Bajramovic Richet, Ana

Embodied cognition in the therapeutic process of Lifespan Integration (LI) Therapy - 2023.


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Lifespan Integration (LI) therapy, formerly known as “Integration du Cycle de Vie” (ICV) in the French-speaking world, is a recent psychotherapy requiring research about its effectiveness. The principle of this therapy is to integrate a set of memories into long-term memory, so as to make the traumatic memory less intense and thus integrate it into one’s life history. Considering that the bodily sensations experienced when an event is evoked influence the perception of this event, LI therapy focuses on the body. In this article, we explore the place of embodied cognition in the therapeutic process of LI therapy, based on the study of Heloise’s therapy. Using the paradigm of Change Process Research, we will highlight how Héloïse was able to take better account of the various signals sent by her body. We observe an improvement in emotional regulation, assessed with the DERS-f (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, French version). The concept of embodied cognition sheds light on a central dimension of this new psychotherapy.