Besides the professional training program NICE designed a two year program for individuals who guide others in their process of consciousness-raising and who would like to enrich their therapy practice with a body-centred approach. It also offers the opportunity to participate from a need for working on your own process. The more solid and happier you stand in your own life, the more beautifully this will resound in your work.

The training program requires psychological insight and ability for self-reflection, alongside a level of intellect and work at higher educational level.

Core Energetics departs from the idea that all psychological and emotional disorders leave an imprint in the body in the form of muscle tensions and chronic muscle contractions. This makes Core Energetics into a body-oriented psychotherapeutic approach. The body forms the key to the opening up and processing of the origins of these blockades. This is done by means of exercises in which the body is involved, by breathing techniques and by the effort of interaction at an individual and/or group level. Core means essence and Energetics is related to energy. This expresses what this method is aimed at: releasing the energy from the core again and again. Or stated differently: releasing vital energy. Core Energetics works from the belief that every core is creative, spiritual and healthy. From that starting point Core Energetics works on these blockades and the armour that has been developed by early or later disorders, which express themselves in a blockade. Being blockaded leads to alienation, loss of contact with the grounding, a lower self-esteem and self-consciousness. It inhibits vitality and joy and the ability to love. Alongside this, every human being reflectively protects the heart against pain by a layer of negative emotions (lower self) and a layer of social conformations (mask) and thus creates an armour against new pain again and again.

In Core Energetics the present and the past play an equally important role. In the present it is mainly about our own responsibility and an understanding of the ways in which we constantly keep nourishing these patterns from being unconscious. The Core Energetics process is a transformative way of working at all levels of our lives, including the spiritual level. The theory is based upon the readings of Eva Pierrakos. John Pierrakos developed the working practice.

“Our life force has two aspects: energy and consciousness.
These are the foundation of our existence.
Energy is the very stuff of which we are made
Consciousness shapes and directs the energy that flows within us’. [John Pierrakos]

Curriculum for the training program

This two-year training program is made up of eight training weekends (modules) a year. The modules last from friday afternoon till sunday afternoon.

The program is varied. Body work forms an important part and consists of exercises for breathing, grounding, charging, discharging, making contact and giving expression. In short: everything you can imagine having to do with voice and movement. In addition to a theoretical knowledge base we offer sessions for sharing your feelings, giving and receiving feedback, and moments of contemplation and reflection. There is also room for working in the group on an individual basis.

The location of the trainings are Cordium, Centrum voor Groei en Ontwikkeling (www.cordium.nl) and De Zevenhof te Havelte (www.dezevenhofhavelte.nl).

Year 1

The first year is a process oriented one, in which you, the group and your place in the group are the primary points of focus.

The main themes are:
Module 1 : Getting to know each other, making contact and touching
Module 2 : Breathing and grounding
Module 3 : Images and repeat patterns
Module 4 : Voice and expression
Module 5 : Identity and relations
Module 6 : Will and aggression
Module 7 : Group dynamics and family
Module 8 : Intimacy and sexuality.

You will work on specific homework assignments to explore your own patterns.

Year 2

The second year will focus on methodology and the theory on the various character structures: Watching bodies (the so-called ‘body reading’), by which you investigate your observations and your judgements and learning to work with the various character structures and the transfer and counter transfer that you will encounter with each structure.

In pairs you alternately work in therapist/client roles. In both roles you will learn and receive supervision on your therapeutic work. This year’s program: In the first two weekends we pay attention to the theory and techniques of grounding, breathing, charging, discharging and containment. The five following weekends are devoted to an in depth study of the five character structures: schizoid, oral, masochistic, psychopathic and rigid. In the last weekend we pay attention to the integration of the acquired knowledge and skills in the daily practice of your work and life.

Start and enrolment

The next training program will start in September 2013, on condition of sufficient applications to form a group. You can apply by sending in the enrolment form. Before final enrolment we will invite you to an intake interview.