Is there any body out there?: A survey of literature on somatic countertransference and its significance for DMT

This survey follows the evolution of the concept of countertransference through its extrapolation into somatic countertransference (SCT) and its significance in Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT). The literature review highlights the controversial status of both the concept of countertransference (CT) and the derived concept of somatic countertransference (SCT) with regard to their definitions and roles in the therapeutic relationship. It indicates that, in contrast to the predominantly verbal focus of mainstream psychotherapeutic discourse, DMT practitioners, who relate to body and movement as their primary language, have acknowledged these constructs as central to their discipline since its inception, long before the body made a comeback into mainstream psychotherapy. Theoreticians who engage with body psychotherapy and DMT insist that somatic countertransference is significant to the therapeutic relationship as a tool both for understanding and managing the dynamics of the session and for enhancing the process of therapy.