Structural body therapy

Domain IV · Body-oriented psychotherapy · Herbert Grassmann · Nuremberg

What it is

"Structural body therapy (Germany)" corresponds to SKT Strukturelle Körpertherapie®, founded by the German body psychotherapist Herbert Grassmann (trained in Structural Integration with the Guild for Structural Integration in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a certified Hakomi practitioner, and…

Format

• Phase B: The ten-session series. Each session has structural, functional and psychobiological goals and is adapted to the person. Themes, paraphrased from the SARSI version:
• Session 1, Comprehensive breathing: breath in relation to the shoulder girdle, pelvic girdle, ribs and arms.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• .]
• Format. Individual sessions. The client lies, sits, stands and walks on and around a treatment table, alternating with seated dialogue. Session length is not given in the sources. Rolf-tradition practice commonly uses 60–90 minutes. Intervals run from several weeks up to about a month: denser tissue tends to need shorter intervals, softer tissue longer ones, and the client's emotional response also sets the pace.…
• Phase A: Assessment and agreement (before session 1, repeated briefly at each session). Goals: take the history, current complaints, resources, daily habits and goals; run a visual analysis ("bodyreading"); palpate standing, sitting and lying; screen for contraindications; agree goals and limits. Add a trauma and dissociation screen and agree the touch contract. Move on when goals are agreed, contraindications are…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Talking used to avoid feeling. Bring it back to sensation.
• Explaining too much in place of experiencing. Keep it short.
• Perfectionist self-correction. Emphasise noticing over fixing.
• Leading questions; the client searching for the "right" answer.
• A client who leaves still dazed. Extend the session or arrange a check-in.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.