The use of breathing in psychotherapy

Abstract

Breathing is a bridge between the body and the psyche, which means that it effects our thinking and feeling processes. In psychotherapy we can use it as a diagnostic tool, because every breathing phase has its own psychological meaning. Attunement on the client’s breathing can also enable us to understand better, what the client is experiencing. Breathing as a therapeutic technique can be used for managing anxious or depressive symptoms or for redirecting the client’s attention. Furthermore, proper breathing releases emotional blockages held within the body and therefore enhances awareness of the client’s unconscious material. Alternate nostril breathing activates both hemispheres in the brain and can so improve different disorders like depression. By depression also techniques of hyperventilation can help. But it is important that all breathing exercises are followed by a verbal processing of the experience with the psychotherapist and by an integration of this material in daily life. Of course these techniques are not appropriate for all clients.