Have you ever noticed what’s happening in your body when you experience strong emotions? Perhaps you tend to hold your breath or breathe with short, shallow breaths when you feel nervous or anxious. Or maybe your shoulders tense up when you’re angry, upset, or stressed. Our bodies can store valuable information about our feelings and traumatic experiences, which can lead to chronic tension in the body over time. On the other hand, deliberately changing the body through different postures and movements can help to release associated feelings and emotions. This mind-body connection is the foundational theory behind bioenergetic therapy.
What is Bioenergetic Therapy?
Bioenergetic therapy, also known as bioenergetics or bioenergetic analysis, is an alternative modality in psychotherapy that focuses on the mind-body connection. According to Anne Morollo, a licensed mental health counselor and marriage and family therapist with Grow Therapy, “Bioenergetic analysis is a means of understanding personality or character, in terms of the body and its energetic processes.”
One of the basic principles of bioenergetic therapy is the idea that emotional and psychological traumatic stress is stored in the body, leading to chronic muscular tension. By using somatic (that is, body-based, rather than mind-based) bodywork exercises, bioenergetic therapists aim to help their clients let go of both chronic tensions in the body and their related emotional and psychological causes.
Bioenergetic analysis is a means of understanding personality or character, in terms of the body and its energetic processes.
- Anne Morollo, LMHC
Morollo explains: “We are born physically uninhibited. Throughout our development, we begin to ‘armor’ both mind and body against the world through the formation of ego defense mechanisms… Subsequently, physical character types become [the] subject of analysis of body language through specific techniques and exercises. Think of the ‘macho man,’ chest puffed with wide stride, or the nerdy type, toes pointed inward and shoulders caved forward. They were not born these ways, which caused them to armor themselves as such. Through analytic techniques, bioenergetic analysis helps to release chronic muscular tensions that have become deeply structured. These bodily imposed restrictions on living are not voluntary. They develop as a means of survival in difficult environments that deny or suppress physical expressions such as pleasure, compassion, and joy, promoting disease instead.”
How was Bioenergetic Therapy Created?
Bioenergetic therapy was created in the 1950s by Alexander Lowen, a physician who studied under a psychoanalyst named Wilhelm Reich, who in turn was a student of Sigmund Freud, one of the most famous psychotherapists in history. Lowen and Reich took a different therapeutic approach from Freud’s traditional model of talk therapy by focusing on the body in addition to the mind. “[Lowen] developed Bioenergetic Analysis as a therapeutic modality to resolve trauma and help people reunite with their body’s inherent capacity for Joy,” says Morollo.
What Therapeutic Techniques are Used in Bioenergetic Therapy?
Bioenergetic therapists may use a variety of physical exercises that may be explained during the therapy sessions, which can often be practiced at home afterward. The main bioenergetic exercises are:
- Vibration: Shaking the body in specific ways helps to release physical and psychological tension.
- Grounding: Firmly planting the body in certain postures can help someone feel more grounded and centered.
- Breathwork: Deep breathing techniques help to calm the nervous system, as opposed to restricted breathing which often happens because of chronic stress.
Other bioenergetic exercises may focus on sexuality, self-possession, self-expression, touch, and massage.
Morollo says that “a person who doesn’t breathe deeply reduces the life of their body. If one doesn’t move freely, the life of the body is restricted. If one doesn’t feel full, it narrows life’s scope. If self-expression is constricted, life is equally limited.”
What are Some Examples of Bioenergetic Therapy?
Here are two examples of what bioenergetic therapy might look like in a therapy session. Many other techniques and approaches may be used, depending on the client, the therapist, and the therapeutic relationship.
Example 1: Chris Expresses His Anger
Chris has trouble expressing his feelings, particularly anger and aggression. He tells his therapist about a recent situation where he was angry with his partner. The therapist has Chris try an exercise where he recalls his anger during that situation while biting on a towel. The physical sensation of clenching his jaw helps to release some of the anger and muscle tension stored there. The therapist also tries an exercise where he directs Chris to twist the towel in his hands and shout angry thoughts out loud. Through this exercise, Chris can express some of his anger in a contained way. Chris and his therapist then talk about what it was like for him to go through these exercises.
Example 2: Janet Seeks Emotional Connection
Janet was raised in an environment that lacked emotional connection and affection. Now, as an adult, she has trouble making deep, intimate relationships with other people. Her therapist tries a grounding exercise with her, encouraging her to tune into the present moment to become aware of the emotions and feelings running through her, which she has been conditioned to be disconnected from. The therapist role-plays being someone who rejects connection with Janet at first and then starts to welcome connection with Janet by holding her hands. Janet then reflects on her feelings of both rejection and connection and how they relate to her past and present life.
Is Bioenergetic Therapy Legit?
There are some claims that bioenergetic therapy can help reduce past trauma and even physical ailments such as chronic pain or addictions. Bioenergetic therapy has been practiced for over seventy years, and there are many therapists and international organizations that strongly believe in its benefits. At the same time, there is a lack of rigorous research that can prove whether or not bioenergetic therapy is effective. Some researchers believe that the type of therapy approach is not as important as other factors like the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client, and the client’s expectations and actions. With any type of therapy, some people may benefit from a certain approach, while others may not. Different approaches work for different people, and sometimes it can take time and trial-or-error to find what works for you.
What is the Difference Between Bioenergetic Therapy and Other Approaches?
The use of touch and bodywork exercises is the main difference between bioenergetic therapy and other common psychotherapeutic approaches such as traditional talk therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Morollo states: “Bioenergetic analysis differs from other forms of therapy in that it combines analysis of personality and character with body techniques and physical exercises to recognize and release chronic muscular tension. This is a critical step in overcoming feelings, behaviors, and attitudes that detract from life. Bioenergetic analysis firmly recognizes the ability of the body to heal itself, and promotes that process.”
Bioenergetic therapy may sound similar to or have similar aspects as other types of psychotherapy and medical approaches, but it is also different from:
- Biodynamic psychotherapy focuses on the body’s natural rhythms and innate ability to self-regulate.
- Core energetics is similar to bioenergetic therapy with additional aspects such as spirituality.
- Body psychotherapy refers to the broader category of psychotherapies that combine mind and body approaches.
- Energy psychology and energy medicine are psychological and physical healing approaches based on the idea of using energy systems in the body, like meridians. Some examples include emotional freedom technique (EFT), thought field therapy (TFT), acupuncture, shiatsu, and reiki.
- Bioenergetic medicine uses energy metabolism processes at the cellular, chemical, and molecular levels in the body to treat medical disorders and conditions.
- Biofeedback uses electronic monitoring to provide information on inner body functions like heart rate, blood pressure, and skin temperature.
Interested in Trying Bioenergetic Therapy?
Therapy can be a great way to take care of your mental health and well-being. Bioenergetic therapy is a unique type of therapy that can help you understand and improve the connection between your physical body and your mind, feelings, and emotions.
“The goal of bioenergetic therapy is far more than the absence of symptoms. It is fulfillment of the organic longing for balance in mind, body, and spirit. It is truly holistic,” says Morollo.
Here at Grow Therapy, we make it easy to find a therapist who’s right for you. Take a look at our search tool to find a therapist near you who specializes in bioenergetic therapy.
