What is
Core Energetics?
Core Energetics is in the
family
of psychotherapies
that are sometimes called "body centered" or "somatic" since they work
with the
structuring
of emotion and thought in the body as well as mentally. As in other
therapeutic
methods, Core Energetic work involves examining beliefs, feelings, and
the details of one's history, life situation and inner life. Unlike
strictly "talk
therapy"
methods, Core Energetics therapy also addresses the body along with the
mind in examining
how
those
beliefs, feelings, and inner life are sustained and reinforced in the
body, particularly in the muscle systems.
Core Energetics
body-mind
therapy exploits the fact that in our earliest years, when we are
learning and developing how we will relate to and be in the world, we
use our bodies to assist in regulating our feelings and to shape our
behaviors. The repeated, habitual patterns of relating, feeling, and
behavior that we develop and rely on will form strongly held ideas and
images in the mind, repeated patterns of feelings in the emotions, and
specific patterns of muscular tension and weakness in the physical
body. Mind, body, and emotion all work together as a system to provide
the regulation that we need. These habitual patterns become largely
unconscious as we adopt
them and then use them later in life to meet our needs, with varying
degrees of satisfaction and fulfillment.
In the physical work
of Core
Energetics, the body can be addressed in many ways along with the mind
to meet your goals
for effective and lasting change. I would like to provide some examples
to help illustrate how the body might be addressed in therapy to
promote change. For example, information
about your patterns of muscular tension and weakness can be used to
better
understand your ideas and beliefs about life. This body information can
be especially useful if your work involves understanding unconscious
beliefs and ideas that are often difficult to articulate due to their
unconscious nature. In sessions, you might do movement or static poses
that assist you in putting pressure on and opening
up ideas or parts of your self that are blocked from expression. For
some,
these matters can be difficult to access by talking alone and
the physical work can be useful for opening up the blocked expression.
Or, you might be directed to use awareness of some aspect of your
physical body sensation (felt sense) as a way to facilitate grounding
in present
moment awareness. The body may be addressed to develop self capacities
that have been left undeveloped thus far in life. Or, the body may be
addressed in breathing to influence
the way you take in oxygen for energy production and personal strength.
The list of examples
can go on since everyone's work
is driven by their unique life history and goals for
therapy.
Counseling with Core
Energetics therapy can also
address your spiritual
self, as deeply held beliefs and inner life experience are addressed to
enlarge the possibilities in your life. At times it can be helpful to
couple
psychological insight with your spiritual experience when
addressing your inner life experience. Core Energetics therapy is an
effective means of transpersonal counseling.
Holistic
Therapy - Counseling the Whole Person
By addressing not only the
mind and emotions, but also including the body and even the spiritual
self, the Core Energetics therapy process addresses the whole person.
This therapy
process
focuses on unifying and connecting the body, emotions, mind,
will/intent,
and spiritual self into a unified whole that expresses your complete
reality. Because of this emphasis on unity, which includes the
body
and spiritual self, this approach to personal growth has the potential
to assist persons in developing beyond what is often expected from
counseling
therapies. From this unified place, you can find more consistent
contact with your life essence, which brings peace, security and
the pleasure
that we all long for.
History and
Development of Core Energetics
The Core Energetic approach
to personal growth was developed by John Pierrakos M.D. and is a
further refinement of Bioenergetics, which was developed by Alexander
Lowen M.D. and John Pierrakos. Lowen and Pierrakos, both
psychoanalysts, were clients and then students of Wilhelm Reich
M.D. After studying with Reich, they added their own refinements to
Reich's discoveries and principles to produce the systematic way of
working that became Bioenergetics and then Core Energetics.
All of the Neo-Reichian
somatic or
body-centered therapeutic methods trace their development back to
Reich's fundamental discoveries and formulations. In Reich's pioneering
work on the mind-body connection, he observed that during our early
years while our character and personality are developing, we use our
bodies to support, reinforce and sustain the structure of our
developing character. Reich discovered that he could make progress in
working with people not only through the mind and emotions but also by
working with the muscular and physical characteristics of their
particular character structure. Reich called this principle "Functional
Identity". Reich observed that the physical characteristics of a
character structure served the same function as the mental
characteristics in developing and sustaining the structure and both are
thus functionally identical. In Reich's words: “When a
character inhibition would fail to respond to psychic influencing, I
would work at the corresponding somatic attitude. Conversely, when a
disturbing muscular attitude proved difficult of access, I would work
on its characterological expression and thus loosen it up.” [Reich,
The Function of the Orgasm, 1942, p. 241]
The various Neo-Reichian somatic
psychotherapy disciplines that exist today all base their approaches on
Reich's Functional Identity, his formulations about the body's energy
systems, and other related ideas developed by Reich. If you are
interested in further reading on Reich, somatic psychotherapy, or other
related topics see my Resources
and Links page for references to books, links and other information.
Core Energetics
Worldwide
In the 2+ decades
since
its development, Core Energetics has grown and spread throughout the
world. Core Energetics psychology and practice can be studied at a
number of institutes worldwide in Australia, Germany, Mexico,
Switzerland, and the USA (California and New York).
My Resources
and Links page has links
to some of the institutes along with other information related to Core
Energetics and body-mind psychotherapy.
Email: Stephen@stephenshostek.com
Phone:
503-963-8600
Stephen
Shostek
819 SE Morrison, Suite 130
Portland, OR 97214
Click
here
to join my confidential email list for updates about workshops and
classes
Your
enquiry is always welcome.
Be Well!
Stephen
Shostek,
Core
Energetic
Therapist in Portland, OR. Counseling with body-mind therapy for
psychological well-being and
personal growth.
503-963-8600. Send
Stephen Email
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Stephen Shostek 2004-2005 / All rights reserved
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