Bioenergetic Analysis, a mind/body psychotherapy, integrates traditional talk therapy with bodywork, giving us a tangible physical and emotional way of healing our psychological wounds. More than a series of exercises or techniques, Bioenergetic Therapy is a powerful, in-depth expressive process that helps us live more passionate, pleasurable and creative lives.
You sit there terrified, eyebrows raised, shoulders hunched, belly tight, breath held – until the movie ends and you relax.
But what if the scary movie didn’t end? What if you lived these experiences all the time? Your tight belly, hunched shoulders, frightened eyes and shallow breathing would become fixed, as your muscles held the anticipation of your daily trauma.
In just this way the painful experiences of our past and present are hidden in our minds and revealed in our bodies. In Bioenergetic Analysis, a mind/body psychotherapy, we talk deeply and work directly with the body to heal the problems of the mind.
Our thoughts and feelings, our strengths and conflicts, and our deepest beliefs can be seen in the body. Our bodies literally tell us what shape we’re in.
Understanding our problems is only part of solving them. Purely verbal therapies may fail to help people mobilize their insights toward real change.
By addressing our psychological issues on a body level – working directly with breathing, movement and emotional expression – we are given the tools to expand and move toward all that we desire.
Bioenergetic Analysis has its origins and history in psychoanalysis, the ‘talking cure’, created by Sigmund Freud. Wilhelm Reich, Freud’s student, saw the effects of early childhood emotional trauma on the minds and bodies of his patients, and developed techniques to open the blocked energy necessary for healthy development.
Reich’s protégé, Alexander Lowen, founded Bioenergetic Analysis in New York in 1956. Lowen believed that emotional problems in living should be addressed through a combination of in-depth talk, and a deep exploration of the language of the body – that is, how we breathe, move and express ourselves physically.
Recent findings in neuroscience have validated the importance of working with the body in psychotherapy. Bioenergetic Analysis is a unique modality of psychotherapy, time-honored and dedicated to psychological and emotional growth, aliveness, pleasure, love, autonomy and a rich connection to others.