Everything began with the many-year personal journey of one very intelligent and determined person into the fascinating world of body-oriented psychotherapy. I am talking about my friend, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Sopho Tabaghua. It was precisely Sopho\u2019s enthusiasm and tireless work that made it possible for a large team of Georgian therapists to travel to the beautiful Irish city of Cork, following four years of intensive training in modern Reichian psychotherapy, to attend the 19th International Congress of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy, held from September 3 to 6. The main theme of the congress was \u201cBody Psychotherapy at the Edge: Moving Between Polarities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before discussing the congress itself and reviewing the very interesting workshops, I would like to say a few words about what body-oriented psychotherapy means and how it can help people address different kinds of mental health difficulties.<\/p>\n
Body-oriented psychotherapy is a branch of psychotherapy based on the understanding that the human mind and body are interconnected, and that psychological trauma, stress, and emotions can all be reflected in the physical body.<\/p>\n
Unlike traditional \u201ctalk\u201d therapy, this approach uses not only verbal communication but also attention to bodily sensations, breathing, movement, and physical exercises in working with psychological difficulties.<\/p>\n
How does this approach work?<\/strong><\/p>\n Wilhelm Reich described the concept of \u201cmuscular armor\u201d \u2014 an organized system of chronic muscular tension and bodily holding associated with a person\u2019s character defenses. For example, constantly suppressing emotions may manifest as restricted breathing, tension in the jaw or neck, holding in the chest, or chronic tension in other parts of the body. Often, a person who comes to therapy may only describe a general sense of distress or discomfort and may have difficulty identifying a troubling emotion or bodily sensation. They may also be overwhelmed by disturbing thoughts and find it difficult to focus on bodily sensations.<\/p>\n In body-oriented therapy, attention is focused on:<\/p>\n Body awareness:<\/strong> the patient learns to notice where and how stress manifests in the body, for example, as tightness in the throat or heaviness in the chest.<\/p>\n Breathing regulation:<\/strong> deep and appropriate breathing can help calm the nervous system and facilitate emotional regulation.<\/p>\n Movement and expression:<\/strong> specific movements can help release accumulated tension and arousal.<\/p>\n As for the main approaches and founders of body-oriented therapy, they include Wilhelm Reich, who is considered the founder of this field. He introduced the concept of \u201cmuscular armor\u201d and connected psychological defenses with physical tension. Alexander Lowen developed bioenergetic analysis, which focuses on the body\u2019s energetic processes and \u201cgrounding.\u201d Peter Levine developed Somatic Experiencing, an approach that is particularly well known for its use in working with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n When can body-oriented therapy help us?<\/strong><\/p>\n Personally, as a cognitive behavioral therapist, I find this therapeutic modality particularly helpful when my client is unable to access or work with their thoughts, when their anxiety is so high that they struggle to focus, when they have difficulty regulating emotions, when they have limited awareness of bodily sensations, or when they struggle to regulate behavioral impulses.<\/p>\n Body-oriented therapy can help people dealing with chronic stress and burnout, psychological trauma, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), anxiety, panic attacks, depression, psychosomatic disorders (when physical pain does not have an identifiable medical cause), difficulties accepting their own body, and eating disorders. It can also be relevant to many other difficulties, including personality-related challenges, interpersonal relationship problems, emotional dysregulation, addiction-related problems, sexual dysfunctions, and more.<\/p>\n Now, regarding the congress itself: EABP (European Association for Body Psychotherapy) is the European Association for Body Psychotherapy. It is a leading umbrella organization representing and protecting the interests of professionals and training institutions in this field across Europe. The association brings together more than 700 accredited psychotherapists and around 50 training organizations and national associations across Europe.<\/p>\n What is particularly encouraging is that Georgia\u2019s Institute of Modern Reichian Psychotherapy is also a member of this large family. We already have members with European accreditation as well: psychiatrist and psychotherapist Sopho Tabaghua, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Irina Todadze, and myself, neurologist and psychotherapist Natia Kuchukhidze.<\/p>\n The official EABP platform establishes and closely monitors standards for the training of body-oriented psychotherapists, its ethical code, and professional criteria. The organization accredits psychotherapists and specialized training centers through the EABP FORUM.<\/p>\n The association actively supports scientific research. In cooperation with the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP), it publishes the International Body Psychotherapy Journal.<\/p>\n EABP is a full member of the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP), which supports the recognition of body-oriented psychotherapy at the European level as an independent and scientifically grounded field.<\/p>\n The EABP European Congress in Body Psychotherapy is the association\u2019s main event and takes place every two years. It brings together body-oriented psychotherapists, researchers, educators, and professionals from related fields. Through keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and research symposia, the congress promotes learning, collaboration, and the development of body-oriented psychotherapy.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s congress was hosted by the Irish Association for Body Psychotherapy. The Irish are the youngest members of this large family, and their country lies at the far western edge of the European family. This was particularly symbolic given the processes taking place in today\u2019s world. That is why this metaphor of the \u201cedge\u201d was frequently heard in the welcoming remarks. I would like to share an excerpt from the welcome speech by EABP President Kathrin Stauffer:<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018edge\u2019 can be found where traditional and emerging approaches meet; or in places where body psychotherapy adapts to support people who are psychologically, physically, or socially at the edge; or it can highlight the contribution body psychotherapy can make to how the wider field and society as a whole engage with such \u2018edges.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We are often inclined toward polarization \u2014 either idealizing or rejecting what lies outside our familiar world, beyond the edge. Yet in doing so, we forget one of the greatest tools we have as psychotherapists: to sit with polarities without taking sides, thereby allowing ourselves to explore them with curiosity and compassion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In English, the word \u2018edgy\u2019 evolved from meaning nervous or irritable to describing something unconventional, provocative, and exciting. This is an accurate description of how body psychotherapy is sometimes perceived. Yet those at the edge of a group often possess the greatest potential for change. We hope that EABP can play this role within the wider field of psychotherapy, and that this congress will help demonstrate its value.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Beyond the philosophical reflections, the EABP congress is always a wonderful opportunity to meet people, build connections, make new friends, and reconnect with old ones.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The congress program was quite intensive, with numerous panel discussions and workshops taking place simultaneously. Each participant had the opportunity to choose the topics that interested them most.<\/p>\n I would like to highlight only a few of the speakers and trainers whose masterclasses I attended and who left a lasting impression on me.<\/p>\n First and foremost, there was Matthew Appleton, who explores the dynamics of conception and cellular memory of conception in the adult body. His findings are fascinating: how cellular memory associated with conception may be retained throughout life in the form of unconscious (implicit) memories and how it may influence the way we experience ourselves and the world around us. The transformation that takes place in a person\u2019s body during the exercise was remarkable.<\/p>\n Another workshop was Olaf Trapp\u2019s \u201cInstroke\u201d principles in relational body-oriented psychotherapy. Through this experience, we explored how working with \u201cInstroke\u201d and relational therapy can complement one another, allowing participants to find practical ways of integrating internal energetic processes with structured relational and somatic practice. At the somatic level, working with \u201cInstroke\u201d increases energetic density and strengthens the client\u2019s energetic core, which in itself can initiate a deeper healing process.<\/p>\n Steve Hoskinson\u2019s presentation was particularly impressive. He is the founder of Organic Intelligence and an internationally recognized teacher, mentor, and author in the field of post-traumatic growth (PTG).<\/p>\n Babette Rothschild has been a renowned practitioner since 1976 and a teacher and trainer since 1992. She is the author of seven books translated into more than 19 languages, including her classic bestseller The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment<\/em> (2000).<\/p>\n Mar\u00eda Paz Card\u00edn Garc\u00eda is currently a professor at the European University of Madrid. She is the director of Biosynthesis in Spain and an international senior trainer in Biosynthesis. She is a clinical psychologist (PhD), somatic psychotherapist, and bioenergetic analysis therapist.<\/p>\n There were many other interesting speakers and workshops at the congress. Unfortunately, I could not attend all of them, nor can I review them all in this blog. But what is most encouraging and hopeful is that European knowledge and experience remain open and accessible to people who want to help those experiencing mental health difficulties, both in their own countries and beyond.<\/p>\n The most important thing is that this access should not be closed off to mental health professionals, because doing so would have an even more serious impact on the mental well-being of our country\u2019s population.<\/p>\n Wishing you mental well-being,<\/p>\n With love,<\/p>\n Natia Kuchukhidze<\/strong> Everything began with the many-year personal journey of one very intelligent and determined person into the fascinating world of body-oriented psychotherapy. I am talking about my friend, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Sopho Tabaghua. It was precisely Sopho\u2019s enthusiasm and tireless work that made it possible for a large team of Georgian therapists to travel to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1651],"tags":[7063],"class_list":["post-24809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-insight","tag-natia-kuchukhidze"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24815,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24809\/revisions\/24815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nNeurologist, Psychotherapist; European-accredited CBT and EMDR therapist; body-oriented therapist and mindfulness practitioner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"