Calatonia and Sándor's organismic body method

1. Introduction

Version followed: Pethö Sándor's ten-touch foot Calatonia as described by his student Fernando Cortese (Calatonia e Integração Fisiopsíquica, 2008, chapter "Calatonia e toques sutis: o método", published on the Centro de Calatonia Brasil-Europa site), with timings, setting and closure taken from the 2020 open-access Brain Sciences paper on Calatonia and the orienting reflex. Sándor's other "subtle touches" (toques sutis) are covered only as far as the sources describe them.

What it is. This is a body-oriented training tradition, not a manualised therapy with a fixed protocol. Pethö Sándor (1916–1992) was a Hungarian physician who trained in gynaecology in Budapest (1943). He worked for the Red Cross in refugee camps in 1945–1949, and that is where Calatonia began. He emigrated to São Paulo in 1949. He taught at PUC-SP (1971–1974) and then at the Instituto Sedes Sapientiae (from 1975). There his course "Cinesiologia Psicológica" (psychological kinesiology), subtitled "integração fisiopsíquica" (physio-psychic integration), became an autonomous course. [source: Cortese 2008 via Centro de Calatonia; Arcuri 2009; Baptista 2005] [uncertain: the sources give the Sedes course start as 1975, 1980 or 1984.] Sándor called his practice "organismic therapy" or "physio-psychic integration". The label "Psicologia Organísmica" was something he used only in speech. His students (Duran 1997; Elvira Leme) later wrote it up as a "Método Organísmico", which they themselves call a method still being built. [source: Boletim Clínico PUC-SP 1998, notes 3–5]

Core techniques. Calatonia is the best-known technique. It is a fixed sequence of ten very light, sustained touches, held mostly on the toes, soles, heels, calves and finally the head. It sits inside a wider set of "subtle touches" (toques sutis) and is nearly always combined with verbal psychotherapy, usually Jungian analytical psychotherapy. [source: Brain Sciences 2020; Cortese 2008; Arcuri 2009]

How change is thought to happen.

• Sándor described Calatonia as psychophysical regulation and reorganisation, not simply relaxation. It can calm, and it can also energise. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• His students frame the aim as regulating body "tone" and, through it, psychic "tone". Sándor used "tone" to mean the muscular state together with the person's concurrent emotional dynamism. [source: Arcuri 2009 citing Rios; Boletim Clínico 1998]
• In the Jungian frame, the touches are thought to engage the sensation and intuition functions. Images, memories, dreams and symbols then surface, and verbal and expressive work can integrate them. [source: Cortese 2008; ISAP Zurich 2026; Arcuri 2009]
• One recent neuroscience hypothesis is that novel, sustained, non-threatening touch triggers an orienting ("what is it?") response rather than a defensive one. This is a hypothesis, not established mechanism. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]

2. Framework

No staged treatment manual was found. The sources describe a session procedure and how it is used within ongoing psychotherapy. The phase structure below is my own organisation of what the sources say. [synthesis]

Phase A: Relationship and assessment (verbal sessions before any touch)

• Goal: build a good therapeutic relationship, because Calatonia is offered only once one exists. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Medical check: organic causes of bodily complaints are investigated medically before anything is read as psychogenic, so refer where needed. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Screening: check the client's touch history, trauma, dissociation, psychosis and relevant physical conditions (see Section 5). [synthesis]
• Move on when: the alliance is stable, the client understands what is offered, and the client gives informed consent. [source: Brain Sciences 2020; consent detail synthesis]

Phase B: Introduction of Calatonia (first 1–3 applications)

• Briefing: explain every step of the protocol before starting. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Timing: in the first applications, hold each touch for the longer duration of about 3 minutes. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• No targeting: do not go straight to the area of the main complaint. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Format: individual, with the client lying on a treatment table, followed by talk.

Phase C: Repeated application within psychotherapy (open-ended)

• Frequency: practitioners commonly repeat Calatonia weekly, aiming at regulation of tone rather than a one-off relaxation. [source: Arcuri 2009 citing Rios; Brain Sciences 2020 vignette mentions three consecutive sessions and a ninth session]
• Session length: the ten touches take about 10–30 minutes, depending on hold length. [synthesis: my arithmetic from 1–3 min per touch]
• Within the session: the touches alternate or combine with verbal sharing, dream and image work, or expressive work such as a drawn mandala. [source: Cortese 2008; Arcuri 2009]
• Other subtle touches: these are chosen according to the therapist's training and the client's responses, with "generally no precise indications". [source: Lorthiois, Pedagogia Profunda]
• Session count: no standard number of sessions is given in any source. [uncertain]

Phase D: Integration and ending

• No explicit criteria were found in the sources. [uncertain]
• Suggested criteria: consider spacing out or ending the touch work when the client can reach the regulated state and its images without the touch, when symptoms followed since baseline have shifted, or when the verbal work no longer needs the body route. [synthesis]

Other formats named, not described:

• group forms (circle, joined hands, dance, primordial sounds such as "A")
• educational use with children
• adjunct use in medical, speech, physiotherapy, occupational-therapy and hospital or perioperative settings

[source: Cortese 2008; Pedagogia Profunda]

3. Guiding principles

• Relationship and consent first. Never touch as an opening move; the protocol is introduced after an alliance exists and with consent. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Follow the protocol exactly. Do the steps in their order and at their timing, and do not improvise new touch points. The paper stresses adequate training and strict adherence. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Lightness. Touch as if holding a soap bubble ("como alguém que quisesse segurar uma bolha de sabão"). The contact is a presence, not pressure or massage. [source: Cortese 2008; Brain Sciences 2020]
• Silence during application. Do not narrate or guide during the touches. Speak only if the client is uncomfortable or needs to talk. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• "Vamos observar" ("Let's observe"). Sándor is said to have used this phrase most often. In practice, record and watch symptoms before and after without rushing to remove them, and avoid fixing the client in diagnostic labels. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Listen with the fingertips ("ouvi-lo com a ponta dos dedos"). Put evaluating thoughts in the background and attend through sensation and intuition. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Surrender to the process. Let go of preconceived intentions and do not expect a specific result. [source: Cortese 2008; Lorthiois]
• A "third point". Sense a tertius that holds and transcends both therapist and client, so the therapist is not the active agent "doing" the change. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Guard against suggestion. Words, gestures, posture, gaze and tone shape the client's experience, so keep them neutral and avoid charismatic or fascinated stances. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Do not target the complaint first. Work away from the symptomatic area. [source: Cortese 2008]
• No promises. Do not create expectations of results. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Complementarity with medicine. A psychologist does not "treat" headache, back pain or cramps. Refer for medical investigation and collaborate with doctors instead of arguing with sceptical ones. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Training and supervision. Sources call training with Sándor's lineage and supervision essential, not "mere reproduction of the technique". Current trainers include the Centro de Calatonia Brasil-Europa (Cortese, Figueiredo) and Sedes Sapientiae ("Jung e Corpo"). [source: Cortese 2008; ISAP Zurich; Pedagogia Profunda]
• Integrate body and psyche. Process whatever emerges, such as images, dreams, memories or feelings, in the verbal, usually Jungian, frame. [source: Arcuri 2009; ISAP Zurich]
• Licence and jurisdiction. Therapeutic touch needs specific training, supervision, and a check of what your licence, insurer and jurisdiction permit. [synthesis]

4. Intervention inventory

This section has three parts:

• 4.1 Full procedures: Calatonia and the procedures around it, which the sources describe concretely.
• 4.2 Partly described: other subtle touches whose purpose and outline are published but whose full steps are taught only in training.
• 4.3 Named only: techniques and formats that the sources name without describing. I have not invented procedures for those.

All touch here is light, clothed or on bare feet and hands, and non-sexual. It needs specific training, supervision, and a check of what your licence and jurisdiction allow. [source: Cortese 2008; Brain Sciences 2020; licence check synthesis]

4.1 Full procedures

Consent and briefing before any touch

• Purpose: make Calatonia a choice the client understands. The sources require a prior good relationship, a briefing on the protocol steps, and consent. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Steps:
  1. In a verbal session beforehand, describe the whole sequence: where you will touch (toes, soles, heels, calves, head), how lightly, how long, that it happens in silence, and that the client stays clothed, with only shoes and socks removed. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  2. Ask for consent explicitly and say it can be withdrawn at any moment. [synthesis]
  3. Offer a no-touch alternative, for example continuing verbally or a self-attention exercise. [synthesis]
  4. Agree a stop signal: a word, or lifting a hand. Agree that the client may also simply speak. [synthesis; speaking when uncomfortable is in Brain Sciences 2020]
  5. Ask about areas or kinds of touch that are unwelcome, ticklishness, foot or leg conditions, and touch-related trauma. [synthesis]
  6. Note this consent in the record and re-confirm it briefly at the start of each application. [synthesis]
• Example language (illustrative): "I'll hold very light touches on your toes, soles, heels and calves, and finally your head, a few minutes each, without talking. You stay dressed. If anything is unpleasant, say so or lift your hand and I'll stop straight away. We can also keep working just by talking. Which would you like?"
• Watch for: reluctant or compliant agreement, such as fast yeses or looking away. Treat that as a "not yet". [synthesis]

Calatonia: Sándor's ten-touch sequence on the feet and legs

• Purpose: non-specific psychophysical regulation of "tone". It opens access to sensation, images, memories and dreams for psychotherapeutic work. It is used as an adjunct, not a stand-alone treatment. [source: Cortese 2008; Brain Sciences 2020; Arcuri 2009]
• When to use: within established psychotherapy, once consent has been given. Sources report use with anxiety, depression and traumatic stress, in post-operative and hospital contexts, and with psychotic patients, who may respond less. [source: Brain Sciences 2020; Cortese 2008; Arcuri 2009]

Setting

• The client removes shoes and socks and lies supine on a treatment table, fully dressed, eyes closed. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• The therapist sits or stands at the foot of the table, within easy reach of both feet. [synthesis]
• Use a quiet room, warm enough for bare feet, and offer a light blanket over the body. [synthesis]

General rules for touches 1–9

• Each touch is bilateral: the same point on both feet or legs at the same time, one hand per side. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• For touches 1–5, the therapist uses the finger of their own hand that corresponds to the client's toe. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Which of the therapist's hands goes to which foot is not specified in the sources. [uncertain]

Timing

• Touches 1–7 are extremely light, "as if holding a soap bubble".
• Every touch is held for 1–3 minutes, and for about 3 minutes in the first few applications.
• The whole sequence runs in silence unless the client needs to speak.

[source: Brain Sciences 2020; Cortese 2008]

Steps (order per Cortese 2008)

1. Touch 1: the fingertip pads of the therapist's middle fingers rest on the distal phalanx (the tip pad) of the client's middle toe on each foot.
2. Touch 2: index fingers on the second toes.
3. Touch 3: ring fingers on the fourth toes.
4. Touch 4: little fingers on the little toes.
5. Touch 5: thumbs on the big toes. Cortese reports that Sándor linked this toe order symbolically to earth, water, fire, air and their synthesis. That is the school's symbolic theory, not anatomy.
6. Touch 6: a light fingertip contact on the sole just below the plantar arch.
7. Touch 7: a light contact on the sole just above the heel bone (calcaneus).
8. Touch 8: support the heels, cradled in the hands, with the fingers following the contour of the ankle bones (malleoli). The 2020 paper calls this "ankle support".
9. Touch 9: support the calves at the start of the "belly" of the calf, where the triceps surae converges, with the hands placed from beneath.
10. Touch 10: move to the head of the table and give a supporting hold of the head. The sources say "head support" but do not specify hand placement. Learn the exact hold in training. [uncertain]

Moving between touches

• Lift off slowly and unhurriedly and move to the next point without sliding or stroking. [synthesis]
• Keep pressure constant, with no massage, no squeezing and no tapping. [source: lightness, Cortese 2008; the rest synthesis]

Closing

• Coach the client back to awareness of the room and of themselves. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• They sit up in their own time and walk back to their chair. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Invite, without pressing, any observations or impressions from during or after the touches. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Example language (illustrative):
  • Start: "We'll begin now. I'll be quiet; you don't need to do anything."
  • Closing: "In your own time, notice the table under you, the sounds in the room… open your eyes when you're ready. Sit up slowly, and come back to your chair when it feels right."
  • After: "Was there anything you noticed, during or after? It's fine if not."
• Watch for:
  • Signs of regulation: slower, deeper breathing, softening of the jaw and hands, warmth, sometimes sleep or dream-like imagery. [source: sleep and dreaming, Cortese 2008; other signs synthesis]
  • Energising shifts: the paper notes that Calatonia can activate as well as calm. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  • Discomfort or bracing: withdrawal of the feet, ticklishness, held breath, startle or tears. Check in quietly and pause or stop if needed. [synthesis]
  • Afterwards: changes in tracked symptoms, dreams, sleep and mood across the week. [source: Cortese 2008]
  • A temporary rise in symptoms early on. Cortese reads this as possibly a sign the technique is working; still assess it clinically (Section 5). [source: Cortese 2008; synthesis]

Calatonia on the hands and forearms (alternative site)

• Purpose and when: the same aims as foot Calatonia, when the feet or legs are unavailable or unsuitable, for example because of a foot condition or cultural discomfort, or when the client prefers it. [source: Brain Sciences 2020 names the hands and forearms as the alternative; reasons synthesis]
• Steps:
  • The sources do not give the touch points or order for the hand version. [uncertain]
  • Use the same general rules: client supine or seated with eyes closed, bilateral, very light, sustained, in silence, with the same consent, closure and debrief.
  • Learn the exact points in training rather than mapping the foot sequence onto the fingers by guesswork. [synthesis]
• Watch for: the same signs as the foot version.

Calatonia of the head (variant)

• Purpose: a variant that Cortese lists alongside foot and hand Calatonia. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Steps: not described in the sources. [uncertain]
• Caution: head contact is more intimate and more likely to evoke memories of control. Agree it separately in consent. [synthesis]

Preparatory breathing before the touches (one practitioner's adaptation)

• Purpose: to settle into "inner silence" before the touches. [source: Arcuri 2009]
• Status: described by Arcuri as her own clinical routine, not as part of Sándor's protocol.
• Steps:
  1. With the client lying down, invite a few minutes of slow, comfortable breathing, without forcing or holding the breath. [source: Arcuri 2009 names a pranayama breathing phase; the details here are synthesis]
  2. Then begin the touches. Arcuri herself used nine touches on the feet and legs. [source: Arcuri 2009]
• Example language (illustrative): "Let your breath find its own pace… no need to change it."
• Watch for: breathing kept natural. Do not intensify it, and stop if there is light-headedness or anxiety. [synthesis]

Debrief and verbal elaboration

• Purpose: bring what emerged into consciousness. Cortese reports that when verbal processing is possible, "one more degree of consciousness" is gained. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Steps:
  1. After the client is seated, ask open, non-leading questions about sensations, images, memories and feelings.
  2. Note them without interpreting them immediately.
  3. Link them over weeks to dreams, fantasies, drawings and associations within the analytic work. [source: Cortese 2008; Arcuri 2009; question style synthesis]
• Example language (illustrative): "What are you aware of now in your body?" … "Did any image or memory come?" … "Let's just note it and see what the week brings."
• Watch for: suggestion. Do not tell the client what they should have felt. [source: Cortese 2008 on suggestibility]

Expressive elaboration: mandala drawing and written report (Arcuri's adaptation)

• Purpose: to give form to symbolic material evoked by the touches, consistent with Jung's view of symbols as transformative. [source: Arcuri 2009]
• Steps:
  1. After the touches, offer white paper with a central circle drawn on it, plus wax crayons, watercolour, pastels or paint. [source: Arcuri 2009]
  2. The client freely makes a mandala. The client's own choice of materials is read as psychic self-regulation. [source: Arcuri 2009]
  3. The client then writes a short report of feelings, thoughts, perceptions and cognitions about the process. [source: Arcuri 2009]
  4. Discuss the drawing and report in the session or the next one, amplifying images Jungian-style. [synthesis]
• Example language (illustrative): "Here's a circle. Fill it however you like with whatever colours call you; afterwards, jot down anything you noticed."
• Watch for: a coherent, centred image or a new symbol can mark integration. Fragmented or chaotic images call for slower pacing. [synthesis]

4.2 Partly described subtle touches

The 2020 paper lists these among the subtle-touch stimuli in Sándor's work. It gives their outline, but not full teaching protocols. Each one needs specific training. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]

Fractional decompression (descompressão fracionada)

• Purpose: described as mainly engaging the affective-affiliative touch system. It is the second best-known subtle touch after Calatonia. [source: Brain Sciences 2020; Cortese 2008 names it]
• When to use: as a variant or continuation within the subtle-touch work, on regions other than the feet. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Steps:
  • Apply a touch to hairy skin of the back, arms or legs, then release its pressure gradually, in fractions, rather than lifting the hand all at once. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  • The starting pressure, number of release steps and timing are not given in the sources. [uncertain]
  • The back requires the client lying prone or seated. Agree this site separately in consent and keep the client clothed (over thin clothing). [synthesis]
• Example language (illustrative): "I'll rest my hand on your forearm and let it lift away very slowly."
• Watch for: the client following the slow release with attention, a sense of lightness, or emotion linked to being held and let go. Separation themes can surface and are material for the verbal work. [synthesis]

Insufflation over the lower neck (C7)

• Purpose: a non-tactile stimulus, given as three slow, sustained breaths blown on and just above the seventh cervical vertebra (region C4–C7). [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Steps:
  1. The client sits or stands. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  2. The therapist stands behind and delivers three slow, sustained exhalations toward the lower back of the neck. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  3. Distance and duration are not given. [uncertain]
• Cautions: [synthesis]
  • This requires close proximity behind the client and may feel intimate or startling.
  • Obtain specific consent for it.
  • Avoid it when the therapist has any respiratory infection and wherever infection-control rules apply.
  • Many clinicians will reasonably choose not to use it.
• Watch for: startle, a rise in vigilance, or a sense of intrusion. Stop if any of these appears. [synthesis]

Passive "impossible" movements

• Purpose: to give the nervous system a novel sensation by moving a body part in a way the client cannot produce voluntarily. The paper's example is a gentle sideways rotation of a finger. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Steps:
  • With the client relaxed and consenting, the therapist gently performs a small passive movement outside the range of voluntary control, well within comfortable joint range. [source: Brain Sciences 2020; the safety range is synthesis]
  • Which joints, how much and how long are not specified. [uncertain]
• Watch for: pain or guarding, which mean stop at once. Never force a joint. Avoid this with hypermobility, arthritis, recent injury or surgery. [synthesis]

Atypical, non-threatening sounds directed at body areas

• Purpose: a novel but safe auditory stimulus aimed at specific parts of the body, intended to evoke orienting rather than defence. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Steps:
  • With the client lying with eyes closed, produce a soft, unusual sound near a chosen body region. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  • The sound sources and placements are not described. [uncertain]
  • Keep the volume low and avoid sudden onset. [synthesis]
• Watch for: startle, which means a defensive response, so lower the intensity or stop. A curious, quieter attention suggests an orienting response. [source: Brain Sciences 2020 on orienting versus startle; application synthesis]

Small vibrations on bony prominences

• Purpose: a subtle stimulus applied to bony projections such as the spinous processes of the spine. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• Steps:
  • With fingertip contact on a bony prominence, give a very small, light vibration. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
  • Amplitude, duration and sequence are not given. [uncertain]
  • Spinal sites need the client prone or seated, clothed, and with specific consent. [synthesis]
• Watch for: pain, which means stop. Avoid this with osteoporosis, recent fracture, spinal surgery or metastatic disease. [synthesis]

4.3 Named only in the sources

Cortese lists the following as part of the subtle-touch and physio-psychic integration repertoire but does not describe how to do them. I have not reconstructed them. Learn them only in a recognised Sándor-lineage training, such as the Centro de Calatonia Brasil-Europa or Sedes Sapientiae ("Jung e Corpo"). [source: Cortese 2008; Pedagogia Profunda] [uncertain]

Techniques

• Work with the large and small joints: stated purpose is regulation through the joints. Procedure not described.
• Work with opposites: upper and lower limbs, shoulder and pelvic girdles, feet and head, right and left sides. Stated purpose is integrating polarities, consistent with the Jungian frame. Procedure not described.
• Work with the spine and its "nervous and energetic centres": "energetic centres" is the school's own concept, not established physiology. Procedure not described.
• Readjustment of the points of support (reajustamento dos pontos de apoio): procedure not described.
• Myofascial stretching and reorganisation; integrative massage; relaxation: listed as part of the repertoire, without detail.
• Touches with water droplets: shown in a photo caption on an educator's site, without description. [source: Pedagogia Profunda]

Group forms

• Circles, holding hands, dance, and emitting "primordial sounds" such as the vowel "A". [source: Cortese 2008]
• No group protocol was found. A clinician adapting these for a group should treat them as warm-up and attention exercises: voluntary, no-touch options always available, with time to share afterwards. [synthesis]

Influences

• Sándor's 1969 and 1974 Técnicas de relaxamento also gathered methods by other authors, such as Schultz's autogenic training, Jacobson's progressive relaxation and others.
• Those are separate methods with their own manuals and are not Sándor's techniques. [source: Cortese 2008]

5. Handling problems

The sources say little about problem-handling. Items marked [synthesis] are my own guidance, consistent with the method's principles and general trauma-informed practice.

Screening and contraindications

• Cortese reports that no contraindications were observed when the proposal, setting and therapist preparation were adequate. He adds that psychotic patients can be worked with, sometimes with lower responsiveness, as can patients on psychiatric medication. [source: Cortese 2008]
• Because this is gentle, sustained touch, I would still screen and adapt in the following situations: [synthesis]
  • Touch-related trauma or abuse history, or a strong startle response: delay touch, stabilise first, start with hands or forearms or a no-touch option, and use shorter holds.
  • Severe dissociation or active psychosis with touch-related delusions: stabilise first. Consider whether touch is wise at all and use psychiatric liaison.
  • Active suicidality: risk assessment and safety planning come first, and touch work is not a substitute.
  • Foot or leg skin lesions, infections or open wounds; suspected deep-vein thrombosis (an unexplained swollen, painful calf): refer to a doctor and do not hold the calves.
  • Late pregnancy: avoid prolonged lying flat on the back and use a side-lying or semi-reclined position.
  • Recent surgery or injury: avoid the area.
  • Severe ticklishness or sensory hypersensitivity: use slightly firmer, still steady contact, or move to a less sensitive site.
• Never present Calatonia as a treatment for physical disease. Cortese says organic causes must be excluded medically first and that the psychologist does not "treat" headaches or back pain. [source: Cortese 2008]

Overwhelm, abreaction or panic during touch

• The sources allow speech whenever there is discomfort. [source: Brain Sciences 2020]
• What I would do: [synthesis]
  1. Pause the contact and keep your hands still or remove them, as the client prefers.
  2. Invite the client to open their eyes and orient to the room.
  3. Help them sit up and ground through their feet on the floor.
  4. Resume only with fresh consent, at a more distal point and with a shorter hold, or not that day.
  5. Process the experience verbally in this session and the next.
• Example language (illustrative): "Let's pause. Open your eyes, look around the room… feel the table under you. Nothing more is needed now."

Early worsening of symptoms

• Cortese warns that an initial intensification of symptoms may indicate that the technique is working, not that things are getting worse, and advises against addressing the main complaint area first. [source: Cortese 2008]
• [synthesis] Do not assume this. Reassess mood, risk and physical symptoms, get medical review for new physical signs, and reduce dose (fewer or shorter touches) or pause if distress is high.

Sleepiness, altered states and long sleep afterwards

• Patients may fall asleep or dream during application. Cortese notes reports of greatly increased sleep, of 12–15 hours a day for a period. [source: Cortese 2008]
• [synthesis] Warn clients about this. Advise them not to drive straight after if they feel drowsy, and allow a few minutes of reorientation. Review prolonged hypersomnia medically and screen it for depression rather than attributing it to "process".

No response, boredom or a "nothing happened" report

• In line with "let's observe" and not expecting a specific result, accept the report without disappointment and keep tracking dreams, sleep and symptoms across the week. [source: Cortese 2008; Lorthiois]
• [synthesis] After several sessions with nothing to process, review whether the body route suits this client. Check the lightness and duration of your touch in supervision before adding stimulation.

Resistance and reluctance to be touched

• [synthesis] Treat it as information, not as an obstacle. Explore what touch means to the client, and offer the hand or forearm site, a demonstration on their own hand, or continued verbal work. Never persuade.

Non-attendance or wanting only the touch

• [synthesis] Some clients come for the relaxation and avoid the talk. Name this kindly and agree a ratio of touch to verbal work. If dependence on being touched becomes the main theme, work with it directly and consider spacing out the applications.

Ruptures, erotic or dependent transference

• [synthesis] Touch intensifies transference. If the client expresses longing for, or romantic or sexual feelings about, the touch, or feels violated afterwards:
  1. Stop the touch work.
  2. Explore the reaction verbally and non-defensively.
  3. Take it to supervision.
  4. Resume only if it is clearly safe and clinically useful.
  5. Document carefully.
• Touch is never extended to the trunk, chest, buttocks, groin or genital areas in this method. [synthesis, consistent with the sources' foot, hand, forearm and head sites]

Suggestion and the therapist's own investment

• Cortese warns against rigid, fascinated or charismatic attitudes and against suggestion through words, gaze, posture and tone. [source: Cortese 2008]
• [synthesis] Use neutral debrief questions and do not interpret the client's sensations through the school's symbolic map (elements, "energetic centres") unless the client brings such imagery themselves.

Containment between sessions

• Cortese advises patients not to talk about their dreams and therapy with family, friends or at social gatherings, so as not to disperse the process. [source: Cortese 2008]
• [synthesis] Present this as a suggestion to protect emerging material, never as secrecy. Clients must remain free to discuss their treatment with anyone, including other professionals.

Working with physicians

• Do not argue with sceptical doctors. Build gradual dialogue and multidisciplinary cooperation. [source: Cortese 2008]

Remote or online therapy, or settings where touch is barred

• [synthesis] Calatonia is defined by the therapist's touch, so it cannot be delivered remotely. Do not teach clients or family members the sequence as a substitute without proper training. Use non-touch attention practices instead.

Sources

Sources

• Keeping in Touch with Mental Health: The Orienting Reflex and Behavioral Outcomes from Calatonia (Brain Sciences 2020, 10(3):182)
• Calatonia e Integração Fisiopsíquica, F. N. Cortese, 2008 (PDF, Centro de Calatonia Brasil-Europa)
• Centro de Calatonia Brasil Europa: Calatonia e toques sutis, o método (Cortese)
• Centro de Calatonia Brasil Europa: Artigos
• Arcuri, I. P. G. (2009). Psicoterapia Junguiana, Calatonia e Arte. Psic. Rev. São Paulo 18(1)
• Boletim Clínico n.4, Clínica Psicológica PUC-SP (1998)
• Baptista, M. T. D. S. (2005). As abordagens corporais… Sedes Sapientiae. Mnemosine 1(1)
• Lorthiois, C. Toques Sutis – Calatonia (Pedagogia Profunda)
• ISAP Zurich: Calatonia, a Jungian-oriented subtle bodywork (2026 seminar)
• Bullentini, R. C. Calatonia (Saúde da Família)
• Mazine, P. (2021). Calatonia, uma massagem sutil nos pés

Further reading (not drawn on) [uncertain]

• Sándor, P. (1969). Calatonia / Técnicas de relaxamento. Boletim de Psicologia XXI.
• Sándor, P. et al. (1974). Técnicas de relaxamento. São Paulo: Vetor.
• Cortese, F. N. (2008). Calatonia e Integração Fisiopsíquica: Histórias do Dr. Sándor. São Paulo: Escuta.
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