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Freudiger Moment in der Natur

Body Psychotherapy

Working with the nervous system directly — where trauma, stress, and relational patterns are actually stored. Not just talking about experience, but transforming it.

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✓ NARM · SE · Hakomi · Core Energetics✓ Vetted Practitioners✓ Online Sessions Worldwide

What Is Body Psychotherapy?

Body psychotherapy is not a single method but a family of approaches that share a common conviction: psychological experience lives in the body. Emotion, memory, trauma, and relational patterns are not stored only in the mind — they are encoded in the nervous system, the musculature, the breath. Approaches that work only with language can develop insight, narrative, and understanding. What they often cannot reach is the felt experience that precedes language — the body's knowing.

The approaches Kaufmann Health specialises in — NARM, Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, Core Energetics — are all body psychotherapy traditions with decades of clinical development, their own training institutes, and growing research support. They differ in their theoretical emphasis and technical approach. What they share is working with the whole person: body and mind together, sensation and meaning in conversation.

Direct & Effective

Change is experienced in the body and anchored in the nervous system — not just understood.

Gentle & Paced

Working in small steps. Always within the window of what you can integrate.

Clinically Grounded

Decades of clinical development. Methods with training institutes, supervision, and research.

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The Four Modalities

Kaufmann Health specialises exclusively in body psychotherapy. The four approaches below each have their own lineage, emphasis, and technical approach — and all share the conviction that transformation happens when body and mind work together.

NARM

Relational & Developmental

The NeuroAffective Relational Model works with the survival strategies formed in early relationships — when needs weren't met in the ways that mattered most. NARM is present-focused, relational, and works simultaneously with identity and body.

Particularly suited for: Complex trauma, early attachment wounds, identity patterns

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Somatic Experiencing

Trauma & Nervous System

SE resolves trauma by completing the interrupted biological survival responses that get frozen in the nervous system. Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, it is one of the most rigorously evidenced body psychotherapy approaches available.

Particularly suited for: Shock trauma, PTSD, somatic symptoms, chronic anxiety

Learn about Somatic Experiencing

Hakomi

Mindfulness & Body

Hakomi uses mindful awareness as a research tool, conducting small experiments to reveal the unconscious beliefs held in the body. Developed by Ron Kurtz, it is guided by the principle of non-violence — the system shows what it is ready to show.

Particularly suited for: Relational patterns, self-criticism, insight that doesn't land

Learn about Hakomi

Core Energetics

Energy & Expression

Core Energetics, developed by Dr. John Pierrakos, works with character structure, body armouring, and life energy to reach the authentic core beneath the defences. Active, engaged, and integrating body, emotion, and spirit.

Particularly suited for: Character work, held emotion, desire for deep transformation

Learn about Core Energetics

Who Benefits from Body Psychotherapy?

Body psychotherapy is particularly well-suited for people who:

Have tried talk therapy and found insight doesn't translate into felt change
Are living with trauma, PTSD, or the effects of early adverse experiences
Experience chronic anxiety, stress, or nervous system dysregulation
Notice the same relational patterns repeating despite understanding them
Feel disconnected from their body or from their own experience
Want change that comes from the inside out, not just new strategies

Note: Body psychotherapy is not a replacement for medical or psychiatric treatment in acute crisis situations. It complements such treatment well and is often used alongside it.

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Body Psychotherapy Practitioners

Specialists in NARM, Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi & Core Energetics

Levent Yükcü
Levent Yükcü
NARM
OnlineVor Ort

Zu mir kommen Menschen, die erleben,dass sie plötzlich nicht mehr steuern können, wie sie reagieren, körperlich,emotional oder im Kontakt.Sie spüren,dass dabei etwas Altes aktiviert wird, das sich ihrem Zugriff entzieht,und suchen innere Stabilität

Verfügbar
Insa Verbeck
Insa Verbeck
Core Energetics
OnlineVor Ort

Zu mir kommen Menschen, die … so sind wie Du. Die viel über sich verstanden haben – über ihre Geschichte, Muster und Verletzungen – und trotzdem feststellen, dass sich in ihrem Leben wenig verändert. Dein Kopf hat deine Probleme wahrscheinlich längst analysiert, doch dein Körper reagiert weiterhin mit Angst, Anspannung, Rückzug oder tiefer Erschöpfung. Oft geht es um die Folgen von Trauma oder Bindungsverletzung, um Depression oder Angst. In der körperorientierten Psychotherapie beziehen wir deinen Körper & dein Nervensystem behutsam mit ein – dort, wo Erfahrungen gespeichert sind und Veränderung endlich möglich wird.

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Luise Hesse
Luise Hesse
Core Energetics
OnlineVor Ort

Zu mir kommen Menschen, die …das Gefühl haben, ihre Emotionen zu intensiv zu erleben und Schwierigkeiten haben, damit umzugehen. …die sich danach sehnen, besser mit sich im Kontakt sein zu können und ihre Bedürfnisse zu spüren.

Verfügbar
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Kaufmann Health connects clients with vetted body psychotherapy practitioners — NARM, Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, and Core Energetics. Online sessions available worldwide.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is body psychotherapy?
Body psychotherapy is a family of therapeutic approaches that work with the body — breath, posture, sensation, movement — as a central part of the therapeutic process, not an add-on to it. The underlying premise: psychological experience doesn't happen only in the mind. Emotion, memory, relational patterns, and trauma are encoded in the nervous system, the muscles, the viscera. Approaches that only work with words and narrative often can't reach them. Body psychotherapy does.
How is body psychotherapy different from talk therapy?
Talk therapy works primarily through language — narrative, interpretation, insight, cognitive restructuring. Body psychotherapy works with the nervous system more directly: through body awareness, breath, movement, somatic sensation. Many people discover that they can understand something perfectly in their heads and still find their body reacting as if nothing has changed. Body psychotherapy bridges that gap.
How do I choose between NARM, SE, Hakomi, and Core Energetics?
The honest answer is: it often matters less which modality you choose than who you work with. A skilled practitioner in any of these approaches can be deeply helpful. That said, some rough distinctions: NARM is particularly strong for complex and developmental trauma — the kind built up over time in early relationships. SE is the go-to for shock trauma and somatic symptoms. Hakomi is excellent when relational patterns and unconscious beliefs are central. Core Energetics is suited for people ready for active, engaged body work and depth character work. Many practitioners are trained in more than one approach.
Is body psychotherapy safe?
Practiced by qualified, well-trained practitioners, yes. The approaches we list are all designed to work within the nervous system's capacity — not to overwhelm it. SE's titration principle, Hakomi's non-violence, NARM's consent-based pacing — these are not marketing language but technical commitments. All practitioners on Kaufmann Health are personally vetted.
Does body psychotherapy work online?
Yes. Body awareness, somatic tracking, nervous system regulation, and relational attunement all translate well to video sessions. What works less well online is physical touch — which is used in Core Energetics and sometimes in SE. For Hakomi and NARM, online and in-person work are generally equivalent. All you need is a quiet, private space and a reliable internet connection.
How many sessions does it take?
It depends significantly on what you're working with. Many people notice meaningful shifts within 6 to 15 sessions for specific trauma or symptom-focused work. Deeper character work or complex trauma typically takes longer — months to years. There is no predetermined end: you set the pace, the depth, and the duration. Most practitioners offer an initial consultation to discuss your situation and what a realistic arc might look like.

This page is for informational and educational purposes. Kaufmann Health is a platform connecting clients with independent practitioners — it does not itself provide therapy or medical advice. Practitioners are independently credentialed and responsible for practicing within their professional scope.