What is Bioenergetic Analysis?

by Michael Kimmel, LCSW

Bioenergetic Analysis is a relational somatic (body-oriented) form of psychotherapy that lets us understand personality in terms of our body and its energetic processes.  How much energy we have and how we use it greatly determines our experiences in life and how alive, joyful and fulfilled we are (or aren’t).  Being alive and full of energy allows us more movement, spontaneity, creativity and – usually – better health and a longer, happier life.    

Bioenergetic theory is based on the premise that there is no fundamental separation between the mind and the body.  What we think can affect how we feel, and vice-versa.    Emotional stress from many areas - relationships, family crises, jobs and health problems - produces tension in the body. Contractions in our muscles are often the result of this unresolved emotional tension. These contractions can have a direct effect on our energy level, our capacity for spontaneous and creative self-expression and feelings of well-being.  Patterns of muscular tension reflect our emotional history and often include early childhood relationships with caregivers, physical and emotional traumatic experiences, and the degree to which self-development was possible.   

By addressing conflicts at a cognitive, emotional, and physical level, Bioenergetic Analysis helps us to:  

• gain greater understanding and awareness of our old patterns of action and reaction
• develop a greater capacity to experience and - ultimately - resolve old pain
• increase our ability to experience joy and pleasure
• feel more alive and energetic.

Are you curious yet?  Lots of my psychotherapy clients ask me:   

• “What do you actually DO in this kind of therapy?”

• “How does a therapy session work?” 

• “Do I still get to talk to my therapist?” 

• “Is it like Rolfing and that kind of thing?”  

To answer these questions, let me give you an overview of how a Bioenergetic therapy session might look.  In addition to the usual stuff you do in “talk therapy” (e.g., cognitive and emotional processing), your Bioenergetic therapy session is likely to include body work interventions such as:  

Awareness Experiences:

Body awareness interventions are designed to help you become more aware of your body. We may focus on your muscular tension, posture, breathing patterns and the ways in which your physical and emotional tensions, behavioral patterns, and mental states are related.  

Physical Interventions:

As your therapist, I may use physical interventions to help you bring more aliveness and movement to your body.  These movement experiences may focus on areas of your body that have chronic muscular tension, poor circulation, low levels of awareness, or restricted movement abilities. Physical interventions in your therapy session may include  

• stretching exercises (to enhance the tone of your muscles)
• breathing skills (to raise your energy level if you’re feeling depleted or depressed) or – alternatively - to create states of relaxation if you’re stressed or tense)
• stress reduction tools (to expand the range of emotional experiences that you are able to be comfortable with).

Directed Expression:

Difficult or traumatic material from your past may be the focus of our Bioenergetic work together.  To assist you in releasing, understanding and integrating such painful feelings from your past, I may suggest directed experiences in emotional expression - specific body movements, exercises and experiences - to help you deepen your emotional expression and get clarity about past experiences and the tangled emotions that may accompany them and keep you feeling “stuck” in your past.

Touch:

In Bioenergetic analysis, touch is sometimes used to:

• help you bring awareness to your body
• release the tension in any muscles where you chronically hold tension
• support you as you work through any traumatic events from your past

The guidelines for the use of touch include:

• ALWAYS asking your permission when touch is involved
• respecting your personal boundaries and preferences in the use of touch
• staying within the guidelines for the use of touch designated by the State of California Board of Behavioral Sciences and the ethical codes of professional associations such as the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis

  Under no circumstances will the use of touch in therapy involve sexual areas of the body.

  Therapists trained in Bioenergetic analysis have been certified to utilize the procedures

described in this article. The purpose of the somatic interventions or movement experiences should always be clearly explained by the therapist to your satisfaction, and at no time should your choice of whether to participate in the experiences be compromised.

  In Summary:

  Like other forms of therapy, Bioenergetic Analysis can heighten awareness of the past and present and bring up memories, images, and sensations that have been previously unconscious.  Our work together may intensify feelings or emotional experiences that are connected to past traumas. There may be times during treatment - as in other forms of psychotherapy - when feelings may be uncomfortable or intense. As your therapist, I will work with you to understand these experiences and help you to focus and integrate them.

The relationship between a client and her/his Bioenergetic therapist is an important part of Bioenergetic Analysis. By attending to this part of our work together, your old, fearful or constricting ways of relating to others can be better understood so that you can:

• experience feeling safe and lovingly connected to people
• feel more alive and energetic than ever before
• become more of who you TRULY are

Michael Kimmel, MA, MSW, LCSW is a California-licensed psychotherapist who is currently enrolled in a 4-year training program to be certified as a Bioenergetic Analyst.  His Bioenergetic psychotherapy work is supervised by Garet Bedrosian, CBT, LCSW.  You may contact Michael through his website at www.lifebeyondtherapy.com.  Michael writes the “Wellness” column for The Bottom Line magazine, serves as a psychological consultant to Channel 6 Evening News in San Diego and is a contributor to INSTINCT magazine and the San Diego Union-Tribune.  He is also an avid gardener, Iyengar yoga practitioner and a student of Buddhist meditation.

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