Olivier Rouiller

In progress...

Having lived in Sweden and being connected to international online mindfulness communities, I have been exposed to a diversity of practices, often called Relational or Somatic, which I believe are valuable for evolving the field of psychotherapy and relationships at a societal level.

These practices are very strong in California or Colorado and also present in Scandinavia and Germany. They are, however, rare and emerging in France, perhaps because the French are slower to adopt innovations, or perhaps due to the language barrier, as these practices are generally taught in English.

These practices, which can be affiliated with active listening or non-violent communication, are nurtured by mindfulness and psychotherapy and offer tools and practices that help bring more awareness into relationships, develop empathy, connection to others and the body, and more.

They are interesting to me not only because they have contributed to my process of maturity and healing, but also because they have the potential to transform how we relate in society and to bring certain relational qualities out of the closed framework of psychotherapy. They are also for me a playground for practicing my relational and therapeutic skills.

My goal here is not to precisely describe these practices but to give a taste of 3 main practices: Circling (Beneteau, 2021), Authentic Relating (Kestano, 2022) or Authentic Relationships, and finally somatic practices which encompass a variety of approaches.

Circling, Relational Mindfulness

Circling, also known in Europe as Transformational Connection, is one of the flagship practices.

The exercise in Circling is to explore, in a group, what our experience is like in the present moment. This involves both revealing one's own experience and being interested in the other's experience, here and now (Rouiller 2025), not in the narration of a past experience or a general life experience.

Thus, for me, it is about relational or group mindfulness.

So one might say "Being here with you, I notice a desire to speak and take up space, but also shame. And now that I'm speaking, I feel my hands getting sweaty, but seeing you attentive, I notice I relax a bit." Someone might continue by revealing how this sharing impacts them or by asking questions to learn more about this experience.

When conditions are good and safety is high, these practices allow for an exploration of intersubjectivity within the group, leading to access non-symbolic levels of consciousness (Martin 2020) or experiences in the realm of the sensible (Dessons & Mazéas, 2024).

Bibliography

Beneteau, M. (2021). Circling and authentic relating practice guide (2nd edition) : Learn the group conversation... practice that will transform all of your. ADMIT HUB REF SERVICE PR.

Dessons, M., & Mazéas, D. (2024). Listening to the Subtle: Clinic of Archaic States of the Psyche. les Éd. d’Ithaque.

Kestano, R. (2022). Authentic relating : A guide to rich, meaningful, nourishing relationships. ART International.

Martin, J. A. (2020). Clusters of Individuals’ Experiences Form a Continuum of Persistent Non-Symbolic Experiences in Adults. CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century, 8(8), 1‑25.

Rouiller, O. (2025). The 5 Principles of Circling. (Re)Connected. https://www.re-connected.fr/2025/02/28/les-5-principes-du-circling/