Body Oriented Therapy

A process that integrates breathwork, bodywork, core emotional release, and verbal dialogue to move through old patterns and enhance the sense of self and feeling of aliveness in the present.

Especially suitable for work with visual artists, performing artists, writers. yoga practitioners. and all others interested in personal growth and developement. emotional healing an moving toward greater vitality, joy, aliveness and creative fulfillment.

What people have to say

"Before working with Abe Wald, I had done a lot of therapy with a lot of different therapists over many years, and while some of it made me feel better, it never really got down to the root.  It took working with Abe to have me realize this.  My work with Abe and his body oriented therapy approach transcended traditional "talk therapy" and gave me access to the stuck emotions that had been running my life. The core emotional work that we did together  was not easy, or quick, but with Abe's help I was able to let those trapped feelings express themselves and be felt, which is all feelings ever want, I have come to believe.  While my childhood wounds will always be part of me and will never fully go away,they don't make the big decisions in my life anymore:  they don't choose my partners or my career or manage my money or my time.  Finally the adult in me gets to do that. 

Abe has all the requisite training and theory that any therapist needs to do good work, but he possesses something far more valuable that that:  he really really cares.  That sounds a little cliche, but I always felt like Abe genuinely cared about me and my getting better, and that made a huge difference in my healing.  I will never forget one day coming in to the office in pretty bad shape.  Abe picked this up immediately, and just gave me a big, loving, nurturing hug.  I starting crying on the spot, and he said, "They don't teach you that technique in school."  We had a powerful and transformative session that day.  That day is representative of the kind of wisdom, generosity, insightfulness, dare I say Love, that Abe brings to his work.  I would recommend Abe to anyone who is actually interested in doing the work to become a more integrated, expressive, realized person.  If you just want to talk and feel better and have someone make you feel ok about being stuck, then don't work with Abe.

My own story is indicative of the effectiveness of Abe's work.  When I first started working with Abe I was engaged to a woman who treated me like dirt, worked a job that I hated and did not even come close to using me to my potential, and was riddled with psycho-somatic illnesses related to childhood abuse.  After 3 1/2 years with Abe I was out of that relationship, out of that job, fully healthy, and fully at work towards my dream of being a professional musician.  Can't say much more than that!" --- singer songer writer

A few winters ago while walking down Broadway a flier caught my eye. It said something like “Feel Your Aliveness”. The phrase jumped out at me because I was feeling anything but alive. I just wasn’t feeling pleasure – the sort of enjoyment in just being alive that I used to feel. ALL my energy was going to my kids and my work, and I had stopped doing yoga and art, the two things that helped me feel my me. I had put on about 30 pounds, and I was feeling either nothing or hopeless. I was clenching my jaws at night.

I read on….. the flier mentioned a lot of modalities I believe to be effective. Breath work and Bioenergetics were two therapeutic methods I knew might work. I thought it was worth a call, even though I was anxious about finding a therapist through a flier, not a referral.

I have seen a lot of therapists. I have to say that for the most part they were ineffectual. The constant talking and trying to bring about realizations using “dead” material - material I already knew, epiphanies that were old long ago. I felt I had to be patient with these therapists while they spun out their theories, and act grateful, while what I really felt was bored and self-indulgent. I never felt much change.

It is different with Abe. He is incisive and challenges me during our sessions to work through stuff, not analyze it. He is very smart, and can turn on a dime in order to get at something deeper, more at the core. I never feel bored because he pushes any theme I may be working on until I land in new territory. I process what we are working on physically, either through breath work or through physical action like punching or kicking.

"Abe Wald has been a crucial part of my personal growth for the past 3 years. His extensive knowledge of the mind-body connection and the ability to create a safe space has allowed for my emotional prosperity. Abe is fantastic at using breathe work to help ground and solidify the healing journey. His incredible intuition has been key to guiding me forward, and nurturing my spiritual expansion. It’s obvious Abe has been involved in emotional healing and spiritual growth for many years. He is open, insightful, and an exceptional therapist." --- nutritional coach and natural food chef

"I had just started seeing what has turned out to be a phenomenal therapist in New York City, Abe Wald who practices a form of somatic therapy. Abe is quite different from your normal therapist. Most therapists do one thing - talk. Working with Abe, by contrast is more than talk. It's doing. What does Abe do?. He enables you to experience and thus release the pent up emotions that have been the barriers to you experiencing a more engaged, loving, lively existence.
Abe's work with me has helped me feel better on a phenomenal number of levels, not just physical. For example Abe taught me to simply take a deep breath and bring my attention to my body in the present. Now I don't get so wrapped up in compulsive thinking. I find myself being more spontaneous. I feel less stress. More and more I can just be me and be comfortable with me." --- graduate student

"Abe Wald is not a conventional therapist, He is innovative and creative in the way he explores feelings, life situations, and past events. His method enabled me to experience my emotions more intensely. I benefited greatly from the work I did with him." ---retired business owner