Techniques for Dealing with Prenatal and Perinatal Issues in Therapy: A Bodymind Perspective

Case studies are given which describe how a birth/prenatal paradigm is used
to treat adult psychological disturbance. The authors discuss diagnostic cues for discriminating prenatal from
perinatal issues. Several treatment techniques are explored: verbal psychotherapy, breathwork, a prenatal
therapy procedure done in warm water, and movement therapy. A growing body of evidence, both experimental
and clinical, has shown that many psychological problems can be traced back to prenatal and perinatal events
(cf., Grof, 1976; Janov, 1983). The approach to therapy we are evolving at our Institute in Colorado is based on
clinical experiences over the years in which clients reported phenomena that seemed clearly related to birth and
prenatal experiences. At first we resisted this interpretation because we were still immersed in the point of view
instilled by classical training in clinical psychology: personality development starts at the breast