Detailed Program
Pre-Conference Workshops
| Time | Place | What |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 13:00 | Pre-Conference Workshops |
3 intimate, full-day workshops offer focused, experiential learning before the main conference.
Pre-Conference Workshops – Part 1: • Body Presence in an Age of Acceleration with Ana Silvia Paula • The Living Tradition: Beyond Techniques with Heiner Steckel • Being with You without Losing Me with Susan Kanor & Thomas Heinrich Separate registration required. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants. A 4th workshop is in preparation. |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Lunch Break | Enjoy a buffet lunch at the hotel restaurant. Lunch is included with your Conference Pass. |
| 15:00 – 18:00 | Pre-Conference Workshops |
3 intimate, full-day workshops offer focused, experiential learning before the main conference.
Pre-Conference Workshops – Part 2: • Body Presence in an Age of Acceleration with Ana Silvia Paula • The Living Tradition: Beyond Techniques with Heiner Steckel • Being with You without Losing Me with Susan Kanor & Thomas Heinrich Separate registration required. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants. A 4th workshop is in preparation. |
Main Conference Opening
| Time | Place | What |
|---|---|---|
| 19:30 – 21:00 | Welcome Reception | An informal evening to arrive, settle in, and greet old and new friends over finger food and refreshing drinks. |
June 17 (Thursday)
| Time | Place | What |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 – 08:15 | Special Morning Beach Walk & Movement Session | Meet the facilitator in the lobby at 07:00 for a walk to the beach and an energizing movement session. |
| 07:30 – 08:15 | Movement Classes | 3 simultaneous classes incorporating classic bioenergetic exercises, breathing techniques, and mindful movement. |
| 09:30 – 13:00 | Plenary Room |
Vibrantly Connected to our Roots: The Foundations of Bioenergetic Analysis
Keynote Speakers: Heiner Steckel, Liane Zink & Louise Fréchette
Moderator: Patrizia Moselli
Colleagues from the first generation after Alexander Lowen who helped build, and continue to actively shape, the Bioenergetic community will invite us to a discussion on core concepts.
Their contribution will help ground us in the foundations of our tradition, inviting us to return to the essential principles that have shaped Bioenergetic Analysis and to reflect on what remains alive and meaningful in them today. Where do our roots continue to nourish us? And what do they ask us to carry forward? |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Lunch Break | Enjoy a buffet lunch at the hotel restaurant. Lunch is included with your Conference Pass. |
| 15:00 – 16:30 | Afternoon Workshops | 9 parallel workshops led by IIBA members and global colleagues. |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Afternoon Workshops | 9 parallel workshops led by IIBA members and global colleagues. |
June 18 (Friday)
| Time | Place | What |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 – 08:15 | Special Morning Beach Walk & Movement Session | Meet the facilitator in the lobby at 07:00 for a walk to the beach and an energizing movement session. |
| 07:30 – 08:15 | Movement Classes | 3 simultaneous classes incorporating classic bioenergetic exercises, breathing techniques, and mindful movement. |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Plenary Room |
Connections: Body, Attachment and Early Trauma
We turn toward new dialogues around early trauma, attachment, and what self-attachment and co-regulation means in body-oriented work.
Keynote: Self Attachment, Differentiation, and Good Enough Parenting: Insights from Parent–Baby Therapy
Keynote Presenter: Thomas Harms
With over 30 years of clinical experience in parent–baby therapy, Thomas Harms will explore how early relationships shape emotional regulation, trauma integration, and embodied attachment.
His keynote highlights the power of good-enough co-regulation - the way caregivers help babies calm themselves and regain balance. The presentation also highlights how these early dynamics provide essential clues for therapeutic work with adults who carry preverbal trauma. Short video examples from his practice will bring these insights to life. |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Break | |
| 11:00 – 13:00 | Plenary Room |
Panel: Early Trauma Across the Life Span - Preventive and Retrospective Clinical Aspects
Panelists: Avigail Shahar, Guy Tonella & Perrison Dantas discussing with Thomas Harms
Moderator: Ada Lentini
The panelists will give short introductions reporting from their fields of work with early traumatized patients, or with babies/children and their parents, sharing insights and points of discussion with the guest-speaker.
Thomas Harms will report on his pioneering work bringing Emotional First Aid into birth clinics and neonatal units and how immediate, body-based support can help after a traumatic beginning. The discussion will focus on early intervention in the sense of prevention and as well on retrospective therapeutic work with early traumatized patients. |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Lunch Break | Enjoy a buffet lunch at the hotel restaurant. Lunch is included with your Conference Pass. |
| 15:00 – 16:30 | Afternoon Workshops | 9 parallel workshops led by IIBA members and global colleagues. |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Afternoon Workshops | 9 parallel workshops led by IIBA members and global colleagues. |
Evening Program
Friday evening will be a chance to slow down, come together, and simply enjoy each other’s company in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. We are currently shaping the program, with ideas ranging from sharing tales, legends, and jokes to singing, music, and other spontaneous contributions.
Whatever the final form takes, the evening will be about connection, creativity, music and the joy of being together.
We’re still working on the plan and look forward to surprising you!
Whatever the final form takes, the evening will be about connection, creativity, music and the joy of being together.
We’re still working on the plan and look forward to surprising you!
June 19 (Saturday)
| Time | Place | What |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 – 08:15 | Special Morning Beach Walk & Movement Session | Meet the facilitator in the lobby at 07:00 for a walk to the beach and an energizing movement session. |
| 07:30 – 08:15 | Movement Classes | 3 simultaneous classes incorporating classic bioenergetic exercises, breathing techniques, and mindful movement. |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Plenary Room |
Cultural & Clinical Perspectives for Today: Creating the Future of Bioenergetic Analysis Together
World Café, Interactive Groups
Introduction: Elisa Gouvêa, Homayoun Shahri & Gabriele Putelli
We invite you into a collective process of open-minded reflection: The essential question is not only how we practice Bioenergetic Analysis, but what kind of setting and of world we are practicing in; to honor our strong somatic foundations while exploring new ways our lineage can respond to an ever-changing world.
|
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Break | |
| 11:00 – 13:00 | Experiential Breakout Tracks |
Dive into one of 3 immersive, group settings focused on reflection, dialogue, discussion, movement, or creative expression.
All 3 tracks share a unified thematic thread: exploring the past, present, and future of Bioenergetic Analysis across cultures. You are invited to select the medium that feels most resonant for your learning process: Track 1: The World Café
Guided by Gabriel Puopolo & Laurie Ure
A structured, spacious dialogue for thoughtful reflection.
Format: Small-group conversational rounds guided by core thematic questions. The Outcome: The collective insights, wisdom, and visions emerging from this dialogue will be gathered, documented, and shared with the global IIBA membership after the conference. Track 2: Finding Your Own Movement and Voice
Guided by Alessandro Cataldi, Corinna Bartling & Manuela Tremante
Format: A somatic exploration utilizing grounding, breath, vocalization, and authentic movement to translate clinical themes into felt experience.
The Outcome: Participants will have the opportunity to synthesize their shared movement and voice work into a special collaborative presentation for our evening event. Track 3: Interactive Theater & Improvisation
Guided by Dante Moretti, Garet Bedrosian and Vincentia Schroeter
Format: A play-focused, creative workshop exploring cultural nuances, body language, and story through spontaneous theatrical improvisation.
The Outcome: A playful sketch depicting the journey of Bioenergetic Analysis across cultures will be created and performed during our evening event. Practical Registration Guidance: Supporting Your Saturday Experience
To ensure every participant feels welcomed, comfortable, and held in a well-supported environment, track selection for our Saturday morning breakout sessions will open closer to the conference date. |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Lunch Break | Enjoy a buffet lunch at the hotel restaurant. Lunch is included with your Conference Pass. |
| 15:00 – 16:30 | Afternoon Workshops | 9 parallel workshops led by IIBA members and global colleagues. |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Afternoon Workshops | 9 parallel workshops led by IIBA members and global colleagues. |
| 20:00 – 24:00 | Outdoor Swimming Pool |
Celebration, Dinner & Dancing
It goes without saying that we will dance!
It’s time to come together, celebrate, and enjoy the moment. Join us for dinner, good company, music, and dancing as we celebrate 70 years of our shared journey and the wonderful community we have built together along the way. |
June 20 (Sunday)
| Time | Place | What |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Outdoor (grassy lawn or pool area, weather permitting) |
Many Perspectives, One Community
We will pause and create space to contemplate what we have heard, experienced, questioned, and discovered together.
We connect the different threads of the conference and reflect on what they may mean for the future of our global community. Because an inclusive and diverse conference is not simply one in which many voices are present. It is one in which those voices have the opportunity to change the conversation. We return to our roots, encounter new knowledge, question what we thought we knew and from there, perhaps, find new ways to grow. After all, the strongest wings grow from deep roots. |
