Embodied Reflections of Body-Oriented Clinical Psychology Students during Covid-19

Abstract

The world has encountered a pandemic named Covid-19 that has affected people’s lives in numerous dimensions. During this ongoing dramatic and stratified period, we have been shattered globally in various layers. As 12 students of the first Body-Oriented Clinical Psychology master's program at Maltepe University in Turkey, we experienced uncertainty caused by the pandemic accompanied with online Body-Oriented Psychotherapy classes. Our experiences in Turkey, mostly Istanbul between mid-March and June, 2020 can be an example of reacting with uncertainty to the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic and may highlight the role of the body coping. In this article, we intended to reflect our pandemic experiences of significant changes in our lives. We examined our perception of the new normal as ‘Body-Oriented Clinical Psychology students’ in our reflections with distinct and common experiences. In addition, we covered the experiences of body awareness, embodiment, emotions, and interpersonal relationships while coping with the coronavirus. Our reflections revealed that the uncertainty of online education and other circumstances during this time caused anxiety and anger, while body-oriented courses helped us feel regulated and attuned. Sharing our experiences and evaluating the effects of our education on these experiences of lock-downs were important in gaining a better understanding of the circumstances in order to determine helpful solutions.

Keywords

• body-oriented psychotherapy
• covid-19
• online learning
• coping
• uncertainty