Embodied Enquiry Phenomenological Touchstones for Research, Psychotherapy and Spirituality

Drawing on a particular emphasis within the phenomenological tradition as exemplified by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Eugene Gendlin, this book considers the role of the lived body as a way of knowing and being within three practical contexts that illustrate some of the nuances of embodied enquiry: qualitative research, psychotherapy, spirituality.

LES TODRES is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Qualitative Research and Psychotherapy at Bournemouth University, UK. Previous occupational roles have included head of a student counseling service and director of a clinical psychology training program. His career spans both academic and clinical contexts, reflecting his interest in pursuing knowledge and practice that is both academically and professionally integrated.

Introduction: An Embodied Path at Beginning and End
PART I: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: TOWARDS AESTHETIC AND EMBODIED PRACTICES
The Qualitative Description of Human Experience: The Aesthetic Dimension
The Meaning of Understanding and the Open Body: Some Implications for Qualitative Research
The Bodily Complexity of Truth-Telling in Qualitative Research: Some Implications of Gendlin's Philosophy
Writing Phenomenological-Psychological Descriptions: An Illustration Attempting to Balance Texture and Structure
PART II: PSYCHOTHERAPY: EMBODYING COMPLEX IDENTITY
Humanising Forces: Phenomenology in Science; Psychotherapy in Technological Culture
The Rhythm of Psychotherapeutic Attention: A Training Model
The Primacy of Phenomenological Process and Sequence in Psychotherapy: A Case Study
Globalisation and the Complexity of Self: The Relevance of Psychotherapy
Freedom-Wound: Towards the Embodiment of Human Openness in Daseinanalytical Therapy
PART III: SPIRITUALITY: EMBODYING FREEDOM AND VULNERABILITY
Psychological and Spiritual Freedoms: Reflections Inspired by Heidegger
How Does Liberating Self-Insight Become Tacit Understanding?
The Wound that Connects: A Consideration of 'Narcissism' and the Creation of Soulful Space
Embracing Ambiguity: Transpersonal Development and the Phenomenological Tradition
Conclusion Thoughts and Touchstones: A Wide Embrace