A Gestalt Reading of Psychosomatic Sufferings: “Burning Skin”

This article presents a Gestalt perspective on the treatment of psychosomatic suffering. The first section outlines the development of psychosomatics within psychoanalytic studies. It explores the diagnostic framework and the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatments, contextualized within the post-pandemic period, the climate crisis, and ongoing global conflicts. Gestalt therapy is then introduced as a potential approach, emphasizing the experiential and situational field concept to deepen the understanding of the aetiopathogenesis and phenomenology of psychosomatic disorders. The relational and intersubjective dimensions of bodywork are discussed, highlighting the indispensability of mind-body unity alongside the centrality of the therapeutic relationship. The authors provide an integrated biopsychosocial perspective on psychosomatic disorders, examining the interactions among the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. A clinical case demonstrates how Aesthetic Relational Knowledge can effectively address psychosomatic suffering by understanding the patient within a relational context and acknowledging their specificity and uniqueness. The importance of co-regulation and the therapist’s adaptive presence is emphasized to support the patient in managing closeness within the therapeutic relationship. This relational “dance” relies on trust in the field, particularly during moments of discouragement and pain when the patient feels unseen or invalidated. Over time, this process facilitates co-regulation and the resolution of symptoms by recalibrating the therapeutic distance. In conclusion, Gestalt psychotherapy, grounded in Aesthetic Relational Knowledge, emerges as a privileged approach for treating psychosomatic disorders. This is achieved through the integration of the patient’s mind-body experience in the therapeutic here-and-now. The treatment is founded on the therapist’s authentic and spontaneous presence, which acknowledges the patient’s complexity without disregarding the neurobiochemical correlates that exacerbate suffering. Phenomenologically, the therapist becomes part of the patient’s experiential field, using resonance to comprehend the patient’s lived experience. By embodying the patient’s experience metaphorically “on their skin”, the therapist facilitates the reformulation of relational patterns and fosters new creative adaptations.

Keywords: ; Gestalt psychotherapy; psychosomatic; body; resonance; Aesthetic Relational Knowledge

Michele Cannavò, Dario Davì, Brenda Cervellione, Una lettura gestaltica dei disturbi psicosomatici: “la pelle che brucia” in "QUADERNI DI GESTALT" 2/2024, pp 33-50, DOI: 10.3280/qg2024-2oa18163