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Health practitioner Dorothea Mathews in Stuttgart

Some details on my personal professional development

I was born in Aachen in 1956 and did a Diploma in 1974 in Social Work (at the "Fachhochschule für Sozialarbeit") in Berlin (Dipl. Social Worker, FH). During my studies, I got involved in Body Psychotherapy. This work impressed me a lot, because it promotes the expression of withheld emotions and helps to contact the living core of a human being. I decided to train in Biodynamic Psychotherapy starting in Berlin, continuing in London at the Gerda Boyesen Institute. During 7 years of work and training, I have enjoyed a very intensive full-time program in Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy and Biodynamic Massage.

For the GBII, the Gerda Boyesen International Institute, I have worked for 15 years as a trainer in England, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

To Gerda Boyesen, the founder of Biodynamic Psychology, one of the leading figures of modern Psychology in general, I feel very grateful. Fortunately, I was able to learn this profound method and philosophy from her personally.

Since my return to Germany 1989 I live in Stuttgart and practice as:

  • Health practitioner, Body therapist (ECP)
  • Founder and director of the Institute of Body-Psycho-Dynamic (Processes?)
  • Family Therapist of the Social Service Office, Böblingen
  • Supervisor
  • Mother of an adult daughter

Advanced Training 1990 - 2015

  • Initiatory Body Work (Dr. Norbert Maier)
  • Relationship Therapy (Jochen Lude)
  • Psychoenergetics (Ebba Boyesen)
  • Hypnosis (Prof. Dr. Dirk Revenstorf)
  • Systemic Family Therapy (Dr. Gunthard Weber)
  • Systemic Couple Therapy (Dr. Hans Jellouschek)
  • Gentle Chiropractic (Brigitte Pätzold)
  • Potential-oriented Psychotherapy (Dr. med. Wolf Büntig)
  • Mental disorders in children and adolescents (Thomas von Stosch)
  • EMDR trauma therapy (European School of Biodynamic Psychology/ Eli Weidenfels)
  • Reichian Analysis (Gino Ferrie)

Offer - Individual Therapy

Life is not always free of conflict, and we all need support now and then, especially in difficult crisis situations as they may arise during separation / divorce, death of a loved one, overwork or disease.

In addition to the therapeutic conversation with elements of analysis of Freud and Jung, I work in individual therapy with body exercises, body travel, vegetotherapy, bioenergetic exercises, EMDR®, NLP exercises, Respiratory Therapy and lineups. With the Biodynamic Massage techniques, I encourage the self-healing powers of the body (psychoperistalsis) and solve chronic tension. I address myself after what you need.

I encourage my clients to feel their needs, to trust them, and to follow their own impulses. The therapeutic hours serve as a training ground for the recovered grades. These are reflected in the context of talks to be later tested in everyday life.

The body-soul unity heals. The life energy circulates. Life is exciting again. The result is an interaction between experience and understanding, between the outer and inner knowledge awareness.

Duration of therapy

The duration of treatment is based on the individual and on what is right for you. Accquaintance blocks consist of 3–6 hrs. Crisis intervention often includes 15 -25 hours. Early neurotic disorders can be effective treated only in therapies of 120 - 160 hrs. With psychosomatic disorders, the duration of the therapy is connected to the severity of the disease. The release of chronic tension takes about 5 -15 hrs.

The therapy is suitable

  • for the processing of psychological problems: Complexes, fears, eating disorders, partnership conflicts...
  • the treatment of psychosomatic disorders: Sleep disorders, migraines, burn out, indigestion...
  • chronic tension: back pain, headaches, bad general condition...
  • to address and eliminate stress
  • in periods of heavy occupational exposure...
  • to connect body and soul
  • to discover positive tension, curiosity, joy, satisfaction and spirituality.

Costs

The Private Health Insurance pays the treatment of Health practitioners and usually reimburses the costs fully. For self-payers, I charge €80 per hour (60 Minutes). If you have problems paying this fee, please discuss it with me.

Offer - Couple therapy

Is a form of psychological work, with the goal of working up and overcoming partnership conflicts. A prerequisite for successful consulting is the realization that a troubled partnership is not the "fault" of only one of the partners.

It is also helpful to understand that I, as a couple therapist, are neither referee nor problem solver, but a companion of the therapeutic process.

Happy and successful life partnership

Conflicts are part of our relationship, and we can use them for our personal development and growth of the relationship. We will both, try to learn from our conflicts and look, how much each of the couple is involved in the conflict. Each one of the partners can contribute to a better deal in the future. As right as this agreement may sound, many couples fight a hopeless struggle, to avoid conflicts at all costs, to live the romantic idea of love. The real acceptance of conflicts takes a lot of pressure from the relationship and empowers learning moments.

Action

As a couple therapist, I try first to create a framework in which the partners can express and clarify their different needs, fears and concerns. This can be the starting point for a negotiated process, in which a deeper understanding of the partners for the conflict dynamics arises.

This ideally allows a deeper emotional relationship with more flexibility, tolerance, openness and closeness.

It follows the clarification of misunderstandings that are often caused by projection experiences. We also work with the implementation of new perspectives in the individual life concept. The promotion and empowerment of people seeking advice is a major concern to me. The main goal of consultation is to enable couples to deal with their conflicts and to achieve a higher degree of personal unfolding, relationship and partnership ability.

Bodywork

In addition to the therapeutic conversation, I integrate dynamic process exercises and body contact in the consultation process. Process exercises can help the couple to new experiences with each other, especially to integrate an additional level of perception in the partnership.

Costs

For a 90-minute session, I charge €150

Treatment Methods - The Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy

Introduction

The Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy was developed by the Norwegian psychologist and physiotherapist Gerda Boyesen, in the mid-50s. This scientifically recognized, gentle, depth-psychology based method, allows access to deeper layers of the personality, in particular to early injuries from the preverbal development time. We gain access to our very own life sources of inner peace, centeredness, joy, spirituality and erotic presence about the healing relationship to our own bodies. We learn again to understand the language of the soul. In addition to direct bodywork emotions, current conflicts, dreams, free ideas are rising. They are processed concomitantly

What does this therapy

Biodynamics means: "the movement of life" This refers to the natural, spontaneous flow of life energy that moves us and makes us feel alive. The aim of Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy is the restoration of the natural circulation of life energy, - libido circulation, called. When working with the contracted muscles and the jammed tissue, repressed emotions spontaneously occur. The body relaxes and the life energy flows freely again. This leads to a higher self-regulation and self-healing. Feelings of well-being, serenity, satisfaction and positive life voltage are arising.

The Biodynamic philosophy

The Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy has basically an inviting, accepting, encouraging attitude. Much emphasis is placed on the attentive, not evaluative, and not analyzing attitude of the therapist.

This is important so that the psyche of the client can open up and unfold. The own essence can be rediscovered, and the person can reestablish a natural self-regulation, connected to the basic feeling of the independent wellbeing.

The neurovegetative digestion; Psycho peristalsis

A major contribution of the work Gerda Boyesen's for psychology and medicine is the discovery, that in the intestinal tract not only food, but also nervous tension and their hormonal remainders, are digested. The peristaltic motion of the intestine occurs; the fluid-filled intestinal walls produce bowel sounds, which Gerda Boyesen called "Psycho peristalsis". This neurovegetative digestion can be stimulated by touch, massage and relaxation. Peristaltic digestive sounds are perceptible with a stethoscope placed on the abdomen of the client. The purification of the body and the positive impact on the nervous system may therefore be encouraged at all body layers.

The enteric nervous system

Latest research of Neurogastroenterology recently results in the close connection between Visceral Nervous System and Central Nervous System. It was confirmed, that in the digestive tract, more than 100 million nerve cells are active and that this is like a "second brain", in the belly.

Biodynamic Massage

The pathologically tight, congested over acidified and undigested stress-waste products means are cleaned at all layers of the body such as bone, muscle, connective tissue and skin. The body can find back in its natural muscle tension. Through relaxation and contact the jammed body segments, the blocked life energy, is brought back into the natural flow. The tissue is cleaned of the neuro-vegetative, biochemical deposits.

To listen to the psychoperistaltic digestive sounds, a stethoscope is placed on the abdomen of the patient. A direct bio feedback on the effectiveness of the treatment is constantly given. Different forms of treatment resulting from different intention with which the treatment is given. Massages can be given with a revitalizing, harmonizing, provocative, sedative, distributing, or affirmative intention. During this process, unprocessed conflicts and repressed emotions are arising to consciousness. Now old conflicts can be worked up and be digested. Systematic, the body is cleansed of the embodied neurosis.

The result is an interaction between experience and understanding, outer knowledge and inner awareness.

Biodynamic Psychotherapy

The core of the Biodynamic Psychotherapy is the vegetotherapy, created by Wilhelm Reich, which was further developed in Biodynamic Psychology. This is a trance induced psychodynamic work that can give access to old conflict memories, in the state of deep relaxation. The psychological material can be worked on by a wide range of depth psychology methods.

The life energy is reintegrated on an emotional, mental and physical level. The healthy breathing wave is released and the healthy posture restores.

The body-soul-spirit unit heals. The life energy circulates.

Trauma Therapy-(EMDR®)

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (short EMDR®, (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is a technology developed by Francine Shapiro in the US. lt is a therapy for traumatized people. The central element of this approach is the structured treatment of traumatic experiences, These are systematically processed by the patient through activating eye movements, alternately right and left. This triggers a bipolar stimulation of the right and left hemisphere of the brain. The patient visualizes a particular phase of a traumatic experience while the therapist, at the same time, stimulates a rhythmical eye movement.

This often causes that the shock, that is frozen in different parts of the brain, starts to defreeze and suppressed feeling ore images might turn up. Fear is reduced, split feelings can be integrated. The life energy can flow freely again. The neurological effects of the bilateral stimulation is not finally resolved, but has proven in extensive studies to be useful. In the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, EMDR® is recognized as a scientific method internationally.

Bioenergetics Analysis

The bioenergetics analysis has arisen from the depth psychology of Freud and the Reichian character analytic vegetotherapy and was designed by Alexander Lowen (1910 - 2008), a pupil of Reich together with John Pierrakos (1921 - 2001) based in the US.

Structural model Wilhelm Reich

When the flow of energy is blocked by solidified, contracted muscles, we speak of armor. In the West, it was Wilhelm Reich who developed the first a system of body segments, physical holding patterns in which energy and psychodynamic life experiences, traumas, blocked feelings are embodied. Reich called the muscular hardening armor and structured them segmental: Each segment represents a body portion with energy blockages of our life energy. The muscle tightness is going along with the blocked breath, restricts the freedom of movement, and reduces feelings and their expression. It is the embodiment of early defense mechanisms against pain in case of loss, rejection, punishment and shame. They also block the anger of the developing organism, which on the unsatisfied response of basic needs would have to be expressed, and which is usually the real wound.

Bioenergetics exercises move the muscle armor by physical stress positions under tension. As the tension dissolves, increasingly involuntary vibrations arising which loosen and clean the hardened muscles. For all body segments, Alexander Lowen and John Pirakos have developed physical exercises that relieve emotional expression and suppressed life issues retained in the segment. They can then be processed with the usual depth psychological methods now.

The segmental armor can be seen as parts of the embodied defense. Reich divided the body into seven segments:

  • Eye Segment: eyes, eyebrows, forehead
  • Mouth Segment: mouth and chin
  • Neck Segment: neck, throat, shoulders and upper chest area
  • Chest Segment: upper chest, arms, hands, heart, lungs, and upper back
  • Diaphragmatic segment: lower chest area, middle back, diaphragm and solar plexus
  • Abdominal segment: loins, stomach, intestines,
  • Back Segment: buttocks, anus, genitals, ovaries, uterus and legs

All body segments are interconnected and interrelated in different interactions.

Family Constellations

Refers to a process in which deputy people represent family members of a client. They are located to represent certain patterns within that family system. One explanation lies within the idea of morphic resonance. The origins of the process lie in the psychodrama, which the Austrian doctor Jacob Moreno created, as well as in the work of Virginia Satir and Bert Hellinger.

The client chooses a representative, who stands for a family member in the spatial reference. Using the intuitive positioning of deputies, the client is projecting in a sense an inner image outwards into space. Also, due to the assumed positions of the respective alternates, may emotions or thoughts in these arise, which are often a mirror image of represented persons, from the family system of the client. In an amazing way, dysfunctional family dynamics, or unconscious tasks can be disclosed, as well as delegation, or an individual dynamic, that was unconsciously developed out of loyalty to the family.

The method claims, that present-day problems and difficulties may be influenced by traumas, suffered in previous generations of the family, even if those affected now, are unaware of the original event in the past. Hellinger referrers to the relation between present and past problems that are not caused by direct personal experience as Systemic Entanglements, said to occur when unresolved trauma has afflicted a family through an event such as murder, suicide, death of a mother in childbirth, early death of a parent or sibling, war, natural disaster, emigration, or abuse.

Since, it is not possible during the individual therapy due to lack of deputies, to do conventional constellation work, can work with pads.

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