THE INSTITUTE OF BODY PSYCHOTHERAPY

Last updated: September 2026

The Philosophy Behind Body Psychotherapy

Reich, Lowen and Pierrakos observed that unresolved emotional experiences don’t just live in memory — they become held in the body itself, as chronic muscle tension and constrained breathing patterns they called “character armouring.”

A frightening childhood, a betrayal, a loss we never fully processed: the feeling gets locked into the body rather than moving through it. Talk therapy alone can circle around these patterns for years without shifting them, because the pattern isn’t purely cognitive — it’s physical.

Body Psychotherapy works directly with breath, movement, posture and body awareness alongside conventional counselling, so the defence pattern can be recognised, felt, and released at the level it’s actually held, not just understood intellectually.

How Body Psychotherapy Can Help You

Body Psychotherapy (somatic therapy) is a deep healing process. By working with the body-mind you are able to access old feelings and confront old sabotage patterns often held below the level of awareness, and constrained within muscle armouring.

Body Psychotherapy is ideal for anyone who wants to make a change in their life. It is a truly holistic approach and changes are deep-seated and lasting. This offers more than overcoming depression, anxiety, or relationship issues.

Body Psychotherapy increases capacity for pleasure, supporting you to feel more joy, to change, to grow, to love, to engage more fully in life and to be more energised.

Key Facts

Also known as	Somatic psychotherapy, somatic therapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, bodywork psychotherapy, body-centred psychotherapy, body-mind psychotherapy
Founded on	Core Energetics, Bioenergetics, and the work of Freud, Jung and Reich
Practitioner	Andrea Alexander
Session types	Individual, Couples, Group (Process Groups), Energy Healing
Locations	Kelvin Grove, Brisbane & Brightwater Wellness Hub, Mountain Creek, Sunshine Coast
Pricing (Brisbane)	Individual $160, Couples $200 — see full pricing
Phone	0422 883 410

Frequently Asked Questions

What is body psychotherapy?

Body psychotherapy is an integrated physical, emotional, mental and spiritual approach to wellbeing that works with the body as well as the mind, based on Core Energetics, Bioenergetics, and the work of Freud, Jung and Reich.

What is somatic psychotherapy?

Somatic psychotherapy is another name for body psychotherapy — a body-oriented approach that treats the body as a source of information about emotional experience, not just the mind.

Is body-oriented psychotherapy the same as bodywork psychotherapy?

Yes — body-oriented psychotherapy, bodywork psychotherapy, body-based psychotherapy, body-mind psychotherapy and body-centred psychotherapy are different names for closely related approaches within the same field.

What techniques are used in body psychotherapy?

Techniques include breathing exercises, focused movement, postures, mindfulness, body reading, and trauma-release exercises, combined with counselling.

Who is body psychotherapy in Brisbane with?

Andrea Alexander, owner and practitioner at The Institute of Body Psychotherapy, working from Kelvin Grove, Brisbane.

How much does body psychotherapy cost in Brisbane?

$160 for an individual session or $200 for a couples session, 55 minutes, in-person or via Zoom.

Where is The Institute of Body Psychotherapy located?

Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, and Brightwater Wellness Hub, Mountain Creek, Sunshine Coast.