Two Outstanding Posters - Douglas J Tataryn, Ph.D. (Bio-Emotive Integral Therapy) & Nuno Matos, M.Sc. (Applying AQAL to study Overtraining) #itc2010

Here are the abstracts of the two best posters I saw tonight (there are many abstracts for posters I did not see, so these are my "best of" selections).

Douglas J Tataryn, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Bio-Emotive Integral Therapy: You Can’t Transcend And Include What You Haven’t Differentiated!

Data from clinical clients was collected over three years using a Focusing-type process in which subjective distress from a stressful inter-personal encounter was localized to a specific area of the body and single words that might describe the experience of the encounter were spoken out loud and tested for “resonance” or physiological reaction. Words that most resonated, often eliciting strong emotional reactions, and did not “reduce” to any other words were collected and collated across clients and over time. These words, called core feelings, were integrated with aspects of extant theories of emotions, and became the foundation a new theory and clinical intervention called Bio-Emotive Integral Therapy, which appears to be more nuanced, internally and externally consistent, and transformative than previous theories. From this perspective there are 1) four basic emotions – anger, fear, happy, and sad, and 2) two types of emotionally-relevant feelings; inter-personal feelings and core feelings. Inter-personal feelings assess and summarize, in single words, the emotionally salient dimensions of an inter-personal interaction, such as feeling rejected or dismissed. Inter-personal feelings elicit one or more of 18 core feelings, such as feeling alone or insignificant, which in turn elicits an emotional reaction in the body. Each of the three aspects of emotional experience must be articulated for complete emotional integration to take place. From this perspective, most of Western civilization is alexithymic, a fact reflected in the high levels of mental health challenges (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance abuse) and stress-related disorders endemic to the population. This assertion is consistent with Tataryn’s (2010) contention that emotional intelligence per se does not arise as a Line of Development until Spiral Dynamics Green. Individuals who do not fully differentiate and integrate the emotional system will inevitably have to deal with unresolved emotional material appearing as shadow at later developmental stages.

Dr. Tataryn received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1991 from the University of Arizona, minoring in statistics and research methodology. He is presently in full-time private practice (clinical, research, life-coaching, corporate psychology) and is an adjunct professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He was previously a research professor with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, a clinical psychologist with the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Centre, and post-doctoral fellow of the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Dr. Tataryn's research and clinical focus has been on understanding the central role of emotional processes in psychological well-being and the development of chronic diseases. He is published in psychology, health services research, and research methodology. Dr. Tataryn is a long-time meditator (30+ years) and conducts seminars in areas such as the Bio-Emotive Integral Framework, integral theory, sports psychology, and the integration of psychology and spirituality.

I would like to know more about this and how to use it as a therapeutic intervention. It seems a very useful technique based on his brief demonstration tonight.

And speaking of sports psychology . . .

Nuno Matos, M.Sc., Doctoral Candidate, School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, UK. Applying AQAL to study Overtraining in Young Athletes – A Preliminary Work.

This work is the result of a PhD research project investigating overtraining (OT) in young athletes. The project was done from a 3rd person perspective, looking at 1st, 2nd and 3rd person perspectives in athletes. My PhD challenged the epistemology of Sports Science and attempted to integrate the 3 disciplines: physiology, psychology and sociology. The result was a much more complete understanding of the problem that sheds light from theory into practice, aiming to really tackle all the people involved, from athletes, to coaches, to parents, to social infrastructures and to the Sports Science community itself. My ultimate attempt is to develop AQAL in sports science, giving birth to Integral Sports.

Nuno Matos was born in Portugal, but has lived in Exeter, England for the past 6 years. Nuno has completed his MSc in Sport and Health Sciences and is currently finishing doctoral studies investigating Overtraining and Burnout in Athletes. Nuno has swam at national and international levels for Portugal, practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has surfed since the age of 12. Nuno has a deep interest in both philosophy and spirituality.

As a personal trainer, I was drawn to this one - cool research he has going on here. The idea of an integral sports model is intriguing, especially in training athletes.

Tags: Outstanding Posters, Douglas J Tataryn, Bio-Emotive Integral Therapy, You Can’t Transcend And Include What You Haven’t Differentiated, alexthymia, emotions, feelings, armoring, Nuno Matos, Applying AQAL to study Overtraining in Young Athletes, Preliminary Work, overtraining, Integral, Philosophy, Psychology, sports, #itc2010, integral sports