Biodynamic therapy is about welcoming the many aspects of a person’s life experience, which make up a whole human, their body-mind-essence; it’s about healing through the life force, through relationship with the therapist, embodiment, organic movement and attuned touch. Process-oriented and client-led, each session unfolds to meet each client and their needs in reconnecting to their independent wellbeing, and their capacity to be in and part of the world.
This holistic therapeutic approach impacts all aspects of being – physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. It was developed in the 1960’s by Gerda Boyesen, a clinical psychologist and physiotherapist, interested in the effects of massage on people’s mental health.
What sets this practice apart from other psychotherapeutic approaches is attuned touch. The touch is sensitive to physical and emotional states, it is trauma-sensitive, and can be experienced on skin or on clothes; no oil is used. The biodynamic approach treats each unique person with all their many layers, rather than as a body or a part thereof.
Another unique aspect of biodynamic work is the stethoscope which tunes into ‘psychoperistalsis’ during a biodynamic treatment. Through her extensive clinical practice, Boyesen identified that, as the gut digests food, so too it digests accumulated stress, toxins and unprocessed emotions through it’s complex nervous system which communicates directly with the brain. A series of biodynamic therapy sessions might help the body by giving it the time it needs to complete previously unprocessed cycles, which can then be integrated on a cognitive level.