Bill Bowen, MFA, LMT
Bio
Bill Bowen, MFA, LMT, is the founder and director of Psycho-Physical Therapy
This unique therapeutic method has evolved from his 35 years of experience working with the creative process, body therapy, somatic psychology and spirituality. The active integration of the physical and psychological has been the continuing focus of his work. He believes that the fragmentation of body, mind, and spirit, which is common in our contemporary culture, is at the root of much of the trauma and suffering we see in our clients. Central to this work is the exploration of the mind/body interface and the establishment of centering presence. He works with clients to help them re-establish optimal psycho-physical resources necessary to live peaceful and integrated lives.
The Quote
Bill shares a quote about the Dalai Lama. When asked by a journalist whether The Dalai Lama hated the Chinese for what they’ve been doing to his country, The Dalai Lama responded with this:
No, I don’t hate the Chinese for what they are doing to my country. Because if I hated the Chinese, the war that is tearing my country apart would tear me apart, and I am unwilling to do that to myself.
The Dalai Lama
What Led to the Specialization of Trauma?
Bill shares how his interest in the creative process and its relation to stress and how stress interferes with that process, led to his realization that he was “doing the right thing, in the wrong field.”
A Crucial Early Mistake
Bill talks about how early on in his career he was “very reliant” on templates and theoretical models which prevented him from seeing the individual client sitting before him.
Bill’s Why
Bill shares how his fascination with how people “create themselves” continues to motivate him in this field.
Bill’s Advice
- You have to study. But the real task is to develop compassion.
- Develop presence, avoid leading your client to a hyperaroused state, and resource your client when they have the capacity to be resourced.
Bill’s go-to books
- Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy, Pat Ogden
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, MD
- Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society, Bessel A. van der Kolk
- Stag’s Leap: Poems, Sharon Olds
- The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke (English and German Edition), Rainer Maria Rilke
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain