the body and the environment)
  • Grounded in empirical reality, unfiltered by mental images
  • Reality in the present influences perception in the present

Meaning for psychotherapy

  • Enables new experiences in the present – independent of old concepts
  • Emotionally charged topics can be processed step by step
  • Therapeutic work should be embedded in cognitive understanding.
Body Oriented Psychotherapy

Top-Down Approach

Top-down perception processes

  • Perceptions are filtered by cognitive processes
  • Concepts, assumptions and expectations act as filters, i.e. they influence perception and interpretation
  • Past experiences influence perception in the present – expectations are confirmed

Meaning for psychotherapy

  • Cognitive insight is often the first step in embracing change
  • Some beliefs are not amenable to cognitive change
  • Unconscious resistance makes change difficult, especially when it comes to emotionally charged topics
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy