Events & Offerings
Group Workshops
The Bernstein Institute offers a variety of group workshops for individuals and couples. Our workshops, which include short-term and ongoing options in length, explore topics which practically and effectively support personal growth and well-being. Groups designed specifically for women and individuals in recovery are also available.
Summer 2012 Group Workshops
- Women In Transition Workshop
- Moving Forward Workshop
- Addiction Recovery
- Level I & Level II info
- Individual Psychotherapy
- Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy
- Couples and Family Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Women’s Programs
- PTSD
- Anxiety, Depression & Grieving
- Acupuncture
- Counseling for Relationship
- Marriage and Parenting
- Personal Psychotherapy
- Groups
- Single Women
- New Mothers
- Single-parent Mothers
- Women in Blended Families
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Newly Married Women
- Divorced Women
- Working Women with Family
- Victims of Sexual Abuse
- Women in Perimenopause or Menopause
- Bio-identical Hormone Replacement
- Cancer
- Children’s Health
- Colon Hydrotherapy
- Heart Disease
- Hormonal Imbalance
- PMS
- Breast Health
- Candida
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- High/low Blood Pressure
- Metabolic Evaluation
Professional Training
Training workshops for licensed therapists and bodyworkers are available at the Bernstein Institute in a variety of formats and at multiple skill levels. Study groups and week-long skill enhancement intensives complement our introductory, intermediate, and advanced offerings. All professional training includes an opportunity for enrollees to personally experience and benefit from our therapeutic RMFR modality.
Summer 2012 Training Workshops
Acute and Chronic Physical Pain
As devastating as pain can be, it is a symptom…not the real problem.
Pain is how your body reacts to trauma. It occurs when nerve endings called pain receptors are activated by injury, illness or stress. At the Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy we don’t just treat the symptom, we treat the causes.
Key to the success of our treatment, and the basis for the healing that we achieve, is the understanding that physical pain and emotional pain are interconnected. In fact it is almost impossible to have one without the other.
That’s why we emphasize that our goal is healing the whole person.
At the Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy, we combine two proven, successful treatments for pain:
Reichian psychotherapy treats the causes of emotional pain, also called emotional trauma, using many tools including bodywork. Myofascial release physical therapy treats the causes of physical pain through bodywork that can also produce emotional healing. The result of combining these two proven, successful treatments for pain is Myofascial release physical therapy, a new healing modality that produces unprecedented results…
…results that are greater than those achieved by either modality when used separately.
We don’t just treat the pain, we go to the source and work to heal the causes.
Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy offers a range of modalities for treating pain
We often encourage patients to engage in a number of alternative modalities to manage the current symptoms, while we work to uncover and treat the original trauma that is at the root of the patient’s condition. Our network includes both traditional and alternative practitioners including acupuncturists, chiropractors, specialists in diet and other forms of natural healing.
Our treatment regimens are flexible, and scheduled to meet your needs. Our professional staff is headed by Dr Peter M. Bernstein who supervises all treatment provided by the institute.
If you are looking for more than temporary relief from your chronic pain, contact us today and discover treatment that can change your life.
“Healing the Whole Person, emotionally and physically.”
Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy
Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy is a new healing modality which combines two proven, successful treatments for pain: Reichian psychotherapy, which treats the causes of emotional pain, and myofascial release physical therapy, which treats the causes of physical pain. Reichian psychotherapy is a proven psychological protocol that utilizes both conversation and body work to resolve emotional trauma. Myofascial release is a highly effective form of physical therapy that uses physical manipulation techniques to unwind and release tissues distorted by trauma. The Bernstein Institute’s method of Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy produces unprecedented results, without the use of drugs.
Bodies distorted by trauma abound in symptoms such as uneven shoulders, misaligned hips, stiff necks and backs, tense jaws, and shallow breathing from tight chests. Until recently, it wasn’t fully appreciated that these symptoms could be the result of both emotional as well as physical trauma.
Although Reichian psychotherapy often includes some elements similar to physical therapy (such as cranial-sacral manipulation), these techniques fall short of the comprehensive full-body approach of myofascial release physical therapy. Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy is unique in that combining both therapies achieves results unobtainable when the protocols are employed independently.
Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy sessions combine counseling with myofascial release techniques and unwinding, the latter consisting of gentle, physical manipulation of the twisted fascia while the therapist slowly and continuously guides the patient’s body to unwind. Patient feedback is essential to the treatment. The patient’s body often spontaneously suggests the ways it wants to release tension and return to its natural state. Since unwinding the fascia also releases memories of past emotional trauma, the patient experiences relief that leads to emotional as well as physical healing.
Reichian psychotherapy and myofascial release physical therapy, used independently, are extremely effective in bringing the patient a depth of healing that would never be attained by simply analyzing or verbalizing. Yet, when the two practices are combined, the results are even more extraordinary, and through continued application of the combined therapies, patients improve dramatically. When the old emotional material is finally released the patient becomes “unstuck” and experiences a new openness and vulnerability. At this point of transformation, the Reichian verbal and analytic psychotherapy takes on a major role in the healing process. The therapist, through experience and insight, helps the patient gain perspective, and – thanks to the myofascial release therapy – the depth of healing is much greater.
Team Treatment
At the Bernstein Institute, we use the team approach in all aspects of treatment including counseling and psychotherapy with patients as well as all bodywork.
When Dr. Bernstein was training in myofascial release, one of the things that impressed him was the practice of working in teams. Sometimes there would be as many as five practitioners working with a single patient. He saw that working in teams brings more healing to the patient in a shorter amount of time. That’s why, at the Institute, teamwork is a major part of our approach to healing.
Dr. Bernstein selects his staff members with care and carefully trains them in all aspects of treatment. Every staff member at the Institute is a highly qualified, certified professional as well as a compassionate, caring individual. Every practitioner at the Institute has also personally experienced Reichian-Myofascial Release Therapy. Dr. Bernstein believes that patients can tell whether the people who work with them are addressing their own pain. He knows that his practitioners’ willingness to grow emotionally is vital to the integrity of the therapeutic process for the patient.
Staff members assist at every step of the treatment process. Dr. Bernstein carefully selects which members of his staff will work with each new patient. He recognizes that the presence of female staff members can be particularly supportive for new female patients. Patients benefit not only from the valuable physical skills of the staff, but also from their compassionate support and insights.
Women’s Program
Are you longing to change yourself or your relationships, but not sure how to move forward? Do you have personal problems in your life? Would you like help? The Women’s Program at the Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy is designed to support and guide women as they face these issues which can include their relationships, life changes and physical and/or emotional pain. The Program offers a safe and accepting environment where the warmth and caring of experienced women encourages personal change and dynamic growth. The Institute provides women with a safe, private and confidential environment. Lynn Bernstein is Director and Dr. Peter Bernstein, founder and director of the Institute, oversees the direction of the Women’s Program.
The Program provides mentoring and support to women as they enter different seasons of their lives. There are different components within the Program and these are led by women of quality and character whose life-experiences provide the insight, wisdom and compassion necessary to help all women. The specific areas of the Women’s Program are:
Psychotherapy is an aspect of the Program and many women find they want the insight and support for greater personal growth. Dr. Bernstein and his staff of certified practitioners work to treat the cause of physical pain as well as relieve emotional stress. This work also brings relief of symptoms by getting to the deeper emotional issues that cause many serious illnesses.
A women’s journey through life can change dramatically from the time she is a young adult to when she passes through mid-life. Where are you in this journey? We mentor and support women who are:
The Institute maintains an ongoing relationship with many medical professionals who specialize in various areas of alternative medicine. The emphasis is to guide women toward health without drugs, whenever possible. The Institute’s network is extensive and continues to grow. Dr. Bernstein oversees the choice of medical professionals within the network. He likes to maintain contact with the professional/s each patient chooses in order to follow their progress. Some of the conditions and concerns for which women see a medical professional are:
The various programs within the Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy work together to help each individual find support and help for their lives.
Addiction Recovery Therapy
The Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy offers a unique and revolutionary treatment for people in recovery. Our therapeutic approach goes deeper than conventional recovery treatment to help addicts address the core issues behind their addiction. We use a combination of individual psychotherapy, family therapy, group and couples therapy, and our unique Reichian-Myofascial Release therapy. We help people struggling with the challenges of sober or drug-free living to discover and resolve the pain and trauma that led to their need for drugs or alcohol.
After completion of a residential treatment program, we understand there are difficulties in transitioning back into society. You have started to make some big changes in your life that are going to affect your family, your job and your relationships with people in general. There are old traps that you can fall back into that can cause relapse such as old habits, defenses, attitudes and temptations. These can easily sabotage your success toward full recovery. In order to survive, people act in ways which can be destructive to themselves and others. When survival is on the line, positive impulse control is essential. We at the Bernstein Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy have the expertise in helping you through your difficult problems.
Whether your pain is emotional, physical, or a combination of the two, our work penetrates to the source and releases it, breaking the relapse cycle. Painful memories are held not only in the mind, but also in the body. Our addiction recovery therapy addresses the unconscious memories stored in the body at the cellular level. We will help you recognize the survival strategies and self-destructive patterns that are no longer working for you. As you begin to address and resolve your past traumas and conflicts, you will find that you can stop surviving and start living.
Who We Are
The Bernstein Institute team is a treatment group that works with you through every stage of your individualized out-patient program. Dr. Peter Bernstein, Founder and Director, heads up our addiction recovery team and is assisted by Addiction Specialist and CAADAC and NAADAC member, Armando Maliano. Our team also includes several medical professionals who are experts in poly-pharmaceutical addiction. They are skilled in helping people who want to safely taper off their addictive medications, wherever possible. Step by step our team will be here to help you – encouraging you, supporting you, accepting you in your struggle, as you continue on your path to health. The role of our team is to be like a loving family, acting as witnesses to your pain. Our team will help you by providing support, structure, empathy and accountability. Like a good family, we’ll help you learn the skills you need in order to make your life a success, in a setting of acceptance, safety and confidentiality. This time you will not be alone in your struggle.
Our program – Who it’s For and How It Works
Our program is for people who have completed a residential detox program and are starting out in recovery clean and sober. We treat people in “transition” as well as those who have been in recovery for some time. We also treat practitioners working in the addiction field. Our therapy will help you discover what you need to do and where you need to go personally, step by step. While being treated at the Institute, we encourage all clients to participate regularly in a social program such as AA or NA. You will benefit from every level of your work at the Institute.
Your addiction recovery therapy will be customized to your goals by our team of practitioners. Whether you want physical relief from your pain, help with impulse control or real life change, we can help you. Your therapy may include individual psychotherapy, trauma resolution and healing, family therapy, couples or group therapy, Reichian-Myofascial Release therapy, nutritional support to relieve physical and biochemical imbalances, and traditional or alternative medical consultations and treatment.
A vital component to our program includes working with families that are being affected by addicted members. We will help each person discover the dysfunctional roles they’ve been trapped in and the destructive patterns of relating that they have been repeating over and over. Where possible, our goal is to restore not just the person who suffers from addiction, but also to guide the family back to health and hope.
You must make a commitment to the recovery process. Our program is for people willing to do the work to keep growing, maturing and changing. This is essential for successful health and recovery.
