SPT-Fall2014

I now view my anxiety as my
aliveness. It’s this intense energy. My
anxiety is there a lot. Last year my
teacher, Bruce Tift, told me 'be with it
and so what' Getting ready for it is
the opposite of expecting it, counting
on it, getting rid of it. And if it’s not
there, it’s a reprieve.”
Happiness versus Freedom
“We can’t do it alone,” Israel says.
“I don’t want my clients to come in
and talk only about their stories. I do
my best to meet people where they
are. I don’t spend a lot of time in the
energy on the story. The state of the
brain—our reptilian brain will do
what it does, it will go to fear,
negative emotion, etc. I trust the
instinctual process. I see humanity as
extraordinary human beings.
“I’m not into happiness, I’m into
freedom” she continues. “Happiness
is a temporary emotion. Freedom is
what we talk about when we talk
about embodiment—learning to be
with everything. If you are feeling
depressed or anxious, you are not
happy. But, if all emotions are real
and you can be with them, then we
can experience freedom. The ability
to hold the enormity of our emotions
is where freedom is, and happiness
often comes with freedom.
Ultimately, to experience freedom of
being, I have to honor my needs.
Then live it, embody it, practice it.”
The Fruitional Model
“With the help and support of my
teacher, I practice the Fruitional
model in my work. I’m not a
Buddhist yet Buddhist principles
make so much sense to me. The
Fruitional model reflects the
wholeness of the human being, and I
work with clients to restore their
remembering of their wholeness. I
ignite and shine a light on the
complexity of our humanness, our
behaviors, our stories. In the Western
model of medicine, we need to be
fixed. In truth, we have nothing to get
rid of, nothing is thrown out. Life is
workable no matter how messy.
Every neurosis we have is brilliant—I
wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t found my
M.O. (modus operandi) to cope. As
we age, we have an opportunity to
heal our defense mechanisms we
created as young children when we
didn’t have the skills to deal with our
emotional enormity.”
“I see women in their 40s and 50s
with eating disorders that don’t serve
them anymore. When you are 50
years old, we have an opportunity to
heal the patterns we developed to
survive. Bringing awareness to your
eating disorder is a tremendous and
beneficial healing component. The
first 30 years, I was not aware why I
was starving myself; developing
awareness was a component of my
healing process.”
Four Themes
There are four themes Israel also
addresses with clients to support their
health and wellness (family,
community, service, and identity).
Diane also appreciates Maslow’s
hierarchy of basic needs: food,
shelter, sleep, comfort, family and
community. She supports clients to
work on sleep patterns, how to find
their own rhythm of what works
around food, how to notice what’s
happening in their environment, and
if things are distorted how to
maintain a sane state of mind.
According to Israel, we all need a
healthy family, a tribe to belong to
where we are accepted in the fullness
of our being, be it our biological
family or one we create. Finding a
therapist who has lived through an
eating disorder (or addiction), who
knows it intimately is one part of the
family support; it’s crucial to know
that you are not alone.
“I’ve lived it,” Israel says. “It takes
one to know one. I can look my
clients in the eye, and they know I
really get it. I have no regrets. Our
experiences make us extraordinary
“I’m not into happiness, I’m into freedom. Happiness is a
temporary emotion. Freedom is what we talk about when
we talk about embodiment—learning to be with
everything. If you are feeling depressed or anxious, you
are not happy. But, if all emotions are real and you can be
with them, then we can be free to experience freedom.
The ability to hold the enormity of our emotions, is where
freedom is, and happiness often comes with freedom.”
people. I get through my addiction
with passion, compassion, and loving
kindness. I let my clients know that
they are are not flawed. That their
addiction is part of their journey in
healing.”
Service is huge as well, Israel says,
knowing that we have a purpose,
something to give of ourselves to
others. But to offer our best, we have
to value ourselves, know we count.
Israel offers the idea of ‘self-ing’
because the word selfish has negative
connotations. “It’s healthy to be
selfish through ‘self-ing and that’s the
idea of intimate rapport with our
self,” Israel says. “And within ‘selfing’
there comes a sense of identity:
Who am I? I have to live a life that
allows time for meditation, healthy
eating, being in nature. These are
requirements for me. I can get away
without them for a short bit, but my
life doesn’t feel as vibrant,” Israel
says. “I live for nature, stillness, and
the gift of being in a body.”
Continued on page 110
Somatic Psychotherapy Today | Fall 2014 | Volume 4 Number 2 | page 80