Gay Therapy, Gay Counseling, Gay Psychotherapy

Find A Gay Friendly Therapist

Celebrating
Yourself

Home

FIND A THERAPIST

Choosing a Therapist

Articles

Free Downloads

Newsletters

We Support

NGLCC.org-National
Kiva.org

Other Directories
  EMDR Specialist
  Counseling Men
  Counseling Children
  Therapist's Place
  Counseling LGBT
Relationship Specialists

.......................................................................................

What is Bioenergetic Analysis?

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.
For more information about Bioenergetic Analysis, please check out the website for The International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis at
www.bioenergetic-therapy.com

Current articles by Michael Kimmel.

What is Bioenergetic Analysis?

Affirmations – useful or New Age fluff?
“A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities”
A Low Stress Life
Could I Bisexual?
Bad Boys and Good Boys
Balancing Heart, Mind and Dick: A primer for Gay Love
Bathhouse Revelations
Clothes, creativity and self expression
Codependent? No more!
Curiosity and Passion
Developing “Boyfriend Radar”
Don't let your good intentions become great disappointments
Drama Queens (and KINGS)
Everything pisses me off! Do I need Anger Management?
Fixing a saggy sex life
Gay Couples and "The Three Year Itch"
Getting along with difficult people
Happiness: What is it and how to get more of it
Having fun at parties: don't get stuck with the duds
How to make internet sex work for you
I hate the holidays!
Just what is age-appropriate behavior?
Lower your Stress, Reduce your Anxiety and Decrease your Panic Disorder
Married to a Sex Addict
My best friend is a sleazeball
No One’s Faithful Anymore
Playing the Blame Game
Sleeping with my girlfriend (and her dad on the side)
The "D" word
The Healthy Side of Internet Sex
The Joy of Condoms
The Peter Pan Syndrome
To Botox or not to Botox: That is the Question
Unlearning Jealousy
Whatever happened to Romance?
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
Why is being a part of a gay couple so much work?
Yoga + weight training + meditation - happy mind, body and spirit
Young, HIV-positive and totally bummed