Reclaiming 'Rebirthing'

Rebirth of a Notion

By Elaine Zablocki
WebMD Feature

Aug. 6, 2001 -- Recently, two therapists were sentenced to 16 years in prison when a 10-year-old girl they treated died following a "rebirthing" session. During the treatment the child was tightly wrapped in a blanket, in an attempt to re-create and relive the trauma of birth. Instead, she suffocated.

This horrifying story has nothing to do with the practice generally known as rebirthing, say members of the Association of Rebirthers and Trainers International (ARTI). The defendants in this headline-making case seem to have just borrowed the "rebirthers" name, which is not copyrighted or trademarked.

"Rebirthing is a very gentle but powerful breathing technique, using a deep breath with no pause between inhale and exhale," says Debi Miller of Decatur, Ga., a member of the ARTI board. "You lie on your back, with a rebirther sitting next to you, and focus on the breath. This process accesses and releases stored emotion, and releases stress from the body."

Anna Christensen, MSW, of New York City, is qualified to judge. A professional psychotherapist herself, she's also a rebirthing client who has completed 20 sessions.

"Rebirthing is a powerful tool to enhance personal growth," she says. "It's not a purely intellectual experience. The breathing allows you to connect with old beliefs and patterns on a body energy level. I work with Maureen, who is such an intuitive, loving person, and I experience rebirthing as a gentle unfolding in which you perceive and release stuck energy."

Maureen Malone, who coaches Christensen, first learned about rebirthing in 1980.

"It was a way of contacting emotions I wasn't even aware of, mostly sadness," she says. "It may sound unusual, but I realized I was also suppressing a lot of my own happiness and joy in life; my emotional aliveness wasn't available to me. Rebirthing gave me the will to make a lot of changes." Today Malone is a rebirthing center manager in New York City.

Tony Lo Mastro first tried rebirthing in 1979. "I was hyperactive and scattered, with lots of thoughts and emotions and feelings, and rebirthing put me in my body," says Lo Mastro, a rebirthing center manager in Philadelphia. "It allowed me to focus and find out what I really thought and felt. It slowed me down."

How Does It Work?

Rebirthing sessions last two hours, usually including an hourlong discussion of the issues the person is dealing with, plus an hour of breathwork. The first session often takes three hours, since it includes a thorough intake interview. People usually do 10 sessions with a male rebirther and 10 with a woman. "Different issues will come up in the presence of a male or female," says Miller.

ARTI has developed a training program for rebirthers that includes classroom work plus a period of practice under an approved rebirthing trainer. Those who've completed this training period are called "sponsored rebirthers."

"Rebirthing may be a pleasant experience," says Kenneth Skodnek, MD. "However, if something comes up which triggers old traumatic memories, it could be very upsetting, and someone might end up with more issues to deal with than when they started." Skodnek is a psychiatrist and chairman of the department of psychiatry and psychology at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y.

1 | 2

Next Page >

emotional wellness newsletter

A balance of body, mind and spirit mean a healthier body to live in. Start on your path to balance with the Emotional Wellness newsletter and get health information from a source you can trust.