Sexual Grounding Therapy is an effective form of psychological self-development rooted in experiential body-psychotherapy in a group
format. It was developed in the early 1990s by Willem Poppeliers, a Dutch clinical psychologist and body- psychotherapist, and the principal trainer. Sexual Grounding Therapy is
based on Poppeliers' pragmatic theory, and is an innovative approach to systemic, body-oriented depth psychology and sexual therapy. It
offers a missing piece to many psychotherapeutic methods, since it deals in a clear, direct and pure way with all the delicate issues around sexuality and relationships.
Sexual Grounding Therapy follows Freud in considering the primal life force to be sexual, but goes beyond his original pioneering work by charting precisely how sexual energy unfolds during a person's lifetime. In particular, it provides a framework for realising how being born into the world of one's parents relationship (known in Sexual Grounding Therapy as 'The Triangle') and cultural context can impede the natural flow of this energy. Sexual Grounding Therapy offers a way to regain healthy sexual functioning, based on a model of psychosexual development and maturation, spanning an individual's life, from birth to death.
Sexual Grounding Therapy has pioneered ways for developing participants sexual mirroring into participants, so that they have a new
experience of their sexual innocence and full support from parents, as models for male and female identity and everyday relationship. This could be seen as process to sexual reducation, like
re-learning the facts of life.
For Sexual Grounding, one of the chief tasks in life is learning to balance our masculine and feminine elements, which are inherited through being born out of the union between a father and mother: our sources of life, gender, and sexuality. Sexual Grounding Therapy helps participants to achieve freedom from inappropriate projections and life-scripts, to regulate and harmonize an inner and outer flow of sexual energy, to place sexuality within the context of relationship, and to feel supported by their parents and ancestors.
In this way, we can develop a sexual life that is realistic and concerned with passing on what has been learned. We can then begin to own, our true human birthright - being rooted in our bodies, supported in our minds, and linked in a line of human care - supported in our sexual ground. This state could be said to resemble Carl Jung's concept of the "Inner Marriage", but in Sexual Grounding Therapy the results are to be experienced much more tangibly, in the body and in one's relationships.
During the course, participants re-experience the natural progression of development-from girlhood to becoming a woman, from boyhood to becoming a man. In dynamic exercises they experience the importance of receiving supportive sexual mirroring backed by theoretical explanation from the staff team. Participants are said to acquire a «cellular» knowledge, through body experience rather than simply a theoretical understanding.
The 'level 1' consists of four modules of self-development spread over 18 – 24 months in order to allow participants time to
integrate the learnings of Willem Poppelier's revolutionary bodywork approach to sexuality.
To support integration of the material, participants are encouraged to attend support process groups in between course modules.
Participants may choose to engage any of the registered Sexual Grounding Therapists to offer these groups, which usually span two days.
find sexual authenticity and freedom
get insights into their own physical and psychological sexual problems and learn to overcome them
learn how to support the sexual development of their children
learn to acknowledge their parents as the source of their life
re-programme their basic patterns about sexuality and relationships into healthy ones
learn to regulate themselves as mature sexual beings
find deep grounding in their sexuality as the source for love, stability and happiness in life
delve deeper into relationship
seek fulfilment in a monogamous relationship
investigate the consequences of losing a parent through divorce or death
learn how to treat sexual problems of their clients in a professional manner
learn how to accompany the sexual development of children they work with
gain clarity and a sense of boundary in direct body work, which is especially helpful when working with abuse victims
be stable, grounded and self-confident in their work.
We offer the following formats, which are delivered consecutively, building on each other. If you want to find out what program is currently
running or in the planning stages, please have a look at our schedule. If you would like to initiate a program in your area and cannot find it in the schedule please contact us
or one of the therapists or trainers in your
area.
Level 1
Level 2
Subgroups
Please apply by e-mail to sexualgroundingf@gmail.com saying why you are interested in this course and what your experience in the field is. You will then be asked to fill in an application questionnaire and, due to the depth that this training requires the students to go, you may be asked to do our pre-requisite course or come to an interview, before acceptance to the full training. On acceptance you will be asked to make a deposit of €400 to confirm your place, and the balance will be due by the first day of the course.
The full training costs €3600 (€900 per module) - Full board accommodation not included. Additional costs are inter-module support subgroups (€165)
Early bird rate 3400 (€850 per module)
Courses lead in English or French with translation
Dates of next Introduction week end
Dates | Place | Leader |
Jan 27th to 29th 2023 | Lyon | Véronique Vachet |
Dates | |
March, 25th to 31st 2023 | Mas du figuier (Provence) |
June, 17th to 23rd 2023 | Les Champs Melisey (Bourgogne) |
Sept, 29th to Oct 5th 2023 | Domaine les Fougères (Provence) |
Jan, 27th to Feb, 2nd 2024 | Espace Rivoire (Ain) |
Dates | |
April, 20th to 26th 2024 | Domaine des Eveils (Bresse) |
June, 22th to 28th 2024 | Les Champs Melisey (Bourgogne) |
Oct, 19th to 25th 2024 | Mas du figuier (Provence) |
Jan, 18th to 24th 2025 | Espace Rivoire (Ain) |
Any information, please contact : sgt.admifrance@gmail.com
International website : www.sexualgrounding.com
Sexual Grounding Therapy® not only gives us a deep understanding of ourselves within our parental triangle but enriches our understanding by connecting us to our
ancestoral lines. This is a deeply satisfying and, most of all, highly empowering connection for every human being.