Department

Counseling and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Date of Award

2025

Format

pdf

Degree Level

Ph.D.

LCSH subject

Mental health counselors -- Attitudes; Breathing exercises

Medium

manuscript

Identifier

31933069 (Proquest)

Size or duration

125 pages

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Harper, Melanie

Second Advisor

Reyna-Vasquez, Priscilla

Third Advisor

Wooten, H. Ray

Abstract

Breathwork, a transpersonal and experiential approach to psychotherapy, has been used for healing and transformation throughout the years. When applied in clinical practice, breathwork can serve as a conduit to access nonordinary states of consciousness for self-exploration and transformation. Traditional psychotherapy does not engage with nonordinary states of consciousness as part of the therapeutic process; thus, research in relation to counselors’ experiences of breathwork and their impact on therapeutic practice has yet to be explored.

Counselors’ experiences of breathwork and the influence they have in clinical practice is the phenomena explored in this research study. Exploring counselor experience with a transpersonal therapeutic intervention such as breathwork, potentially aids in increasing counselor competencies and positive outcomes. The current literature is limited in exploring counselors’ experiences with breathwork, both in terms of their own personal experience as well as their role as witnesses to their clients’ experience.

In this study, the use of breathwork by licensed professional counselors is discussed to gain deeper insights as to the overall therapeutic process and application of transformative encounters with the breath. This study employed a phenomenological qualitative research method to gain insight into the participants’ experience of breath after going through integral breath therapy (IBT) training as well as insights gained in its application and practice. Participants were recruited from the United States. Each participant partook in a one time, audio recorded semistructured interview.

The study explored breathwork in the therapeutic process, focusing on counselors’ experiences through a transpersonal lens. By exploring both personal and clinical encounters, the study expands understanding of human potential, contributes to experiential and consciousness research, and supports the integration of therapeutic techniques that facilitate transformative self-exploration and growth.

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