For Heinz Deuser, the haptic sense is the fundamental sense of relating to the inner and outer worlds. Skin sense, depth sensitivity and the sense of balance are the basic senses that we use to orient ourselves and move into the world from. Anyone who touches something with their hands is also touched by it. In haptic grasping, every movement is reciprocally re-experienced in a moving way and helps us to grasp important qualities of life. Even the first experiences of early childhood are registered and memorized in this way. From this perspective, every gesture contains the individual’s personal experience of relating to the world. In the interaction with the clay field Deuser sees the possibility of encountering the traces of one’s own becoming by following the traces of the formative movement and to experience an ongoing process of shaping and reshaping. Whatever might not have been possible in one’s personal history can thus be made up and compensated for through the sensorimotor process on the clay field. The modeling-like nature of the movement of the hands also encompasses the fundamental developmental movement of life.

With his SOMATIC EXPERIENCING (SE) approach, Peter A. Levine has viewed trauma from the outset as a breach in the individual’s protective barrier against indigestible and thus overwhelming stimuli. To him the traumatic experience blocks the person’s access to their authentic self. The journey back to becoming whole rests on the pillars of a sensitive perception along the inner channels of sensing, feeling and thinking as well as the sudden appearance of archetypal images together with spontaneous movements in search of form and shape. He has summarized them under the acronym of SIBAM. Here, too, the aim is clearly to rediscover those dynamic inner forces that have been disrupted, slowed down or buried in the course of the individual’s development. It is in this context that touch, be it through the hands or through inner attention alone, also is the key to new insights and fundamental changes unlocking the potential waiting behind the traumatic experience.

Both approaches are characterized in their own unique ways by the fact that they are not symptom-oriented but have at their core a playful yet clearly focused sensory orientation - which opens up a space for connecting to one's own inner potential, in which the unconscious is touched and inspired to engage in the creative process. Both the work on the clay field and SE invite the person to take their inner impulses seriously and to seek and find new expression. Pedagogical, psychological, social and therapeutic circles can adopt this approach and adapt it to their field of activity.

During this unique one-day seminar, the two pioneers in the field of human development will present the core of their respective models and allow participants to experience them through exercises, live demos and further insight-seeking discussions, broadly focusing on children and adults and their relationship to themselves and the world. Just like almost 20 years ago, but this time the two pioneers will be joined by a group of equally inspired people who want to tune into their rich field of knowledge and experience.