Integrating Breathwork into Psychotherapy

As a clinical psychologist who has been integrating breathwork into psychotherapy sessions since 1976, I have encountered many and varied lessons along the way. I will share in this session the breadth and scope of: ~ what breathwork can contribute to what types of clients under what types of circumstances, ~ the benefits and contraindications of slower than normal and faster than normal breathing, ~ the research delineating the neurological effects of each breathing technique, ~ the main principles which I have derived for having breathwork in psychotherapy be safe, engaging and effective beyond what a cognitive approach alone can achieve. As the co-director of the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance, I will also discuss the ethics of working with non-ordinary states of consciousness in psychotherapy.