Carsten Möllering

I experience aikido being a wonderful approach or method to deal with psychologic issues on a somatic base. Nearly everything that is put in words as the classical way does, can also be expressed with the body, posture, movements, contact, dealing with equilibrium and so on.

Interesting enough in my biography:
Years ago I started practicing aikido and my professional education of pastoral psychology on the basis of gestalt therapy on nearly the same day.

On to this day I see and experience the parallels (and the benefits) of doing aikido and doing psychotherapy or pastoral counseling. Fortunatly the approach to aikido of Endo sensei and Tissier sensei supports this understanding.

But I also experienced two deep - and to me an my professional practice important - limitations:

All this does truely not work with aikido-beginners.
And especially not with people who didn't take up aikido because of being "hungry" to practice a japanese budo.
The mentioned benefits or parallels only develop within the longyear practioner. A beginner will not and can not grasp and feel this for a long time.

Second:
Practicing aikido will (according to my knowledge and experience) nearly not help when treating psychiatric deseases or disorders.

[Third:
I remember you didn't teach ukemi? In my experience taking ukemi, being pinned and even more being thrown, doing rolls and tobi ukemi is a very very important thing when trying to find psychological issues in aikido practice.]

I myself do not work with people suffering from PTSD. But I consider endurance sports like running or walking, swimming etc. to be more suitable because the somatic effects they induce do fit very well and - different from aikido - unintermediate and support the healing process from the first moment on.

Carsten