What Can Core Energetics do for You?

In this article Dr. Chubbuck offers some background and description of Core Energetics. This form of therapy integrates body and mind and spirt, which is something that is sometimes lacking in modern medical practice.

Dr. Chubbuck also runs CE events. For those of you interested in learning more hop on over to her website (links below) and send her a note.

Bodymind Therapy: The Time Has Come
( A Mesage for Psychotherapists )

By Dr. Pamela Chubbuck

We are one flowing vibrating mass of chemicals, electricity and ultimately -- light. We are an integrated whole. In this age of new science and holism regarding both mental and physical health, it has become clear that we human beings connect and flow as unified body-emotion-mind-spirit.

Most psychotherapists have not been trained to work with their clients using this information. Our academic culture is still most comfortable teaching theory-- using the mind and possibly dealing with deep emotions. But the body? No. The body is viewed as separate from intellectual pursuits, religious thinking and emotional balance.

Doctors and research scientists, as well as ancient medical practitioners who integrated body-mind-emotion-spirit, (such as acupuncturists and homeopaths), know that what we once thought of as body and mind must now be treated as bodymind. Psychotherapy has the opportunity to follow this lead; to keep up with the latest findings so that their clients can heal in the deepest way possible.

Western knowledge of the bodymind connection originated with the work of Wilhelm Reich, MD in the early 1900’s, followed by the creation of Bioenergetic Analysis, by Reich’s students Alexander Lowen, MD and John Pierrakos, MD, in the 1950s.

Pierrakos created Core Energetics in the early 1970s. Only recently has this knowledge of the role of the body in the treatment of dis-ease of any sort come to be viewed as important in psychotherapy. It is still the rare therapist among us who has learned to interpret the body’s clear messages when treating a client.

Now writers exploring frontiers of psychology who are applying neuroscience to psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are constantly alluding to the importance of the body. We often hear about the importance of non-verbal communication, body messages; in the early mother-baby pair, in adult relationships of many sorts, and in the psychotherapy office. But how can we practically apply these ideas in our practices?

First, we need detailed training in the anatomy of emotion. We psychotherapists rarely know an acetabulum from a piriformus, much less know that the physical body can inform us about how and why our clients think and emote the way they do. We have not been taught that every muscle tension connects with and can express a withheld emotion. We never learned this in our academic psychology and counseling programs where we trained to be therapists.

Our training was way too brief. The typical master’s degree program that prepared the majority of us to become psychotherapists and counselors is set up to whisk students through the academic part of our learning in one short year. So, even if it were seen as important, not enough time could be taken in our short training to give much more than rudimentary information about counseling psychology theory.

The next year we were already on the job…being a student therapist in a real life setting, usually overwhelmed with just keeping our heads above water. We were pressed to act without any chance to learn about the mind-body connection.

If we continued in our academic programs, perhaps we entered another four years in a conventional Ph.D. program which also was not able to prepare us to integrate body and mind. We may have been curious about how to use the latest science of neurobiology and the bodymind techniques we had heard about, but most of us did not have a chance to get the training we needed to do it.

Some would have liked to become experts in the growing field of Core Energetics, or other modalities such as Bioenergetic Analysis, considered to be the fore runners in body psychotherapy specialties.

Core Energetics is the first Western truly holistic approach to psychotherapy. It is an evolutionary process that uses the body as a base for therapeutic work. Core Energetics works with all known levels of human existence – body, emotions, mind, will and spirit. Core Energetics Institute South offers a 4 year professional training program in the Core Energetic Evolutionary Process.

In order to provide an opportunity for therapists to learn more about the body in psychotherapy, I am offering an ongoing series of workshops which will allow you to explore this new exciting field of study. Tris Bescher, anatomy instructor and musician, is joining me in offering you a course of energetic experiential learning.

You, as a curious psychotherapist, counselor, helper, nurse or other care giver, are encouraged and welcome to join us and learn more about the body and integrative, holistic psychotherapy.

In these training workshops you will first begin to experientially and didactically learn about your own body-- and what messages your body has for you. Then the faculty will teach and assist you in observing and reading each other’s bodies. This learning will enhance your own life and your professional life. You will learn to be more grounded and alive both personally and professionally. You life can be even more interesting and fun!

For more information on Core Energetics and this workshop please go to www.core-energetics-south.com and click on Events. Read more by clicking, Articles, at the top of the website homepage.

Pamela Chubbuck, PhD, LPC, is the director of The Core Energetic Institute South, an international trainer and a certified supervisor of Core Energetics students and therapists, a CBT, (Certified Bioenergetic Therapist), and has studied and taught anatomy. Pam has over 35 years of experience as a body oriented psychotherapist.