CORE ENERGETICS

A Method That Engages the Whole Human Being

Core Energetics works with the body, emotions, mind and spirit — integrating movement, energetic expression and music to reach places that talking alone cannot. Every part of you matters — your “yes” and your “no,” , your strength and your vulnerability. Your full self is invited, just as you are.

The Transformative Power of the Group and the Community

During the school modules, our community consists of approximately 80 to 100 people: students, assistants, and teachers. There are four different year group in the professional training program, and there are currently two groups following a training for personal and professional growth. In addition, in most of the modules there are introductory workshops and/ or masterclasses. During the modules, a lot of time is scheduled for teaching and process work within each group. There are also community-wide activities, such as morning bodywork sessions and community evenings.

Our community is truly international. Our current students are from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Colombia, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and the USA. Graduates come from nearly all European countries and from every continent.

Students describe the group and the community as life-changing:
a safe and lively space where everyone participates equally, independent of background, education, preferences or status — a true meeting of humans, beyond hierarchy.

Transforming old wounds into growth

As children, we learned to hide parts of ourselves. We suppressed anger, sadness, love or longing because we feared losing the love and safety we depended on. Those choices helped us survive then — but they limit us now. When we continue repressing our feelings as adults, we also reduce our aliveness. We disconnect from the pleasure, joy and intensity life has to offer. Core Energetics helps you return to your full self. By gently facing childhood wounds, you learn that you no longer need those old trade-offs. You can express your feelings, follow your impulses and allow your energy to flow freely — if you choose to.

Grounded Spirituality

NICE offers a place to explore meaning, purpose and the level of the soul — without dogma, but with real human contact and truthfulness at the center. We invite you to experience your own spirituality in your body, to incarnate your soul on earth as fully as possible, and to let your light shine here. During the modules, there is always time for silence, celebration, and beauty.

The Heart of Core Energetics: Connection with Self and World

What makes Core Energetics truly unique is its focus on the journey inward to your authentic core, and from there, into your relationships and engagement with the world.

Core Energetics teaches you to:

• Feel more deeply
• See more clearly
• Live more honestly
• Stand more firmly
• Connect with more love
• Move more freely in your life

It is a path that requires courage — and works best in connection with others.

In our community, it is safe to be sensitive and open. It is a place where you can learn to allow yourself to have your own sensitivity. We support you in your process of becoming strong as an individual at the same time.

At Core Energetics, you are never alone. You are supported by fellow students, teachers, faculty, and a powerful community that guides you every step of the way.

The Method

Within the Core Energetics approach, we always begin with the body — through movement and physical activation. From there, we turn inward: becoming aware of bodily sensations, feeling our own energy, and noticing our thoughts. We connect with one another or with the group and set an intention from our higher self. This forms the foundation for the work that follows.

Through exercises and teachings, we explore the patterns and emotional triggers that are part of being human. One of the strengths of this method is that everything becomes tangible and visible — within yourself and within the group. Feelings cannot be directed or controlled; they simply arise. People are often surprised by the depth and range of what they feel.

The group serves as a safe and supportive container, where you are met and held in whatever is alive within you. The method ultimately teaches you to take ownership of your own triggers — for example, saying “I feel angry” instead of “You make me angry.” This creates space for the full spectrum of emotions to be present.

Originally, the Core Energetics approach can be quite confrontational. We ask questions, inquire more deeply, and invite you at times to take a small step further — to feel more fully into what is present or to bring your energy into movement with the emotion you are experiencing. We are always seeking realness and authenticity.

The work begins with a sense of safety, from which you can gradually take more risks in what you allow yourself to feel and share within the group. It is essential to always follow your own pace and to respect your personal boundaries throughout the process.

Emerging from Psychoanalysis and Bioenergetics

Core Energetics has its roots in the work of Sigmund Freud, whose theories laid the foundation for understanding the unconscious. Wilhelm Reich, psychoanalyst and pioneer, added a vital dimension by recognizing the body as the carrier of life experiences, emotions, and energy. He observed how muscular tension, movement, and breathing are directly linked to psychological patterns.

Building on Reich’s work, Alexander Lowen further developed Bioenergetics, emphasizing grounding, energetic charge and discharge, and the expressive power of the body in psychotherapy.

John Pierrakos, a Greek psychiatrist, initially collaborated closely with Lowen in the development of Bioenergetics. Over time, however, Pierrakos recognized that an essential dimension was still missing: the soul—the creative, spiritual core from which human beings live, love, and evolve.

Guided by this insight, and in partnership with Eva Pierrakos (founder of the Pathwork), Core Energetics emerged as a distinct approach. It integrates psychodynamic understanding and body-oriented work with a spiritual perspective, supporting the individual’s movement toward meaning, truth, love, and authentic self-realization.

Core Energetics Today: Growth in The Netherlands

Over the past twenty years, Core Energetics has developed strongly in the Netherlands, thanks to the work of Anna Timmermans, founder of the Netherlands Institute of Core Energetics (NICE). Under her guidance, NICE has grown into an international school and thriving community, where students, trainers, and professionals from around the world come together to learn, deepen their practice, and innovate.

Anna expanded Pierrakos’ original methodology while integrating insights from body-oriented work, trauma theory, systemic work, and contemporary psychodynamics. She made Core Energetics accessible, practical, applicable, and deeply transformative — laying the foundation for the modern NICE.

Currently, we are working on the further development of our field by integrating the newest scientific insights from, among others, attachment theory, polyvagal theory, neurobiology, and trauma-informed approaches. We are also actively inviting more inclusivity and diversity in our community and in the teachings. We are including in our curriculum the topic of collective trauma and collective healing. People nowadays are more and more sensitive and conscious and the core energetics approach is becoming more subtle and more focused on safety and on self- and co-regulation. Less is more.

The leadership of NICE believes in collective leadership, in which shaping the organization is done through co-creation with one another, together with teachers, assistants, and students.