Body-mind psychotherapy
I know it sounds kind of weird, body-mind psychotherapy. You are supposed to talk about your feelings in therapy, right? What does that have to do with your body? You sit there, chatting with a therapist while they take notes and give you advice. Right?
Nope. You are not supposed to just talk about your feelings in psychotherapy. You are supposed to FEEL your feelings and THEN talk about them. Surprise! You are actually supposed to feel your emotions in the office with the psychotherapist. Quite honestly, the fact that this is what is supposed to happen in nearly all types of psychotherapy makes them all “body-mind” psychotherapy. But, that’s not where I’m going with this.
Usually, the reason you come to therapy is that you don’t make a habit of bringing up your feelings and “processing” them, (which means analyzing them while they are happening or shortly after.) You either don’t feel them at all and you feel stuck, bored, depressed, anxious, or disconnected. Or, they come out unbidden when you feel provoked, and you have an “anger problem” or you’re “too emotional.”
The difference between “regular” psychotherapy and body-mind psychotherapy
The difference between “regular” psychotherapy and body-mind psychotherapy, is that in body-mind psychotherapy you know from the outset that we are going to make a point of doing things to “bring up” your feelings. We are going to get you accustomed to noticing your body in a very focused way, and to get you familiar with the connection between your thoughts and the way your body feels. Another name for body-mind psychotherapy is bioenergetic analysis.
You are a successful person. You have made a good life for yourself through your willpower. That has generally meant that you have learned very well how to “control” certain feelings. Congratulations. Unfortunately, you can probably do it so well that now you don’t know how to let them move through you when you choose, at an appropriate time and place. This inability keeps you from having everything you want.
When you feel and are more conscious of all the emotions in your body, and conscious of the connection between your thoughts and emotions, you experience more joy and happiness in your life. You are more in control of yourself, without working at it.
Body-mind psychotherapy is about teaching you to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to accessing and using your feelings to move out of those places in your life you don’t like to be. If you stay in your head, you are doing the same thing you’ve probably always done, and you know what they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Want to do something different? Give me a call. We’ll talk…and stuff.
Contact me now to set up your free 15-minute phone consultation.