Book Review of: V. Schroeter (2018). Communication Breakthrough. How Using Brain Science and Listening to Body Cues Can Transform Your Relationships

Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2019 (29), 109–110

https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2019-29-109 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 www.bioenergetic-analysis.com

V. Schroeter (2018). Communication Breakthrough. How Using Brain Science and Listening to Body Cues Can Transform Your Relationships. Alpine, CA: Wolfheart Press, 208 pages, Softcover
ISBN 9780996324953

The book can be accessed at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Communication-Breakthrough-Listening-Transform-Relationships/dp/099632495X

I highly recommend Dr. Vincentia Schroeter’s book, Communication Breakthrough: How Using Brain Science and Listening to Body Cues Can Transform Your Relationships. Bioenergetic therapists can use it as a teaching tool and can recommend it to their clients. I find it is so valuable to have a readable user-friendly book from a Bioenergetics perspective in my office.

I facilitate therapy groups for first responders and use the book as a teaching tool. This population reports being able to relate to polyvagal theory as clearly explained in the book and using this to help understand communication failures and particularly managing anger. Dr. Schroeter’s teaching style consolidates Dan Siegel’s explanation of rage and “flipping your lid” in a concise and digestible way. A Fire Fighter told me last week: “I don’t want to know why I do what I do; I want to know what I do and how to stop it!” This book is full of creative brain and body strategies to change behavior and he and his wife are implementing the techniques and find them very helpful.

The book has a light-hearted and encouraging tone with illustrations and the examples are recognizable everyday stressors. Each chapter has exercises to practice that relate to the theme and “take aways” or lessons at the end of each section.

Character structures are presented in terms of different breathing styles that impinge on communication. The focus throughout the book is not about our pathology. It is about how survival naturally affects our physiology and how that affects our ability to communicate. I got so much from this book and find it so helpful in my work as a therapist that all I can say is, “I want more!!!”

Nicolette Re, LCSW, CBT, SEP