Private Practice for Psychotherapy Friedrichshain

Body Psychotherapy

Symbolizing without feeling is empty – feeling without symbolizing is blind
— Gendlin

Body psychotherapy assumes that unprocessed wounds, experiences, or early childhood events are stored or restricted in the body. Simply talking about these conflicts is often insufficient. Rather, it is important to re-experience these unresolved internal conflicts in the body. It becomes clear that they threatened or overwhelmed the child back then, although today, in adulthood, these emotions no longer pose a threat.

Body psychotherapy supports you in consciously working through these processes. The goal is to perceive and process the stored emotions, enabling you to handle real-life challenges more effectively.

How does body psychotherapy work?

In body psychotherapy, the patient is guided to bring early emotions into bodily expression, such as:

Anger
Hatred
Sadness
Helplessness
Humiliation (especially from family)

Wilhelm Reich, the pioneer of body psychotherapy, emphasized that relational experiences are energetically stored in body memory. Breath as a vitalizing force plays a central role in this process.

Many body exercises therefore focus on:

Deep breathing
Expression through voice and movement
Releasing blockages in the body

Especially at the beginning, many patients experience strong blockages, which are part of the therapeutic process. Through this work, burdensome feelings can be released and quality of life can improve sustainably.

Individual approach

There are no standardized procedures in body psychotherapy. Each session is tailored to the current state and personal experience of the patient. The body reflects life history and stores all formative experiences. These embodied experiences are gently worked through in a safe space.