Atlas›Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical›Guide 073
Guide X-073

Skinner Releasing Technique and release technique

Joan Skinner1960Illinois, USA
A 23 · L 39 · M 3815 interventions in the Trinity explorer
Client cardCompare
[source: …] where a claim comes from[uncertain] not confirmed in a primary source[synthesis] the writer's reconstruction

1. Introduction

Version followed: Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT) as described by the Skinner Releasing Network (SRN) and its certified teachers (the "About SRT" page; Agis and Moran 2002; SRN teacher-training notice 2022), with the level and activity names given in the Wikipedia summary of Emslie (ed.) 2021. "Release technique" in contemporary dance is covered as the wider umbrella only.

What it is. SRT is a dance and movement practice developed by Joan Skinner (1924–2021). She danced with the Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham companies, ruptured a spinal disc on tour, and then studied the Alexander Technique for about two years. She also names her childhood teacher Cora Bell Hunter, a student of Mabel E. Todd, as a major influence. [source: Agis & Moran 2002; Wikipedia, Skinner Releasing Technique; Québec Danse listing] The practice took shape with her University of Illinois students in the 1960s, who gave it the name "Releasing". She developed it further at the University of Washington, Seattle, from 1967. [source: Wikipedia, SRT] Dates vary between sources: the SRN "About SRN" text says the 1960s, while its "About SRT" page says "from the early 1970s". [uncertain: sources differ]

The SRN describes classes as "spontaneous movement evoked by guided poetic imagery", supported by music and sound, with "hands-on partner studies" also named in teacher listings. [source: SRN About SRT; Québec Danse listing] The editor of the 2021 book describes SRT as "a somatic movement, dance and creative practice". [source: Triarchy Press page for Emslie (ed.) 2021]

Core idea of change (as the developers put it). Change is said to come from releasing "blocked energy, held tension and habitual patterns in body mind" so that movement becomes freer, more powerful and more articulate. [source: Triarchy Press; SRN About SRT] Releasing is described as an ongoing process, "never fixed", and explicitly not relaxation. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] Imagery is meant to lead students into "a state just below conscious control", so that alignment and technique emerge as spontaneous movement rather than being drilled. [source: Agis & Moran 2002; Wikipedia, SRT] "Blocked energy" is the school's own concept, not an established physiological finding. No independent systematic review of SRT outcomes is known to this guide. [uncertain: not verified] A 2009 IADMS resource paper on somatic studies places "Skinner Release Technique and other forms of 'Release' work" among influences on dance training. It also says more formal research in somatic studies is needed. [source: Batson/IADMS 2009]

Release technique (umbrella). In contemporary dance, "release technique" is an umbrella term for approaches stressing breath, muscular ease, anatomical awareness, and the use of gravity and momentum for efficient movement. The term emerged in the 1970s, mainly through Joan Skinner and Mary Fulkerson (Anatomical Release Technique, drawing on Todd, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Steve Paxton). The two worked largely independently. [source: Wikipedia, Release technique] Release principles are now usually taught diffusely within contemporary classes rather than as either founder's codified system. [source: Wikipedia, Release technique] This guide implements SRT. For generic "release" classes, the psychotherapist's role (section 4, items 11–15) applies, but there is no single published protocol to follow.

Who may deliver it. SRT is taught by teachers certified through the SRT teacher-certification programmes (section 2). A psychotherapist may deliver SRT classes only after completing that certification. Otherwise the psychotherapist works alongside a certified teacher: referring, preparing, screening and integrating. No government regulation of SRT teaching is known. [uncertain: not verified] Some sources refer to an "SRT Institute". This guide cannot confirm its current status or its relationship to the SRN, which runs the teacher directory and training notices. [uncertain: not verified]

2. Framework

Format. SRT is taught in group classes, usually in a studio and often starting on the floor, with the teacher speaking imagery, plus music and sound. [source: SRN About SRT; Agis & Moran 2002] There are "no demonstrations and no exercises". The teacher does not model movements for students to copy; students respond to imagery in their own way. [source: Agis & Moran 2002, quoting the practice] Experienced dancers and beginners study together, and listings describe classes as open to people with or without movement training. [source: SRN About SRT; Québec Danse]

Levels (the published progression).

  • Introductory: a defined series of classes, given as 15 classes. [source: Wikipedia, SRT, summarising Emslie 2021] Teacher listings advertise the introductory series in numbered blocks (e.g. "classes 1–5", "4–6", "12–15"), which shows a fixed order. [source: SRN event listing titles; uncertain: not verified]
  • Ongoing (intermediate): given as 12 classes, "more spacious", allowing deeper practice. [source: Wikipedia, SRT; SRN About SRT names the level]
  • Advanced: Skinner is reported to have described the shift to Advanced as the point "when things start dissolving". [source: Wikipedia, SRT, quoting Skinner via Emslie 2021; uncertain: secondary, unverified] The SRT imagery essay says advanced students need less moment-to-moment guidance because their own process has taken over. [source: Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay]
  • Children's pedagogy: a separate children's programme exists, with its own teacher training. [source: Wikipedia, SRT; SRN training notice 2022]

Criteria for moving between levels. The cited sources do not state formal criteria. The series appear to be taken in order, starting with the introductory classes. [uncertain: criteria not verified] Ask the certified teacher how they decide readiness. [synthesis]

Activities used at every level (names as summarised from Emslie 2021): Checklists; Image Actions; Partner Graphics; Partner Dances / Partner Movement Studies; Movement Studies (with an image); Totalities. [source: Wikipedia, SRT] Basic imagery is described as "specific" or "totality" imagery. [source: Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay] Classes combine guided poetic images, hands-on partner work and movement explorations. [source: SRN event listing] Students also keep journals, and seminars and tutorials are offered. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] How each activity is taught step by step is set out in the certified teachers' pedagogy and in Emslie (ed.) 2021 (glossary pp. 275–278); it is not published in open sources. [uncertain: activity procedures]

Teacher-training route. Joan Skinner certified teachers from 1989. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] The SRN advertised an Introductory Teacher Certification Programme (ITCP) for 2023–24, described as "a rigorous and in-depth course of study": two summers of six weeks each, held in Glasgow, after which graduates may join the worldwide faculty. [source: SRN training notice, 28 July 2022] Skinner and her most experienced faculty trained teachers for both the adult and children's programmes. [source: same] SRN news lists an "Ongoing" teacher cohort and an advanced teacher certification in an associated "Open Source Forms" programme. Only the titles were available, so the details are [uncertain: not verified]. Entry prerequisites for the ITCP (for example, prior SRT study) are [uncertain: not verified]. Confirm them with the SRN.

Typical course length for a client. An introductory series of about 15 classes is the published unit. Session length and frequency vary by teacher and are set by the teacher, not prescribed here. [source: Wikipedia, SRT; Québec Danse listing (a 10-class series)]

3. Guiding principles

The first six principles come from SRT sources. The rest are therapist-stance principles [synthesis] unless a source is given.

  • Releasing, not relaxing [source: Agis & Moran 2002]: the aim is to let go of habitual holding while staying alert and energised. In practice, don't frame classes to clients as "relaxation". Expect activation as well as ease.
  • Multi-directional alignment and balance [source: SRN About SRT; Agis & Moran 2002, linking it to Alexander work]: alignment is approached as non-gripping and many-directional, not as a held posture. In practice, don't coach "correct posture" in therapy; ask what the client noticed.
  • Suspension, suppleness, economy [source: SRN About SRT; the marionette-string image for suspension, Agis & Moran 2002]: these are qualities to be discovered rather than imposed. In practice, the language around them should invite, not instruct.
  • Autonomy [source: SRN About SRT; Agis & Moran 2002, "move in your own mode"]: each student finds their own response. There is no correct movement. In practice, protect the client's right to pause, modify or sit out, and to have their own meaning for the experience.
  • Imagery as the medium [source: SRN About SRT; Agis & Moran 2002]: poetic images, not demonstrations, evoke the movement. In practice, check that the client can tolerate open, inward-focused imagery (see screening).
  • Technique and creativity are not separate [source: Wikipedia, SRT, summarising Emslie 2021]: technical ends such as alignment are pursued through creative exploration. In practice, treat what clients make in class (movement, drawing, writing) as material, not performance.
  • Consent governs all touch [source: USABP Code of Ethics VIII; EABP Ethics Guidelines Principle 7]: partner studies involve touch between students. In practice, prepare clients to give, refuse or withdraw consent at any moment. Touch is never sexual.
  • Stay within competence and role [source: UKCP item 23; BACP 2018 para 13; APA 2.01(a)]: unless SRT-certified, the psychotherapist does not teach SRT. In practice, refer and collaborate instead.
  • Bodily images are experience, not evidence [synthesis]: sensations, images or emotions that arise in movement are not proof of past events. In practice, explore their meaning without endorsing them as recovered memories.
  • Physical safety comes first [synthesis; the IADMS paper gives no protocols]: screen for injury and medical conditions and seek medical clearance where indicated. In practice, no movement is prescribed by the therapist.

4. Intervention inventory

Items 1–10 are the components of an SRT class or series. They are for certified SRT teachers to deliver, and for psychotherapists to understand what a referred client will meet. The detailed teaching procedure for each named activity belongs to the certified-teacher pedagogy (Emslie (ed.) 2021 and teacher training). Where the open sources give only a name, the steps say so. Items 11–15 are the psychotherapist's own interventions alongside SRT and are marked [synthesis] unless sourced. All example language is illustrative wording for this guide, not SRT text.

1. Guided poetic imagery and image-evoked movement ("Image Actions")

  • Purpose / when: the core of every class. The teacher speaks poetic images, and students let movement arise from them rather than from instruction or demonstration, aiming for a state "just below conscious control". [source: SRN About SRT; Agis & Moran 2002; "Image Actions" named in Wikipedia, SRT]
  • Steps (as published, qualitatively): (1) The teacher offers a poetic image in speech, often with music or sound. [source: SRN About SRT] Images are chosen to suit the students' level. [source: Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay] (2) Students respond in their own movement; nothing is demonstrated and there are no set exercises. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] Each student forms a personal version of the image from its first presentation, and the body is not forced into positions, since the essay holds that forcing one part distorts another. [source: Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay] (3) Images build over the series. Skinner reported that students who lost an image while travelling regained it when the class returned to the floor. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] Advanced students need less moment-to-moment guidance from the teacher. [source: Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay] (4) Images are "specific" (one region, e.g. marionette-like strings at the knees for suspension and hip freedom) or "totality" (whole self; see item 7). [source: Agis & Moran 2002; Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay] The specific image sequences of the introductory series are taught in certification. [uncertain: not published openly]
  • Example language (therapist preparing a client, illustrative): "In these classes the teacher talks in images rather than giving steps. There's no right way to respond. You can let the image move you a lot, a little, or not at all, and you can open your eyes or stop whenever you like."
  • Watch for: clients who feel lost without demonstration or become anxious with open-ended imagery. Images that trigger intrusive or traumatic content. Dissociation (vacant, slowed, or "floating" reports). Signs it is working: the client describes moving with less effort, noticing habitual holding, or a sense of choice. [synthesis]

2. Floor-based beginnings and the move from floor to standing and travelling

  • Purpose / when: classes may start on the floor. Skinner used the floor to help students keep hold of an image. [source: Agis & Moran 2002]
  • Steps: the teacher begins with imagery while students are lying or low, then images carry movement into standing and travelling through space. The exact sequence is set by the teacher. [source: Agis & Moran 2002; sequence details uncertain: not verified]
  • Example language (illustrative): "Part of the class may happen lying down. If getting down to or up from the floor is hard for you, let the teacher know beforehand so they can suggest another way in."
  • Watch for: dizziness on rising (orthostatic symptoms), difficulty with floor transfers (older adults, pregnancy, joint problems), and feeling exposed lying down in a group (trauma history). Ask for medical clearance where relevant. [synthesis]

3. Checklists

  • Purpose / when: named as a key activity at every level. [source: Wikipedia, SRT, summarising Emslie 2021]
  • Steps: no published description of the content or procedure of SRT "Checklists" was found. [uncertain] The term is defined in Emslie (ed.) 2021, glossary pp. 275–278 (as cited by Wikipedia). Do not improvise a version and call it SRT.
  • Example language (illustrative, therapist asking the client): "You mentioned a 'checklist' part of class. What was it like for you, and what did you notice?"
  • Watch for: a client turning any checklist-type attention into self-criticism or body-checking (relevant in eating disorders and body dysmorphia). [synthesis]

4. Partner Graphics

  • Purpose / when: a named partner activity at every level. Drawing and graphic responses are part of SRT's wider creative practice. [source: Wikipedia, SRT] Whether the drawing involves touch, and its exact form, is not publicly described. [uncertain]
  • Steps: follow the certified teacher's pedagogy. [uncertain: not verified] If touch is part of it, the consent steps in item 12 apply.
  • Example language (therapist, illustrative): "If you'd like to bring any drawings from class, we can look at them together. Only what you want to share."
  • Watch for: drawings treated as diagnostic. They are the client's material to interpret, not tests. Shame about "not being artistic". [synthesis]

5. Partner Dances / Partner Movement Studies (hands-on partner studies)

  • Purpose / when: SRN and teacher listings describe classes as using "guided poetic images, hands-on partner work and movement explorations", with the aim of letting go of habitual holding patterns. [source: SRN event listing, New Year Dance in Glasgow; The Workroom SRT listing; Québec Danse listing] "Partner Dances / Partner Movement Studies" are named as a key activity. [source: Wikipedia, SRT] Touch is used in somatic dance as one stimulus for exploration. [source: Batson/IADMS 2009]
  • Steps: students work in pairs, with one partner using touch in relation to the imagery. [source: SRN and teacher listings, as above] SRT's own hand contacts, their sequence and any SRT-specific touch policy are not described in the openly published SRT material and are taught in certification. [uncertain: not published openly] The consent steps below are general good practice drawn from professional touch codes, not SRT's own procedure: (1) ask before touch; (2) explain where and how; (3) get an explicit yes; (4) check in during; (5) the receiver may stop or change touch at any time; (6) no touch of genital, breast or other intimate areas, and never sexual touch. [source: USABP Code VIII.2, VIII.5, "Genital or other sexual touch... is always inappropriate"; EABP Principle 7: clients "informed beforehand" of physical techniques] These codes govern body psychotherapists and are cited here as good practice for any setting with touch.
  • Example language (therapist preparing a client, illustrative): "Some exercises are done with a partner and may include touch. You're allowed to say 'no touch for me today', to ask for lighter or different contact, or to stop at any point. You don't need to explain."
  • Watch for: freeze or fawn responses (going along with touch the client doesn't want); flashbacks; dissociation; attachment or dependency feelings toward a partner or teacher; any sexualised contact, which must be reported to the teacher and the organisation. [source: USABP VIII on dependency; reporting is synthesis]

6. Movement Studies (with an image)

  • Purpose / when: a named activity in which students develop a movement study from an image. [source: Wikipedia, SRT]
  • Steps: the teacher gives an image, and the student explores and shapes it into a study. Procedural detail is [uncertain: not verified].
  • Example language (illustrative): "What image did you work with? What did your body do with it that surprised you?"
  • Watch for: perfectionism, or performance anxiety when showing work. Note it gently. [synthesis]

7. Totalities

  • Purpose / when: named as a key activity at every level. [source: Wikipedia, SRT, summarising Emslie 2021] In the SRT essay on imagery, basic-level images are of two kinds: "specific" images aimed at one part of the body (e.g. a marionette string at the knee to free the hip socket) and "totality" images in which the whole self is imaged as merging with something larger, the essay's example being floating in a pool. A specific image may be set inside a totality image. [source: Skinner, Davis, Davidson, Wheeler & Metcalf, Imagery and its Application to Movement Training, SRN-hosted text]
  • Steps (as published, qualitatively): (1) The teacher offers a whole-self image (e.g. floating, suspended in water). (2) Students let the whole body respond; the essay notes this can bring "a certain loss of orientation", which it treats as a chance for a fresh, unconditioned response. (3) The teacher may layer a specific image (such as the knee strings) inside the totality. [source: Skinner et al., SRN-hosted imagery essay] The exact totality sequences used in each series are taught in certification and are not reconstructed here. [uncertain: not published openly]
  • Example language (illustrative): "Tell me about the 'totality' part of the class, in whatever words fit."
  • Watch for: disorientation that does not settle after class (the source names loss of orientation as part of totality work); dizziness; dissociation or feeling unreal; overwhelm after longer integrated explorations. Ask about sleep, mood and body sensations in the following days. [synthesis]

8. Journals, seminars and tutorials

  • Purpose / when: reflection alongside the movement practice. Students keep journals, and seminars and tutorials are offered. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] Joan Skinner's own early experiments used "two mirrors, a barre and a journal". [source: Agis & Moran 2002]
  • Steps: the student writes after classes. Format and prompts are set by the teacher. [uncertain: not verified]
  • Example language (therapist, illustrative): "If you keep a class journal, you're welcome to read me a line or two that stood out. The rest stays yours."
  • Watch for: rumination or self-judgement in the writing. Content touching on trauma that needs a therapy space rather than a studio. [synthesis]

9. Music and sound

  • Purpose / when: supports imagery-led movement. [source: SRN About SRT]
  • Steps: chosen and used by the teacher.
  • Example language (illustrative): "If any sound in class feels too much, you can step to the side or ask the teacher about it."
  • Watch for: sound sensitivity (autism, PTSD hyperarousal, tinnitus). [synthesis]

10. Series progression and levels (Introductory, Ongoing, Advanced; children's programme)

  • Purpose / when: a staged pedagogy in which the introductory series (given as 15 classes) is followed by Ongoing (12 classes, "more spacious") and then Advanced. [source: Wikipedia, SRT; SRN About SRT]
  • Steps: enrol in a numbered introductory series with a certified teacher (find one via the SRN teacher directory), then continue to Ongoing and Advanced as the teacher advises. [source: SRN site menu (Teachers; Study SRT); readiness criteria uncertain: not verified] For children, use the children's programme run by teachers trained for it. Get parental consent and the child's assent, and check the venue's safeguarding policy. [source: SRN training notice 2022 (children's programme); safeguarding is synthesis]
  • Example language (illustrative): "The introductory classes build on each other, so it helps to start at the beginning of a series rather than drop in halfway."
  • Watch for: expecting therapy outcomes from a dance class. SRT is presented as a dance, movement and creative practice, not as a treatment. [source: Triarchy Press; SRN About SRT]

11. Suitability screening and medical clearance (psychotherapist) [synthesis]

  • Purpose / when: before suggesting SRT or any release-based class. The cited sources give no SRT-specific contraindications. The IADMS paper gives no safety protocols or screening guidance. [source: Batson/IADMS 2009] The following is general movement-safety practice, not SRT policy.
  • Steps: (1) Ask about recent injury, surgery, back or joint problems, osteoporosis, joint hypermobility, balance or vestibular problems, cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, pregnancy, and epilepsy. If any are present, the client should get clearance from their doctor or physiotherapist before starting and tell the teacher. (2) Ask about psychological fit: trauma involving touch or bodies, dissociation, current psychosis or mania, severe panic, eating disorder or body-image distress, substance use. (3) Ask about preferences for group size, partner work and lying on the floor. (4) Agree what the client will tell the teacher.
  • Example language (illustrative): "Before you try this, can we go through anything about your body or health the teacher should know? You decide what to share. I'd suggest checking with your GP about the back injury first."
  • Watch for: minimising ("it's only a dance class"). Clients who don't want to disclose anything to the teacher; explore a minimal script. Active psychosis or acute dissociation, where it is wiser to postpone.

12. Preparing for touch-based partner work: consent rehearsal (psychotherapist) [synthesis, informed by codes]

  • Purpose / when: clients with trauma, boundary difficulties or fawn responses who will meet hands-on partner studies (item 5).
  • Steps: (1) Explain that partner studies may involve a classmate's touch. [source: Québec Danse] (2) Practise verbal yes/no/change phrases and a non-verbal stop signal in session, without touch. (3) Identify body areas that are off-limits and plan to state them to the partner. (4) Normalise sitting out or working solo. (5) Agree to review afterwards. The psychotherapist does not touch the client to rehearse this. Mainstream talk-therapy codes (BACP, UKCP, BPS, HCPC, APA, AAMFT) contain no explicit touch provision, but all prohibit sexual contact and require working within competence. Only body-psychotherapy codes (USABP, EABP) regulate therapeutic touch directly. [source: professional codes as listed in Sources]
  • Example language (illustrative): "Let's practise the words. Try saying, 'Not my shoulders today, hands on my back is OK.' Now try just 'Stop.' How does that feel to say?"
  • Watch for: the client saying they "won't need" to say no; difficulty producing the words in rehearsal; relief or shame when given permission to opt out.

13. Referral and collaboration with a certified teacher (psychotherapist)

  • Purpose / when: when the client wants embodied, creative, non-verbal work alongside therapy and is suitable (item 11). Codes require referral and cooperation within competence. [source: UKCP items 14, 24; BPS 3.2(iv); APA 3.09; EABP 6.b on clients receiving parallel services]
  • Steps: (1) Find a certified teacher via the SRN directory. [source: SRN site] (2) Check their certification level and whether they hold additional training (e.g. trauma awareness). [synthesis] (3) With the client's written consent, share only what the teacher needs (e.g. "no partner touch for now"). [synthesis] (4) Discuss with the client how the two services relate, to avoid confusion. [source: EABP 6.b] (5) Agree how the client will raise concerns.
  • Example language (illustrative): "The teacher will lead the movement and I'll stay your therapist. We'll use our sessions to make sense of what comes up there."
  • Watch for: role confusion (the client treating the teacher as therapist, or vice versa); a teacher making therapeutic or healing claims; dual relationships if the therapist attends the same classes. [source: BACP 2018 para 33(b) on dual relationships]

14. Integrating class experiences in therapy (psychotherapist) [synthesis]

  • Purpose / when: after classes, to turn sensations, images, drawings and emotions into therapeutic material.
  • Steps: (1) Start with concrete sensation: where, what quality. (2) Then image: what image came, and what the body did with it. (3) Then emotion and meaning. (4) Link to the client's goals and patterns, e.g. holding and bracing, or difficulty letting go. (5) Close by orienting to the present. Treat "releasing blocked energy" as the school's metaphor, not a mechanism. [source for the concept: Triarchy Press] If memory-like images arise, explore their meaning without confirming them as recovered memories, and avoid suggestive questioning.
  • Example language (illustrative): "You said your jaw 'let go' during the string image. What was that like? Is there anywhere in your life where your jaw is usually doing a lot of holding?"
  • Watch for: idealising or devaluing the class; sudden strong grief or anger; flashback content; changes in sleep or appetite. Signs it is working: more flexible body-awareness language and the client using images to self-regulate.

15. In-session imagery-and-awareness explorations (psychotherapist, non-touch) [synthesis]

  • Purpose / when: for clients who benefit from SRT-like principles (non-gripping, imagery, autonomy) inside therapy. This is not SRT and must not be called SRT unless the therapist is certified. [source on competence: UKCP item 23]
  • Steps: (1) Get consent and offer seated or standing options. (2) Invite attention to an area of holding. (3) Offer a simple, client-chosen image of ease. (4) Let any movement be optional, small and self-led. (5) Debrief as in item 14. No touch, and no repetitions or durations prescribed. Ideokinetic imagery (visualising movement without perceived muscular effort) is the somatic approach the IADMS paper describes as best supported among somatic methods. [source: Batson/IADMS 2009]
  • Example language (illustrative): "If it's OK, notice your shoulders. Is there an image that would suit them right now? Maybe something softer or lighter. Just notice; nothing needs to change."
  • Watch for: dissociation, intrusive images, and pressure to "get it right"; stop and ground if they appear.

5. Handling problems

The SRT sources used here do not address clinical problems. Unless a source is given, everything below is [synthesis].

  • Client feels lost without demonstrations or "doesn't get" the imagery. Normalise this: SRT deliberately has "no demonstrations and no exercises". [source: Agis & Moran 2002] Suggest the client tell the teacher, keep watching or lying still as a legitimate response, and write a journal note. If it continues to frustrate, consider a more structured somatic class instead.
  • Overwhelm, panic or dissociation in class. Plan in advance: the client may open their eyes, sit up, step out, or orient to the room (name objects, feel the feet). In therapy afterwards, slow down, ground, and work on window of tolerance. Pause classes if episodes recur, and return later with the teacher's agreement, for example avoiding partner work at first.
  • Strong emotional release (crying, anger, grief) during or after class. Normalise it as possible in body-focused work without treating it as necessary or as a sign of "breakthrough". Process it in therapy (item 14). Screen for risk if mood drops sharply, following standard suicide risk-assessment practice.
  • Memory-like images or body "memories". Explore their meaning and feeling. Do not confirm events, interpret sensations as proof of abuse, or use suggestive questions. Record what the client reports in their own words.
  • Unwanted or boundary-crossing touch in partner work. Affirm the client's right to stop. If touch was sexual or coercive, support the client in reporting to the teacher or venue and, where relevant, the police. Unwanted touch is never acceptable. [source: USABP VIII.5, VIII.8] If the teacher is involved, report to the SRN and the venue. Check your own safeguarding and reporting duties.
  • Physical pain or injury. Advise the client to stop the movement that hurts, tell the teacher, and seek medical assessment. Don't advise exercises yourself. Before restarting, they should get clearance from their doctor or physiotherapist.
  • Non-attendance or dropping out of a series. Explore the meaning: shame, exposure, too much intimacy in partner work, practical barriers. Missing classes is not "resistance" to be overcome. Autonomy is an SRT principle too. [source: SRN About SRT] Offer to stop or delay.
  • Idealising the teacher or the method; dependency. Watch for transferring therapy needs onto the teacher or group. Bring it into the therapy relationship. Be cautious with healing claims; SRT presents itself as a dance and creative practice. [source: Triarchy Press]
  • Rupture with the therapist ("you sent me to something that hurt"). Acknowledge it, take responsibility for your part of the referral, review the screening, and repair openly before deciding with the client whether to continue.
  • Therapist wants to teach SRT or join classes with clients. Teaching SRT requires certification. [source: SRN training notice 2022] Don't attend the same classes as current clients (dual relationship). [source: BACP 2018 para 33(b); UKCP item 8]
  • Modality-specific: "release" taken as "relax" or "let go of everything". Clarify that the school describes releasing as an ongoing, alert process, not relaxation. [source: Agis & Moran 2002] For clients with hypermobility or low muscle tone, "letting go" language may be unhelpful. Suggest they discuss support and stability with the teacher and a physiotherapist.
  • Generic "release technique" classes (not SRT). These vary widely and may include fast floor work, swings and inversions. Screen as in item 11. Ask the teacher what a class involves before referring, because there is no single protocol to check against. [source: Wikipedia, Release technique; screening is synthesis]

Sources

Web sources

Books and articles cited [uncertain: not verified in full]

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