Synopses & Reviews
Drawing on a particular emphasis within the phenomenological tradition as exemplified by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Eugene Gendlin, this book considers the role of the lived body as a way of knowing and being within three practical contexts that illustrate some of the nuances of embodied enquiry: qualitative research, psychotherapy, spirituality.
Review
"Les Todres'
Embodied Enquiry is a masterful integration of phenomenological research methods and Eugene Gendlin's Focusing technique. Applicable to a wide range of qualitative research methods, Todres provides qualitative and human science researchers an embodied approach to data collection, analysis, and communication that accesses and invites the deep resources of the human psyche." -- Rosemarie Anderson, Professor, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, author of
Transpersonal Research Methods for the Social Sciences"Todres's most specific contribution may be his humane and flexible reconceptualization of narcissism as a common human dilemma of how we live with our inherent and shared vulnerability. The broader objective is an updated and expanded understanding of care and caring relations. Todres achieves a prose style that presents philosophical abstractions in a way that never severs their connection to interpersonal scenes of caring." -- Arthur W. Frank, author of The Wounded Storyteller and The Renewal of Generosity: lllness, Medicine, and How to Live
"With Embodied Enquiry, Professor Todres has demonstrated the unique qualities and strengths of phenomenological investigation. Focusing upon a descriptively-focused exploration centered upon the complexities of lived experience, the book not only succeeds in presenting a clear and insightful account of the ideas and concerns underpinning phenomenological inquiry, it also expresses this way of investigation through the very structure of the text itself thereby permitting readers a lived experience of the particular journeying that this approach can provide. Throughout, Professor Todres' aim is to evoke an inter-relationally grounded humanizing quality to investigation - be it that which is undertaken as research or that which underpins psychotherapeutic understanding. This is a wise and exhilarating text. Every chapter contains its surprises and provocations. It deserves careful reading and will surely generate much-needed debate." -- Professor Ernesto Spinelli, School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, Regent's College, London, UK
"Les Todres' masterly and challenging book clarifies, enriches and extends the work of phenomenology in social research particularly when investigating facilitative work concerned with healing and learning. This ground breaking theoretical text provides a solid and, in places, lyrical foundation for future phenomenological texts seeking to safeguard the livedness of lived experience." -- Dr. Peter Willis, School of Education, University of South Australia, Australia
"With this impressive publication, Les Todres, once and for all, comes to terms with the old dualism that has understood humans as separate and measurable entities. Everyone who reads Embodied Enquiry must see that the human enterprise is so much more than this, whether it is about research and psychotherapy, or other forms of care and social work." -- Professor Karin Dahlberg, School of Health Sciences, Växjö University, Sweden
"This book should present a wealth of material for thought and will undoubtedly act as a catalyst for on-going scholarship...[a] beautifully crafted piece of work." -- Sally Borbasi, The Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology
"In this innovative and readable exploration of research, psychotherapy, and spirituality, Professor Les Todres helps us to appreciate anew our fundamental embodied connection with the world in which we live." -- Steen Halling, Journal of Phenomenological Psychology
"An inspiring book about the practice of phenomenology in qualitative research, psychotherapy and spritituality...clearly structured and poetically written...Reading the book has been a great joy and a great inspiration and I can highly recommend the book for scholars of all kinds..." -- Liz Engel, Forum: Qualitative Social Research
About the Author
LES TODRES is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Qualitative Research and Psychotherapy at Bournemouth University, UK. Previous occupational roles have included head of a student counseling service and director of a clinical psychology training program. His career spans both academic and clinical contexts, reflecting his interest in pursuing knowledge and practice that is both academically and professionally integrated.
Table of Contents
Introduction: An Embodied Path at Beginning and End
PART I: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: TOWARDS AESTHETIC AND EMBODIED PRACTICES
The Qualitative Description of Human Experience: The Aesthetic Dimension
The Meaning of Understanding and the Open Body: Some Implications for Qualitative Research
The Bodily Complexity of Truth-Telling in Qualitative Research: Some Implications of Gendlin's Philosophy
Writing Phenomenological-Psychological Descriptions: An Illustration Attempting to Balance Texture and Structure
PART II: PSYCHOTHERAPY: EMBODYING COMPLEX IDENTITY
Humanising Forces: Phenomenology in Science; Psychotherapy in Technological Culture
The Rhythm of Psychotherapeutic Attention: A Training Model
The Primacy of Phenomenological Process and Sequence in Psychotherapy: A Case Study
Globalisation and the Complexity of Self: The Relevance of Psychotherapy
Freedom-Wound: Towards the Embodiment of Human Openness in Daseinanalytical Therapy
PART III: SPIRITUALITY: EMBODYING FREEDOM AND VULNERABILITY
Psychological and Spiritual Freedoms: Reflections Inspired by Heidegger
How Does Liberating Self-Insight Become Tacit Understanding?
The Wound that Connects: A Consideration of 'Narcissism' and the Creation of Soulful Space
Embracing Ambiguity: Transpersonal Development and the Phenomenological Tradition
Conclusion Thoughts and Touchstones: A Wide Embrace