The body psychotherapies of Reich, Lowen and Gendlin

We review the theories of the main body psychotherapists, influenced by psychoanalysis.

Body psychotherapy is a type of psychological intervention that emerged in the second half of the 20th century and claimed the importance of physical functioning in the emergence of neurosis and other disorders, as well as in overall well-being.

In this article we will describe what this therapy consists of and what aspects unite and separate three of the main theoreticians of body psychotherapyWilhelm Reich, Alexander Lowen and Eugene Gendlin.

What is body psychotherapy?

The term "body psychotherapy" is used to refer to a set of body-centered set of body-centered interventions. Such treatments became popular in the 1960s and 1970s; they were later considered alternative methods and not very respectable, although interest in body therapy has grown again in the new century.

Unlike behaviorism, psychoanalysis and humanism, which dominated the field of psychotherapy at the time, body therapies do not focus on observable behavior and mental content, but on the sensations experienced on a physical level. sensations experienced at the physical level. The organism itself is understood as the central aspect of human identity.

Within this framework, bodily and psychological disorders, in particular neuroses, are considered to be the consequence of the accumulation of tension in different areas of the body, as well as of the disconnection between mental life and organismic experience. However, the specific hypotheses vary depending on the school to which we refer.

There are several branches in body psychotherapy; most of them from theoretical models and methods developed by specific authors, some of whom were highly charismatic and exerted an almost messianic influence on their followers. Three of the most influential therapists in bodywork therapy were Reich were Reich, Lowen and Gendlin.

Wilhelm Reich: Character-analytic Vegetotherapy.

Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) trained as a psychoanalyst, although he was eventually expelled from this movement. He was a peculiar figure who attributed neurosis to sexual repression and socioeconomic inequalities. and socioeconomic inequalities, and a fervent advocate of the integration of Freudianism and Marxism and of the sexual revolution. Many believed him to be mentally unstable.

Reich defended the existence of a "muscular memory" consisting in the physical register of conflicts and childhood traumas; these situations would generate defenses organized in seven rings of bodily tensions, associated to the chakras.associated with the chakras. He called the configuration of these defenses "characteriological structure" and their study "character-analytic vegetotherapy".

The accumulation of tension is due, according to this author, to the repression of emotions in difficult situations in order to avoid the anxiety associated with their free expression. Reich's psychotherapy focused on the analysis of the interaction between muscular tension, bodily sensations, psychic traumas and character.

Reich postulated the existence of a biological-sexual energy called orgone, to which he attributed to which he attributed physical and mental life, as well as atmospheric phenomena; in fact, this energy was due to the light radiated by the sun. The word "orgone" is derived from "organism" and "orgasm".

Since Reich related neurosis to sexual dissatisfaction, he also developed orgasmotherapy. Through this intervention he aimed to help the patient to release accumulated sexual energyThis would decrease the accumulation of tension and allow the free circulation of orgone in the body.

Alexander Lowen: Bioenergetic analysis

The bioenergetic analysis of Alexander Lowen (1910-2008) was greatly influenced by Reich's work.. Both authors shared hypotheses on the sexual origin of neurosis and on the bodily experience as the core of human experience, although Lowen departed from his master's postulates when he began to focus on orgone.

For Lowen, the human organism constitutes an open system of energy organized according to two poles: the head and the genitalia. Under normal conditions the energy flows freely and balanced from one pole to the other, but the accumulation of tension in different parts of the body can hinder this flow, generating character alterations.

This author described five types of pathological personality according to the main points of tension and blockage, as well as physical and psychological characteristics. His bioenergetic therapy, consisting of specific exercises for each character disorder, aimed to restore the balance between body and mind by releasing energy.

The five bioenergetic traits described by Lowen are as follows:

• SchizoidSchizoid: people who have grown up in cold and hostile environments, whose thoughts are dissociated from emotional life and bodily experience.
• OralMasochistic: it is an egocentric and dependent or excessively independent personality, derived from the non satisfaction of the infantile needs of affection.
• Masochisticexcessive pressure from adults can hinder the search for pleasure, generating hostile and negative personalities with repressed aggressiveness.
• PsychopathicThese people deny their feelings and fear that others will take advantage of them, so they try to control and seduce others.
• Rigidrigid character is characterized by stubbornness, ambition, aggressiveness, interpersonal distancing, compulsive sexuality and denial of pleasure.

Eugene Gendlin: Focusing

In addition to training as a psychotherapist under Carl Rogers, Eugene T. Gendlin (1926-2017) was a philosopher influenced by existentialism and phenomenology. Gendlin's focus of interest was on the creation of meanings and symbols from bodily experience..

Gendlin called "experiencing" the ability of people to experience physical sensations. Through experiencing we can anchor ourselves to our body, while symbolizing the experience allows us to express it in a healthy way on an emotional level.

He developed his main therapeutic tool, Focusingwith the aim of helping his patients to connect with their physical sensations and life experiences. After processing them properly, the person would also become able to symbolize them correctly and attribute meaning to them.

According to Gendlin, Focusing, or "inner pivotal act," consists of the following six steps:

• Clearing a space: this consists fundamentally of relaxing physically and mentally, distancing oneself from worries.
• Selecting a problem: deciding which personal concern to work on, feeling the associated emotions but without getting lost in them.
• Finding a felt sense: to fully feel the global emotion produced by the selected problem.
• Find a handle: identify a symbol (a word, a phrase, an image...) that accurately represents the problem.
• Resonate the handle: examine the relationship between the handle and the sensation felt; if it is not perfect, find another handle.
• Ask questions: reflect on the sensation felt and wait for answers that are accompanied by changes in emotions.