Sophrology

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · Alfonso Caycedo · 1960 · Madrid

What it is

Sophrology was created by the Bogotá-born neuropsychiatrist Alfonso Caycedo (1932–2017), who coined the word in Madrid in October 1960, trained with Ludwig Binswanger in Kreuzlingen (1963–64), then studied yoga, Tibetan Buddhist meditation and Zen in India and Japan (1965–68). In Barcelona in 1968…

Format

• Session count. Sources give practice dose rather than course length: practise each recorded session daily for at least one to two weeks before moving on; a conditioned "geste signal" needs at least three weeks of daily practice; a childbirth course uses four sessions, the first repeated about ten…
• Structure of one session:

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Overall architecture (Caycedian). Twelve RD degrees in three cycles of four: reductive/fundamental cycle (RDC1–4: body, mind, emotions, self-image, leading to a more positive body image), radical cycle (RDC5–8: "energetic and cellular" awareness) and existential cycle (RDC9–12: consciousness projected onto the world). Each degree has a complete and an abbreviated version plus exercises done "by systems". Advanced…
• What it is. Sophrology was created by the Bogotá-born neuropsychiatrist Alfonso Caycedo (1932–2017), who coined the word in Madrid in October 1960, trained with Ludwig Binswanger in Kreuzlingen (1963–64), then studied yoga, Tibetan Buddhist meditation and Zen in India and Japan (1965–68). In Barcelona in 1968 he created the first three degrees of Relaxation Dynamique (RD), added the fourth in 1985, moved to Andorra…

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 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?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• 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

• Balance and pain limits; strain during the hold.
• Fewer intrusions and a steadier image across sessions.
• Pick hitches the client can master; stop if distress escalates.
• Values work can bring up guilt or loss; keep it resource-focused.
• Shorter time to recovery in real situations is the sign it is working.

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.