Bonding psychotherapy

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Daniel Casriel, Konrad Stauss · 1960 · New York

What it is

Bonding Psychotherapy is an experiential, mainly group-based psychotherapy developed by New York psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Daniel Casriel (1924–1983) from the 1960s, and named after the "bonding exercise" he introduced in his last decade. Casriel defined bonding as emotional openness combined…

Format

• There is no published session-by-session manual among the sources used; Bonding is organised by setting and by the structure of the group session rather than by numbered phases. ISBP's own conference material describes Stauss's contribution as relating Casriel's concepts to attachment theory.
• Ongoing weekly groups: sessions 2–3 hours; short-term groups run 3–6 months, long-term groups 1–3 years.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Hollow repetition; adjust the sentence until it fits.
• New members nodding along without understanding; check individually.
• Feedback sliding into attack; stop it and reframe (see Harm account).
• Collapse or shame mid-round; offer the soft version or a partner standing beside them.
• Flooding with traumatic memories; use distance ("see her on a screen far away") or stop.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.