Multiple comments from a first time attendee of a recent Experiential Workshop in New Hampshire with Albert Pesso immediately at the end of the workshop and a few weeks later: "I told Al that after a year and a half of chasing alcoholism, borderline personality disorder & co-dependency, I finally found what's really wrong with me. I came in here with a 9 out of 10 - in pain, despair, & hopelessness -- and now I'm ready to get on with my life. I feel a lot better and I'm 'ready to roll'. Al told me to make a sketch of my structure to replay it in my mind [for further benefits]."  ... "With my first structure, I am overjoyed to report that I now have significantly reduced discomfort (physical and emotional).  What a way to start off a New Year!  PBSP really works!!" ... "Although some of my discomfort occasionally returns, what a relief it is to know that I can replay the structure in my mind - using PBSP as a powerful 'tool' to self-soothe.  Please allow me this opportunity to say how pleasant and wonderful it is dealing with caring professionals like all of you at PBSP!" ... "Warmest Regards and Many Thanks"  --  See more comments from Don L from Brunswick, Maine

     "Over the past 40 years, Al Pesso and Diane Boyden-Pesso have perfected an extraordinarily effective technique, PBSP [Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor], providing people with experiences that were missing during their growth and development.  The artistry of Pesso's ‘structure’ can be a unique and profoundly life-altering experience."  
quote from Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D.
past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and Clinical Director of the Trauma Center at HRI Hospital in Brookline, Massachusetts.

     "...I am eternally grateful to these therapists that allowed my body to be part of the therapeutic healing process. I have never since needed a tooth guard at night. It is my firm conviction that trauma therapists will deliver more satisfying outcomes if they utilize the somatic features found in the PBSP method when working with clients who have experience with repeated trauma and engage in self-destructive patterns. These clients need a treatment plan that matches the complexity of their issues in a holistic manner."  from pg 74 ("Appendix D - Personal Meaning" of Dr. Aimee Pearson's Dissertation on PBSP) See more at Summer 2004 Training Workshop Attendee, Aimee Pearson, Writes Dissertation on PBSP

".....At the end of my structure, I remember extending my arms out and then in, the back of my hands lightly held by my containing figure saying "Rest and create, rest and create". I could feel a visceral relief in my body, a trust in my own rhythms. I actually felt my hypervigilant-hyperarousal level drop ten notches. I could really rest. In fact, I fell asleep during much of the next structure. I hope I didn't snore....."
The above is part of a Blog written March 26th, 2004 by "Dakota", a participant in an ongoing PBSP personal growth workshop for professional psychologists now in its 27th year.  She writes about her PBSP structure led by Albert Pesso.  Follow the links below for the full article.
To see the complete blog quote copied into this website click here.
Link to the blog itself: http://www.twentyfirstcenturyart.com/dakota/mt/archives/000837.html

      "The remarkable thing about the Pessos' approach is that it allows one to do things in a symbolic environment which would never be possible in 'real life'. We tend to accept what happened to us at the hands of our parents as law, as emotional 'givens.' The power of psychomotor [PBSP] structures lies in their capacity to reorganize our perceptions of what is possible for us."
Excerpt from the book on family therapy, The Fragile Bond  by Augustus Napier, Ph.D. (1988, Harper and Row, N.Y.)  Read a full PBSP Structure excerpt from Gus' book here.

     "As a practitioner and long time teacher of clinical theory and practice (psychodynamic and family therapy), I had had evidence of the soundness of PBSP theory and its effectiveness in practice via observations of Al Pesso's work at clinical meetings.  However my conviction of the efficacy of the theory in treatment was substantially reinforced through personal experience of his training seminars which I sought to help me cope with my husband's death.
      Despite having been psychoanalyzed years ago and having completed family of origin work as part of my training as a family therapist, Pesso's work reached depths not tapped earlier and reworked issues in ways that created greater integration and self understanding than ever believed possible.  It is his ability to tap experience at the earliest developmental levels, along with his ever vigilant stance that is respectful of the ego's readiness to accept and integrate new information, that makes his work so stunning and transformative.  Of special significance to me also was the capacity to incorporate cultural (ethnic/racial) dynamics to the many levels of understanding gained."
3/18/03 Quote from Elaine B. Pinderhughes, Professor Emerita, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work
Quote about value of PBSP found through experiential workshops from Elaine Pinderhughes

     “PBSP proves its powerful TX [treatment process] effectiveness both in the private sector and public.”    
     “My use of PBSP for both myself and clients I work with, has proven to be one of the most effective ways to facilitate growth and recovery in limited time frame both in group and individual TX formats.  This form of TX not only helps one "work through" the impact of trauma and/or neglect, but also enhances the ability ["of sex offenders and/or substance abuse disordered inmates.”] to more effectively interact with others......" 
Ronald Marquis Converse II MSW, an Addiction Specialist and Correctional Counselor/therapist from Concord, NH  
See the complete Ronald Converse quote

      "... PBSP has remained the basis of the work I do with clients over the past 13 years in my private practice and is an invaluable tool in helping clients to make changes that are significant to their experience of life as positive and hopeful. ....  My clients love PBSP – many come in and want to start the session right away with an Ideal Figure and move right into the healing work they need to do .... This tells me that PBSP is so “user friendly”, that I am merely the guide to help clients use their own inner wisdom to connect with these deeply healing archetypal symbols.  Many thanks to Al & Diane for constructing this effective and artful system that has benefited me personally in my own healing work, and my many clients who have taken control over their lives in ways not available to them before working with PBSP therapy."  
      " .... It is so wonderful to watch this kind of transformation on a consistent basis. ...Truly – the good stuff just keeps happening and I could send you one of these emails per week! ... I wish more therapists knew about PBSP." 
9/13-20/03 quote excerpts from Deborah Antinori, MA, RDT, LPC, CT, Certified PBSP Therapist and Author "Journey Through Pet Loss"    Click here to see the complete Deborah Antinori quote and contact info.

      "Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor is a theory-based method (actually, a set of coherently related methods) of psychotherapy - The theory is one of the few comprehensive theories of personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy in existence. It accounts for normal development throughout the life span, describes in some detail how the psychopathologies arise through deviations from the normal developmental sequences, and is able to explain the various psychopathologies in terms that lead readily to psychotherapeutic intervention.
      In Psychomotor [PBSP] therapy , the Pessos have provided the clinician with a set of tools. These tools are both an art form and are the means to practice the art of therapy, like a Stradivarius is both a work and a producer of musical art. The Pessos and their students can, as it were, teach the clinician the principles of composition; the music itself is only just beginning to be written. There is much new knowledge to be gained from the study of PBS Psychomotor technique as a set of therapeutic tools, and from the study of the processes, both intrapsychic and interpersonal, through which powerful therapeutic effects are generated.”
William H. Friedman, Ph.D., Clinical Professor and Director, Group Therapy Program, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Letter of thanks from certified PBSP therapist Jim Amundsen, Ph.D.

"If you want to really learn how to work on family of origin issues,
and how to use body information in your therapy,
go straight to the foremost therapist in that field, Al Pesso."
Gus Napier, Ph.D., author of The Family Crucible & The Fragile Bond

      “Before my PBSP training, I used to feel some discomfort in working with people who are extremely emotionally volatile or labile.  Now I feel confident that I have a powerfully effective, yet safe methodology to help these clients come to terms with their feelings, understand their origin, and move forward in their lives with greater self knowledge and hope for the future.   Al Pesso’s training has had a profound and wonderful impact on my own personal growth as well as my capacity to facilitate growth in others.  I am grateful for his gifts!"
12/23/02 quote from Portia Franklin, a psychotherapist who has been running psychomotor groups in the New York area for the past 12 years.  She has attended PBSP training workshops for many years with a group comprised of psychotherapists from the Northeast.  Presently she is accumulating videotapes for presentation in the PBSP Certification review process. Portia Franklin, CSW, 1379 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1C, New York, New York 10128; telephone: 212-427-6921, email portia-franklin@nyc.rr.com 

"Dearest Al,
    How grateful I am to have you as my teacher.  I have learned so much.  Most essentially, I am helping people on the level and depth I have yearned for.  When my clients thank me, I always say, "we need to thank Al and Diane Pesso for their genius and devoted work and teaching."  I have 5 groups this year and every one seems to be gaining from each structure.”  
12/16/02 Letter of Thanks from Stevens Westmoreland, a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a now (4/10/04) a certified PBSP therapist. Stevens Westmoreland, LCPC, LMFT, 6 Blue Wave Mall, KENNEBUNK, ME, 04043 207-985-2511 
Letter written by a satisfied client of Stevens on the value of  PBSP therapy
Letter written by another satisfied client of Stevens on the effect PBSP therapy in her life

      "Albert Pesso is an excellent teacher and clinician who is much valued by attendees."
Lawrence E. Lifson, MD Director, Continuing Education Program, Inc. at Massachusetts Mental Health Center.

 "...PBSP brings you to the awareness and the importance of the role of your senses, and more important is how the information transmitted by our sense is stored and utilized by program of the psycho-engine."

Johannes Meijer of Amersfoort, The Netherlands submitted this quote via the Quote Form on August 7th, 2002.

Subj:contact
Date:5/17/2003 2:49:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: [removed for web posting]
To:contact@pbsp.com
Sent from the Internet

Dear Al,
I don't know whether you remember me. Came across your ad in the Psychotherapy Networker and seeing the picture of your face brought back memories of my work with you. I am a retired psychotherapist, 81 years old, and still enjoying the love match with my wife. Your approach was among the most important influences in my way of practicing. But, especially, it was you as a mensch that I took into me with your dear, unpretentious down to earthness.

Daniel Malamud

La Terapia
Pesso-Boyden|
This book is now available in Spain.  To read more about it and read other mentions of PBSP in Spain, go to Google Search and type in: La Terapia Pesso-Boyden