6 Components to Healing Trauma with Core Energetics

Why Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough and the Two Pieces of Trauma

There are two components of trauma. 

First, there is a piece of the traumatic memory that lives in your brain. It’s what we call the “cognitive” piece of the trauma.

But there is a much less often addressed piece. It’s called the “energetic” piece.  

Unlike the cognitive piece, which stores pieces of the traumatic memory in your brain…

Energetic trauma lives in your body.

Most often, people attempt to heal their trauma by doing “talk therapy.” Essentially, they talk about their trauma with a therapist.

And this may help address a lot of their cognitive related trauma…

But Core Energetics is a complete approach to healing from trauma. 

Core Energetics combines talk therapy and somatic therapy to help release stuck trauma. 

Now that you understand where talk therapy falls short… in addition to the two pieces of trauma…

Let’s talk about what Core Energetics is…

What is Core Energetics? 

When you practice Core Energetics, you release stuck energy blocks that are held in the body from previous traumas. 

But before we get into what a session would even look like… and how you could benefit from getting a session…

We need to first start with a little background on what Core Energetics is.
Core Energetics is rooted in body-based psychotherapy or somatic therapy… 

And it was developed by John C Pierrakos, MD, co-founder of Bioenergetic Analysis with Alexander Lowen. 

Core is an acronym for “Center Of Right Energy.”

Core Energetics works to unblock energies that keep you from connecting to our CORE selves. 

To live from your true Core, you need to:

1) Find our false self and reveal the mask we hide behind. And…

2) Express our woundedness by feeling and expressing all our feelings including fear, hate, and pain.

For example…

Let’s say someone violated you in the past. 

It could be physical, sexual, emotional, or something else entirely. 

When you do Core Energetics, I help you pinpoint where the trauma is in your body, then take action to release it.

Here’s What You Can Expect In A Core Energetics Session

Every session will be slightly different based on each client’s needs.

In this blog, I’ll share what you could expect if you took a Core Energetics session. 

In a Core Energetics session, we will safely recreate the situation you were in when the trauma occurred. This doesn’t mean you’ll walk away re-traumatized… but rather we will safely recreate the energetic situation where the trauma occurred so you can regain the sense of control you probably lost. 

Here are the six key components you can expect to experience in a Core Energetics Session:

1) Reflection

Many clients don’t know exactly how to navigate their emotions.

Sometimes it takes multiple sessions to reach the talk therapy phase of Core Energetics. And that’s totally ok. Everyone heals at their own pace. 

Together, we will uncover what the trauma looks like in your mind before you release it in your body.  

2) Body Reading

Then, If you can access the traumatic memory I’ll ask you to discuss the trauma-causing event in great detail.

At this point, I will monitor your body while you speak.

Is your breath short, and choppy? Are you barely breathing at all? Is your abdominal area visibly constricted?

I pay very close attention to your breathing to determine how you are holding your energy. 

I will be paying close attention to your eye movement, to see if you are having a hard time staying present or staying connected to yourself.

Are they darting quickly? Are you blinking a thousand times a minute?

If so, this means you’re struggling to hold the energy that’s moving in your body… and unconsciously trying to control or redirect it so you feel more in control.

When you speak through your experience, you also activate your body centers where you’re holding the trauma energy… rather than attempt to control it. 

When your body is highly activated, I will ask you to stand. 

Start by taking a couple or deep breaths.

From here begin to move the energy using one of several techniques. These techniques will help you release the energy stored in your body from the traumatic experience. 

It’s here, in the safety of the space/office we have created that you get to do what you couldn’t do in the traumatic moment:

3) Take Action Against the Perpetrator

In this part of the session, you will *physically* meet the traumatic moment if you feel ready for it.

For example, if you were betrayed, we may set up a scene where you take physical action against the “perpetrator.” I put “perpetrator” in quotes because we are making them up from memory. There is no real perpetrator in the room.

Specifically, I help invite the perpetrator’s energy into the room.

If this sounds terrifying, please understand it happens in a completely safe and controlled environment. 

You will ALWAYS have control over the session.

You never have to do anything you don’t want to. I’m a facilitator of your unique healing process… so I will never push you to do something you don’t want to do.

I’m always “on your side.”

Ok, now that you understand I am here for your healing, let’s continue with the session scenario…

One of the ways we take action against the perpetrator is by moving the energy.

You’ll move this energy by taking action. How does this look? Well, you might hit a pillow with a bat, your hands, or a tennis racket. 

As we continue through the session, I will pay close attention to your body. 

There will be a point when something will shift. Your body will begin to vibrate, you might tense up, or your muscles contract. 

It’s at this point that we slow down. 

We create space for the emotions to arise. 

Usually this results in tears, anger, or a deep desire to run away.

As you feel these emotions, you will begin to release the years of energy and trauma held in your body.

But aggression might not be the key to releasing trauma for you in the Core Energetics sessions.

If reliving the traumatic experience doesn’t create an aggressive and confrontational response…

The traumatic event may bring about sorrow or sadness.

When the memory brings up sadness, I simply hold space for you to step fully into your memory. 

No foam cube. No baseball bat. 

I just gently hold space to facilitate your healing.

4) Stress Positions

If beating a foam cube with a baseball bat doesn’t yield results…

We move into doing “stress positions.”

Stress positions are designed for you to put pressure on specific parts of your body to help release energy. 

For example…

One of the stress positions is the “roller.” 

In the exercise, I ask you to roll your body on the foam roller.

This helps you move stuck energy that’s caught in your body, which helps you release the energy of trauma. 

Because you’re not standing on the ground and need to contract your muscles to stay on the roller, your muscles will quickly fatigue.  

And when you get tired, buried pieces of traumatic memory can begin to surface and release.

Have you ever been so exhausted all you could do was cry? Stress positions yield similar results.

5) Grounding Techniques

Another aspect of core energetics is grounding techniques. 

There are several. 

For example, you could…

• stand on a golf ball
• stand on a broom handle
• tighten your stomach
• tighten on your butt muscles
• tighten your entire body
• tighten your whole body, then relax. Then repeat as many times as you need. 

When you become more grounded, you feel more connected to the energy of the earth. 

And you don’t have to wait for a Core Energetics session to get grounded. Here’s something you can do right now…

Go outside and walk around barefoot.

But I ask you one thing. Don’t do it mindlessly. 

Pay attention to how the earth feels on your feet.  

When you bring your awareness to your connection to the earth, you will feel more grounded.

6) Character Structures

The final aspect of Core Energetics I’m sharing today is “character structures.” 

Character structures are the foundations of our personality. They begin developing in our mother’s womb and become defined around the age of seven. 

Most psychologists agree there are five character structures.  

They are Schizoid, Oral, Masochist, Psychopath, and Rigid structures.

Those may sound a little scary and confusing, but please don’t worry. These are simply archetypes of energetic blocks that need to be worked through. And if you have any questions about any of the structures… or you are wondering which one you are… feel free to reach out.

In the sessions, we will identify your dominant character structure and begin to unpack the trauma using that character trait as our guide. 

Core Energetics is rooted in body-based psychotherapy or somatic therapy. 

When you practice Core Energetics, you release stuck energy blocks that are held in the body from previous traumas. 

In the Core Energetics sessions, I guide you by…

• Reflecting with you to help you navigate your emotions
• Help you confront whatever it was that you were not able to do as a child.
• Using key techniques to help you relax and release trauma from your body, mind, and emotions in a gentle way.
• Teaching you techniques to ground your energy and connect it to the energy of the earth
• And address character structures that could be holding you back from releasing trauma

Do You Need Help Healing From Trauma?

Do you suffer from…

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Addiction
• Trauma
• relationship issues
• Lostness
• Or Confusion…

And you’re interested to learn how Core Energetics could release unwanted (and unneeded) pain, guilt, or suffering?

If so, Book a 30-minute Core Energetics consultation with me here.

On the call, I’ll share with you a little more about Core Energetics and how it can help you release years of unwanted trauma so you can feel calm, grounded, and at peace in your life.  

Also, it’ll be a great chance for us to determine if we’d be a good fit for working together. 

Nicolai Grosell
Certified Core Energetics Practitioner