Maieusthesia
$80
for a session
Maieusthesia is a therapeutic approach based on compassionate listening, that considers the emotions and feelings of beings within us who, at different stages of our lives, have not been heard. The aim is to give them a voice, to listen to them and to acknowledge them in order to foster inner peace.
Etymology
The term "maieusthesia" was introduced by a French psychosomatician Thierry Tournebise in the 1990s. It results from the fusion of two Greek words: "maieutics", referring to the Socratic method of bringing ideas to light, and "aisthesia", evoking sensory sensitivity.
Thus was born the neologism “maieusthesia”: “the art of being aware of the process of the Self’s emergence.”
What is maieusthesia?
Thierry Tournebise developed this concept to refer to a psychological approach to relevance. This approach focuses on exploring the patient's emotions, sensations and bodily feelings. Its aim is to help people better understand and express their emotions, as well as their unconscious conflicts.
Specific features of maieusthesia
Maieusthesia focuses on the therapist's ability to facilitate inner dialogue in the patient, thereby helping him or her bring to light deep aspects of his or her emotional life and address them constructively.
In Maieusthesia, the disappearance of the symptom is not perceived as a cure in itself, but rather as the culmination of a process that had been developing up to that point. The symptom does not disappear because it has been cured, but rather because it is no longer necessary.
The role of the therapist
Sometimes, deep within us, there resides a being that has not had the chance to be fully born, hindered by various circumstances. Our quest is to find this being and restore it to its rightful place. It is the nature of the human soul to seek wholeness, and my role is to support the life that needs to be acknowledged in those who come to me for help.
My approach is to acknowledge the person who has been hurt or traumatized, and to give him or her a voice. By listening to the emotions, we focus on expressing them rather than on the events that caused them, in order to avoid reactivating the pain.
A concrete example
Charlene, aged 55, came to see me for chronic stomach pain; during the interview, it emerged that she had been assaulted at the age of 12.
So I suggested that she reconnect with the 12-year-old version of herself, connect with her, speak to her heart-to-heart, and let her know just how much she understands her.
And much more besides… This dialogue will give rise to a range of emotions and insights that will soothe Charlene and free her from the grip of this wound in her present life.