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Webinar 1 - January 25, 2024
Somatic Resonance
Vita Heinrich-Clauer, 07:00pm – 09:00 pm (CET). Chair: Rick Spletter
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To be in living contact with our therapist body, our resonance skill and grounded presence are the basis for any successful work with patients. Our ability to vibrate (resonance) and set boundaries, from a bioenergetic perspective, are both connected to the breath and voice as well as muscle motility.
“People, whose body is so rigid and paralyzed, that it hardly pulses or just pulses a little, lack empathy. If our body is alive, then we sensitive for other people and their feelings and we also feel more love and pleasure” (cf. Lowen 1992, p. 388).
The therapeutic relationship is, a priori and independent of the applied physical interventions, an embodied relationship. This means that our therapist-body represents – apart from technique – both the medium and the agent for the therapeutic process, and is therefore, in terms of self-care as well, the most important “instrument” to be cultivated.
While I was thrilled to have described the phenomena of somatic resonance in the late ‘90s and their potential for work with embodied countertransference in the therapeutic process, the discovery of mirror neurons a short time later validated these exciting phenomena on the neurobiological level. But there are still open questions about what happens in the inter-relational context between therapist and client.
I will present neurobiological findings on the somatic effects of resonance phenomena, empirical results on the respective occupational risks of therapists, and bioenergetic concepts and techniques regarding the subject of self-care.
Dr. Vita Heinrich-Clauer, Dipl.-Psych., is a member of the IIBA Faculty. She works in private practice in Osnabrück/Germany, and teaches Bioenergetic Analysis in various European countries. She has published articles in several Journals, including the IIBA Journal, and lectures in Germany. She is the editor of the Handbook Bioenergetic Analysis (2011), which has now been published in six languages.
Webinar 2 - February 22, 2024
Aggression as a Life Force and Grounding as a Life Stabilizer
Angela Klopstech, 07:00pm – 09:00 pm (CET) Chair: Patrizia Moselli
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Bioenergetic Analysis has developed some basic concepts that hold significance for broader contemporary psychotherapy, both psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral.
This webinar will focus on the concepts of grounding and aggression. Together, these two encompass a therapeutic approach which emphasizes presence, self reliance and action orientation, that are essential resources and/or developmental tasks (depending on which therapeutic school you subscribe to). And in this sense, the bioenergetic concepts of grounding and aggression dovetail with the contemporary mainstream concepts of ego strength, resilience and agency.
The concept of grounding includes rootedness and verticality – feet on the ground below, and eyes to the world around. Going beyond these somatic aspects, it also applies to inner support, stability and being present in the world of things and people. The concept of aggression, in its literal meaning of forward movement, is an action oriented force within us that moves us out into the world and then along in it.
In this webinar, we will explore grounding techniques and exercises that can be employed as stabilizing resources in everyday life and in crisis situations. In addition, we will explore techniques that focus on aggression as a positive force, mobilizing us when we get stuck or lose forward momentum in our lives.
Finally, we will discuss the crossovers of these bioenergetic concepts and the ego-strengths concepts of other therapeutic schools, making the case for an inclusion of e.g. standing, walking and other simple movements into the general therapeutic setting and process.
Angela Klopstech has been a faculty member of the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis for more than 40 years, and has taught in more training groups in both the US and Europe than she can remember. She has major interests in the artful conceptualization of the therapy process, the role and importance of precise and evocative language, the translation and bridging between the various domains of the psychological and the physical and, consequently, in the bridging between different schools of therapy. She is currently in private practice in New York City.
Webinar 3 - March 25, 2024
Resistance and Negativity in Bioenergetic Analysis
Odila Weigand, 07:00pm – 09:00 pm (CET) Chair: Liane Zink
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In this workshop, Dr. Odila Weigand will address the role of Resistance and Negativity in Bioenergetic Analysis, specifically how resistance is exemplified in Lowen’s 5 characterological types.
Outlines:
- Introduction: Basic ideas about Resistance and Negativity. Survival Mechanisms
- Insights from Freud, Reich, Winnicott
- Relevance of this topic in understanding human psyche and the therapeutic process.
- The importance of considering both psychological and somatic aspects of resistance and negativity
- Are Resistance and Negativity different concepts?
- Making friends with resistance
- Bioenergetic Analysis (Lowen/Pierrakos/Boadella) on Resistance and Negativiry. The three layers: Mask, Shadow, Core.
- Basic resistances and beliefs exemplified in Lowen’s 5 characterological types
- “The will to live and the wish to die” Fear of pleasure, attachment to pain
- Working with energy: Breathing, Grounding, Energy Flow, Humor, Aggression
- Self-regulation and Intersubjectivity. Corregulation in therapy and in life.
- Recent changes in culture. Liquid relationships. Increase in fragile structures in therapy. Early developmental trauma. Structural dissociation. The current superego no longer comes from parents and family, but from the media.
- When to flex and when to strengthen armor. The usefulness of catharsis.
- Reichs Orgastic Curve/Developing Limits, Centering, Pulsation, Containment
- Working with energy: Ressonance, Projective Identification, Energy Fields
- Beyond Resistance and Negativity: Faith in the Life of the Body for personal evolution
- Developing hope, true self, safe and functional relationships, compassion, interest in collective evolution and trust in the benevolence of the universe, nature, God. Spirituality of the Body.
- Clinical “Vignettes” will be used to illustrate concepts. Challenges and successes encountered when addressing resistance and negativity in clinical practice
Odila Weigand, PhD Clinical Psychology, International Trainer IIBA, also trained in Family Therapy, NLP, Time Line Therapy, Ericksonian Hypnosis. Works in private practice in São Paulo and teaches Bioenergetic Analysis in Sao Paulo, Americana and Cachoeiro de Itapemirim. Teaches in the Core Energetics Program in Brasilia.
Webinar 4 - April 22, 2024
Embodied Relationships: An Adventure in Expressive Aliveness
Garet Bedrosian, 07:00pm – 09:00 pm (CET) Chair: Miriam Mantau
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Embodied Relationships is an immersive and experiential workshop that explores the principles of Bioenergetic Therapy with Imago Relationship Therapy, theory, and dialogues. This workshop provides participants with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of relationships, enhance their capacity for empathy and connection, and cultivate a greater sense of aliveness in their interactions with others. Through a variety of interactive exercises, group discussions, and guided somatic practices, participants will embark on a transformative journey to discover the power of embodied relationships.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the foundational principles of Imago Relationship Theory
- Explore Bioenergetic experiences as a means to deepen self-awareness and connection within relationships.
- Enhance empathic listening skills and learn techniques for frosting effective communication and understanding.
- Develop strategies for identifying and transforming relationship patterns and triggers.
- Cultivate a greater sense of aliveness, joy, and presence in relationships.
Garet Bedrosian is an IMAGO Relationship Therapist, Couples Therapist, Psychosomatic Therapist, specialized in Bioenergetic Analysis.