Reading Developmental History in the Body

Earn (2) CE Credits

Somatic therapy is sweeping through the field of psychotherapy. Interest in how the body reacts to trauma, along with the popularity of understanding the nervous system has fueled this interest. As a result, therapists are adding the lens of observing and working with the body as a key part of their work. Many somatic forms focus on breathing and relaxing techniques but lack a system that addresses how the client’s past influences their present. Bioenergetic Analysis is a comprehensive, psychoanalytically based method that includes the tool of reading the history, both the capacities and struggles, in the body. This helps deepen awareness and can lead to increasingly effective clinical interventions. An object relations map showing the timeline for attachment wounds in early life will be provided. A dyadic experience will be used to process reactions to the map. What do those early wounds look like in the body? A body-reading demonstration will follow, to show how an individual’s past history can manifest in their body.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to name 2 stages of normal development of early object relations.
2. Participants will be able to identify how narcissistic personality develops.
3. Participants will be able to apply a 3-part somatic interview technique to their skill set. 
4. Participants will be able to explain how the client’s past wounds, along with current problems can be observed in a Bioenergetic body-reading session.

Vin Schroeter (she/her)

Vincentia Schroeter has practiced psychotherapy since 1975. She started in the addictions field, and her training has taken her into proficiency in Bioenergetics, Self-Psychology, Affect Regulation and the clinical uses of Polyvagal Theory. She did doctoral research on infant and mother bonding and has worked with couples, families, individuals and groups. Vin is on the international faculty of the IIBA (International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis) presenting at conferences in Europe, Canada, and South America. She has led trainings in Spain and Hong Kong and published three books, Bend Into Shape, Techniques for Bioenergetic Therapists (2011); Communication Breakthrough, How Using Brain Science and Listening to Body Cues Can Transform Your Relationships (2018); and Tilt: Seeking Balance in Troubled Times (2021). Her illustrated blogposts on communication and life observations can be found at vincentiaschroeterphd.com/blog

This presentation will be in person.