Scott Gauthier

 

Scott Gauthier, MS, finished basic training with the Guild for Structural Integration in 1992 and did his Advanced Training in 1997. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia and received his Master’s degree from James Madison University. He is currently in practice in Denver, CO. You can contact him at [email protected].

 

Abstract

The three series is a well-established format for post-ten work. This article explains the necessity of addressing the work as a unified whole and explores strategies for creating a short series within the freedom of post-series work. One strategy discussed in detail is the up-down-line format including guidelines for how to structure the order of these sessions.

When clients come to me for post-ten work and want more than one session, I often give them the option of a three series because, as I tell them: “It gives me the opportunity to open things up and know that I don’t have to put it all together before you leave today. We will have more than one opportunity to put you all together.” I say this because I want the client to know that:

1)            We are doing a series of sessions, not just one session followed by another with no particular plan, and

2)            The integration, the putting it all together is what we are really after, not just fixing the problem.

A Unified Whole

Once a client has signed up for a three series, how does a practitioner go about creating a strategy to bring it to completion? First, one has to look at the process as a whole. If not, then one ends up doing three single sessions without a unified intent. To make it a whole, it needs to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Peter Melchior used to say about any session, “When it’s done, it’s done.” The same could be said about a three series. There exists a sense of completion. Sometimes I perceive this sense of completion as a sense of fullness in the client that tells me when a session or a series of sessions is done. It is like the glass is full; you cannot add any more without causing some to overflow and be lost. There is a sense that only so much information can be taken in by the system before it overloads. Each session gives us the opportunity to fill the client to the brim, which allows them to integrate and come back for more.

Looking at all three sessions as a whole allows each of the first two sessions to have parts left undone that will be attended to during the later sessions. The process of integration is then completed during the last session.

The three series is a well-established format for post-ten work. Its roots are based in the ten series, and it is often taught in basic training as being similar to 8-9-10. However, only 8-9-10 can be an 8-9-10. Post-series work is done for someone who has already finished the whole series and is therefore starting from a more organized place than in session 8, where there is a direct need for the integration of the girdle in question.

Which Way to Go

I most commonly approach a three series as either a girdle-girdle-line sequence or a down-up-line sequence. The approaches are similar; the biggest difference is about how I see the client rather than what I do.

The girdle-girdle-line sessions are perhaps viewed more from an anatomical and functional place. I am looking at movement and where it flows and where it doesn’t. Are they walking around something? Is there a protective pattern set up? What are they protecting? What needs more space in order to move better?

The up-down-line sessions are viewed more from an abstract structural place. Step back and look at the client with gentle eyes and listen literally as he describes his life and world. Does this person need more help getting weight down through the ground, or does he need to be picked up and balanced skyward? These are the questions that I often ask. Does he need more grounding, and is this seen physically or implied by his description of his life? Does he need more lift, and does he describe being burdened, weighed down, or a lack of lightness in life? Which direction is most needed in this structure: up or down? What is preventing that grounding or what is preventing that freedom of lift?

Each session gives us the opportunity to fll the client to the brim, which allows them to integrate and come back for more.

One of the differences between these sessions and the integration part of the series is that these sessions may be performed in whatever order is suggested by the organism itself. With the traditional 8-9-10 we make a choice at session 8 regarding which direction to go: up or down. We examine the lumbars and see how we can make them more stable and peaceful, either by building support from below or by organizing and lifting the weight of the upper girdle off the lumbars. History has shown me that most of these sessions are lower sessions, getting the base, then lifting and organizing the upper half in the  ninth session.

In the basic ten series, the tenth session is always the line session. How do we organize what we have achieved during the series? How can we help the horizontals relate to the line? How do we get the line to be a felt and living structure within this human? How do we feel satisfied that the client has enough information to self-integrate?

Freedom of Design

A post-ten series has much more freedom. The three sessions can go in almost any order that makes sense for the structure you are assessing. The most typical order is lower girdle (J), upper girdle (i), line (t) but there is no real reason to stick with that choice if the body you are looking at suggests otherwise. So here are the representational glyphs of all the different possibilities of three series:

(lower, upper, line)

(lower, line, upper)

(upper, lower, line)

(upper, line, lower)

(line, upper, lower) and

(line, lower, upper)

The structure will suggest which direction to go. The starting place for a downward or lower girdle session is implied if:

?             the client needs support or a stronger foundation,

?             the legs are calling for work,

?             the lumbars need more support from below,

?             there is a need for grounding or stabilization, and/or they are floating through life or seeking something concrete in their life.

The starting place for an upward or upper girdle session is implied if:

?             the arms look like they distort the structure,

?             the upper body needs to be lifted up off the lumbars to make them more comfortable,

?             strain in the head or neck seems to lead everything below off the line, and/or

?             the client is having problems expressing him/ herself.

A line session is suggested if:

?             there is some confusion about the vertical axis,

?             the upper and lower halves have a loss of connection,

?             the client needs a stronger center on which to attach the girdles, and/or

?             the horizontals need better stacking.

Once you plan a strategy for the first session, do it; then see what is needed when the client returns for the second session. It is nice to have the sessions all planned out in advance, but the greatest direction you get on what to do next comes from the client. As Peter Melchior said, quoting from systems theory, “The more organized a system becomes, the more unpredictable it becomes.” I have found this true in my practice. The more sessions a client has had over their lifetime, the more unpredictable each session becomes. Not in any negative way, but in a positive, most amazing way. A little work on the ankles and the breath opens up, for example.

One can start with the line and then add the girdles onto it so that it reaches out in both directions. It is somewhat like a third hour in that you’re creating freedom and support for the girdles through the midsection. One can also visualize it as starting deep in the center and reaching out in all directions from there.

Spacing of Sessions

I prefer to schedule the three series with a consistent space between sessions. Whether this is once a week, once every two weeks, or once every three weeks depends on my understanding of the client’s integrative speed and my scheduling ability.

Compromises are part of the process, but it is good to book all three sessions at once so the client understands that the work is a process and that the three sessions constitute a unit.

Looking at all three sessions as a whole allows each of the frst two sessions to have parts left undone that will be attended to during the later sessions. The process of integration is then completed during the last session.

Post-Trauma Work

Many clients come in for post-series work, because they have experienced a physical trauma, for example a sprained ankle or a minor surgery, from which they wish to recover. Sometimes just working away at clearing the scar tissues and adhesions from the injury can distract you from the goal of integration. This is a trap that as structural integrators (emphasis on integrators) we need to watch out for. I have used a three series that is based upon the idea of injury repair. I sometimes focus one session on getting length back into the injured area. This can be done by freeing up scar tissue and adhesions from the trauma or surgery. Then I do a session integrating the injured area back into the whole and, finally, finish up with a line session. Sometimes a four series is used, which can include a session on freeing up the adhesions and scar tissue from the trauma followed by a three series to integrate the client.

Compressed Advanced Five

I have experimented with a compression of the advanced five series on experienced clients, but have only attempted this on clients who have previously received the advanced five series. The advanced five series balances the deep with the superficial, the being place with the doing place. While the basic ten series balances the left with the right, the top with the bottom, and the front with the back, the advanced series balances the inside with the outside. This sometimes is an odd concept to wrap one’s head around, but after years of practice, observation, and good work, the concept becomes available to the practitioner who really puts in the effort to see and understand it.

In terms of movement, one sees origination from the deep intrinsics moving outward through the extrinsics. I believe the best, and reportedly one of Dr. Rolf ’s favorite models for this, is Fred Astaire. Watch how his movement initiates inside and flows toward the outside. How often do we see this in  our clients? What I have experimented with in this type of three series is dividing the sessions by depth—an outside (sleeve) session, an inside (deep or core) session, and a middle session (bringing the movement from the core to the sleeve). I will admit that this is a rare strategy for the three series but one worth exploring on an occasional basis with a highly-integrated, post-five series client.

Conclusion

Strategies for constructing a successful post-ten series can be developed by truly seeing what your client desires and needs, and finding a way to wrap these goals into an integrative whole. In this article, I explored several options for designing a post-ten series and questions to help practitioners decide what strategy will work in certain circumstances.

Post-series work allows the client and practitioner to both deepen understanding of integration. If the client walks out after the final session with a better felt sense and expression of her line, then you have succeeded.[:]Strategies for a Three Series of Advanced Work