Coma is a deeply altered state of consciousness.
It is usually defined as a condition with complete unawareness of the self and the environment.
It can result from many medical processes such as brain injuries, heart attacks, strokes, or situations near death.
New research suggests that in fact comatose patients can register what is going on around them but are unable to respond in usual ways. Their expressive behaviors being limited to behavioral fragments and minimal cues.
Arnold Mindell founder of Processwork always believed that coma patients have inner awareness. With his wife Amy he developed a method of communicating with patients in coma that is attuned to their altered states and minimal communication signals.
This method called Coma Work (open this link to get to a more detailed description) looks for doorways into the patients’ inner experiences through:
*Subtle or incomplete movements,
*changes in the rate and depth of breath, and
*facial cues
To find ways to unfold an interactive dialogue and assist in the inner process the patient is experiencing.