Philosophy
The Academy for Body and Integrative Psychotherapy (ABIP) was founded with the vision of developing a comprehensive and integrative approach to psychotherapy. The Academy’s philosophy follows the principles of integrative psychotherapy, namely the belief that therapeutic modalities can interact — both theoretically and practically.
ABIP adopts the assimilative model of integration, where body psychotherapy is the primary therapeutic approach. Alongside it, other methods are studied and integrated to enrich and broaden the scope of therapeutic possibilities. The Academy holds the fundamental belief that working with the body is profoundly valuable and effective and that its full potential unfolds when embedded within psychoanalytic, systemic, and existential contexts.
To illustrate its concept, ABIP uses the metaphor of a tree. The tree symbolises the unity and interconnectedness of the three main dimensions of human life that shape the client’s internal world—past, present, and future.
The trunk symbolises the Present
The trunk connects the roots and the branches. It represents the individual’s current state and their interaction with the environment. At this level, training focuses on the study and application of body psychotherapy through a range of body-oriented modalities. It explores how psychological experiences and conflicts manifest in the body, and how bodily interventions can lead to shifts in a person’s internal world.
Trainees are taught how to access the unconscious and interpret psychological material through body-centred therapeutic experiences. Body psychotherapy forms the core of the ABIP training, particularly in the first two years. During this phase, trainees are also introduced to the foundations of psychoanalysis, psychodrama theory and its use in both individual and group settings, as well as transactional analysis—especially the ego states of Child, Adult, and Parent—which are integrated with body psychotherapy in a dedicated module in the fourth year.
Approaches:
- Neo-Reichian Analytical Psychotherapy
- Trauma Work
- Breathwork
- Body-Oriented Psychotherapy
- Psychoanalysis
- Psychodrama
- Transactional Analysis
The roots represent the Past
The roots are the foundation that nourishes and sustains the tree. They symbolise ancestral and family relationships before and after birth, transgenerational trauma, inherited repetitive patterns, and deep unconscious intrapsychic conflicts rooted in the family system.
Approaches:
- Systemic Therapy
- Transgenerational Therapy
The branches represent the Future
The branches and leaves stretch towards the sky, symbolising growth and development. This reflects the philosophy of logotherapy and existential psychotherapy. Logotherapy views the human being as a unity of body, psyche, and spirit. The spirit is the dimension that can never become ill—though the path to it can be blocked. Through the indomitable strength of the spirit, a person can rise above the physical and psychological realms—this is referred to as the noopsyche-antagonism.
Approaches:
- Existential and Logotherapy
- Philosophy, Religion, and Psychotherapy