One of the things that I have noticed over the years of being a therapist is that so many people are unaware of their own level of trauma. Yes some clients are painfully aware of their abusive or violent upbringing, but those who have had a lot of emotional neglect are often mystified as to why they feel so awful so much of the time. Emotional neglect forms a different type of trauma and evokes feelings of helplessness, feeling lost, low energy, and deep seated feelings of unworthiness. As authors of “A General Theory of Love” assert, it takes a child to be fully known and seen by another for them to know themselves.

Unseen children who have a lack of emotional presence often become “fuzzy people” as adults. Many of these clients are totally disassociated from their bodies, and they live in their head, or as Alexander Lowen said are “disenchanted spirits”. It’s hard to describe in words the amount of positive changes that clients make as they become more embodied; they become more sure of themselves, they feel safer in the world, and they move toward relationships and their life (instead of away), they become more vital and vibrant.. in other words, they start to live! The road to more fulfilment is through embodiment.