Saturday, March 17, 2012

PTSD? (Pronunciation Teaching Somatic Dysphagia?}

Clipart: Clker
(PTSD? interpreted: A condition afflicting some in the field of pronunciation teaching today such that they still find extensive use of the body hard to swallow!) Of course the more generally accepted meaning of the acronym, PTSD, is post-traumatic stress disorder, a potentially very serious psychological problem affecting hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. As noted in earlier blogposts, one of the most important theories contributing to the early development of HICP was Observed Experiential Integration, which is used extensively in the treatment of PTSD.  As the name of the theory and therapy suggests, it is a system that focuses on integration of change into daily functioning of the patient, one that relies heavily on body-based therapeutic techniques, including managed eye tracking and massage therapy. One parallel between approaches to PTSD treatment such as OEI and HICP teaching is worth considering: how enhanced behaviour and attitudes are managed by therapist (or instructor) into everyday interaction and communication. The point of departure is consistently somatic: train the body and then employ it as the primary driver of integration, not pre-frontal, cognitive "thought." Not that cognitive therapy or cognitive linguistics do not contribute substantially or are not necessary, only that the body . . . is!

6 comments:

  1. Does the TWU counselling department offer OEI training?

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  2. It certainly does! It originated there. Check the link off the post for more info on when and how much!

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  3. Cool! This is something worth looking into. I'm aware of Swingle and Associates, as friends of mine have been helped in the past, and OEI seems to have many applications - I wonder if it can help with vertigo.

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  4. OEI and Swingle have worked together for some time now on research projects. In fact, Bradshaw, one of the founders of OEI now works half time from his office at Swingle and associates.

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  5. I saw that! I e-mailed Rick Bradshaw about the next OEI workshop, and he told me I couldn't take it unless I was in training at the masters-level in Counselling, Social Work, etc. He then told me that you teach a whole program in this for language purposes at TWU. I should have known.

    BTW, here is some findings over 25 years by a Christian neuroscientist in South Africa - Dr. Carolyn Leaf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhbt_XOZTdA

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