Haptotherapy is a well-appreciated discipline in the field of cure and care for high-level performers in The Netherlands. Among others, professional athletes, politicians, actors and business people have reached out to the haptotherapist for guidance and treatment. Top performers can and need to develop themselves as autonomous, self-confident and responsible people in order to get the best out of themselves in a sustainable matter. Such an adequate and effective personal development is not possible without emotional development. A major aspect in personal growth is a subtle sense of feeling and body awareness. Haptotherapy offers a base with respect to this personal development by “confronting” these high-level performers with their own bodies and the emotional expressions of it.
People at the top who have been able to develop a sufficient level of self-awareness, inner security and self-confidence show physical and mental resilience and flexibility to deal with the demanding environment they are living in. They can handle their emotions adequately which results in getting the best out of themselves. Even under difficult circumstances, such as stress and internal and external pressure to achieve, they are able to stay loyal to their own feelings and morals. If top performers are lacking this development, they often feel that it is hard to act and handle accurately leading to targets, which will not be reached, and a decrease in the number of achievements. Furthermore, it will in many occasions affect their physical and mental health, the feeling of well-being and personal relationships. In these kinds of circumstances, a haptotherapist could be consulted, as his type of therapy is a form of treatment aiming to increase self-consciousness, self-awareness and the ability to feel in order to help people get comfortable with themselves and being able to create a basic state of security. This to be able to deal with the challenges faced in such a demanding environment.
In haptotherapy it is recognized that the human body is not only a technical instrument that works accurately with the right training, healthy eating habits, medical help or other facilities, but it does also give a person information on well-being, needs, limits, intuition and emotions. Examples of these are awareness of anger or anxiety and in general the balance between rest and endurance. People can link this kind of information (what they feel) to rational information (what they think), which enables them to know what is right for them to achieve their best. In other words, they are then able to stay loyal to their own identity in a world focused on effectiveness, efficiency and maximum achievements. Only then will they be fully appreciated allowing for their talents and possibilities to flourish.