title: Psychotherapeutic aspects of the martial arts.
abstract: Formerly understood by Western thought as only a set of fighting skills, the Martial Arts (MAs) have come to be seen, in the psychological literature about the MAs, as a comprehensive approach to both physical and mental health. The MAs enhance self-esteem through the provision of physical activity and group experience, and the teaching of relaxation, concentration, assertiveness, and directiveness and honesty in communication. Thus, they are understood to be a legitimate form of therapy, for both "neurotic" and some chronically mentally ill patients. It is proposed in this paper, that the MAs can also be a useful supplement to verbal psychotherapy, as they foster and expose feelings through a physical modality, which can then be observed and analyzed in the modality of verbal psychotherapy. A case report illustrates how the MAs produce feelings and reveal problems, which are brought into the psychotherapy arena and analyzed.
authors.affiliation: Shalvata Mental Health Center, Hod Hasharon, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kutz
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kutz
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weiser
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D016139:Martial Arts / Q000523:psychology*; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012063:Relaxation; D012649:Self Concept