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Body, Self And Soul: The Evolution Of A Wholistic Psychotherapy

Jacqueline A. CARLETON, PhD*

• Body Psychotherapy Journal, Editor, USA e-mail :jacarleton@aol.com

 Summary

In this article, the evolution of a wholistic psychotherapy is stressed and moreover, its historical development and characteristic is also pointed out. Key Words: Body Psychotherapy, Alternative Treatment, Psychoanalysis

Body and energy psychotherapy may be seen as an example of an 􏰀alternative􏰁 treatment within the larger 􏰀alternative treatment􏰁 of psychoanalysis or psychotherapy. In a developmental trajectory that may be seen as homologous to that of alternative or complementary medicine, body and energy psy- chotherapy began when one of Freud􏰂s followers, Wilhelm Reich, proposed psychological theories too radical for the already challenging young psychoana- lytic movement and was ejected from its midst. This ejection left him, and even more, his followers, to move further into a rejection of the psychoanalytic 􏰀parent􏰁 with the result that until roughly the 1980􏰂s, many schools of body and energy therapy rejected much of psychology and failed to take account of each other as well. However, more recently, especially since the founding of the European and American Associations for Body Psychotherapy, communication among schools and with the larger psychoanalytic communi- ty has improved. More and more clinicians are recog- nizing and experiencing training in both areas, scien- tific validation is beginning and academic journals are appearing. This is clearly in tandem with increased interest in the mind-body connection by the larger medical com- munity. Body and energy psychotherapy is far from new. Forms exist in virtually all indigenous cultures. Whether they are called shamans, healers, curan- deros, medicine men, priests or doctors, their func- tion is similar: to heal the body and soul of disease. This paper will focus on its more recent roots in the rationalism of the enlightenment and the positivism of 19th century science and philosophy from which psychoanalysis was birthed by Sigmund Freud. It will trace the trajectory from a chemical, physiologi- cal model of the mind utilized by Freud through developments in the wider field of psychology to the evolution of body and energy psychotherapy as it is now practiced. I shall conclude with a description of Core Energetics, one form of body and energy psy- chotherapy which incorporates a spiritual dimension in its practice. Definition of body psychotherapy (European Association for Body Psychotherapy Website) Body Psychotherapy is a distinct branch of Psychotherapy, which has a long history, and a large body of literature and knowledge based upon a sound theoretical position. It involves an explicit theory of mind-body func- tioning which takes into account the complexity of the intersections and interactions between the body and the mind. The common underlying assumption is that the body is the whole person and there is a func- tional unity between mind and body. The body does not merely mean the "soma" separate from the mind, the "psyche". Body-Psychotherapy considers this functional unity fundamental. It involves a developmental model; a theory of personality; hypotheses as to the origins of distur- bances and alterations, as well as a rich variety of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques used within the framework of the therapeutic relationship. There are many different and sometimes quite separate approaches within Body-Psychotherapy, as indeed there are in the other branches of Psychotherapy. Body-Psychotherapy is also a science, having developed over the last seventy years from the results of research in biology, anthropology, ethology, neuro-physiology, developmental psychology, neonatology, perinatal studies and many more disci- plines. A wide variety of techniques are used within Body-Psychotherapy such as touch, movement and breathing. There is therefore a link with some Body Therapies, Somatic techniques, and some comple- mentary medical disciplines. Directly or indirectly the body-psychotherapist works with the person as an essential embodiment of mental, emotional, social and spiritual life. He/she encourages both internal self-regulative processes and the accurate perception of external reality. Through his/her work, the body-psychotherapist makes it possible for alienated aspects of the person to become conscious, acknowledged and integrated parts of the self. The History of Body Psychotherapy (Adapted from Barbara Goodrich-Dunn and Elliot Greene, 􏰀Voices: A History of Body Psychotherapy􏰁, USA BODY PSY- CHOTHERAPY JOURNAL, The Official Publication of the USABP, vol.1, No.1, 2002, pp.53-117) 􏰀The last several years have seen a dramatic increase of books and articles published on body ori- ented psychotherapy and subjects related to the con- nection of the mind and body. No longer considered the province of adventurous intellectuals, rebellious nonconformists, or crackpots, the mind-body connec- tion has become a respectable subject. What at one time could only be found in the dusty back shelves of second hand bookstores, is now discussed in best sell- ers cataloged under 􏰀mind and body.􏰁 No less than the National Institutes for Health now has a Congress- mandated National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine that acknowledges the impor- tance of the mind-body connection in understanding health. The climate was not always so welcoming and open.􏰁 􏰀It was only forty-four years ago that Wilhelm Reich, widely considered the father of much of mod- ern Western psychotherapeutic thought on the con- nection between body and psyche, died a disrep- utable and heartbreaking death in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Advocates of Reich􏰂s theories, who saw themselves as part of a leading edge in the late 1940's and early 1950's, withdrew into tightly closed groups or into quiet practice. His theories, the body psy- chotherapy he developed, and much of the discussion of the mind-body connection went underground at that time. However, this underground time was spelled by two periods of florescence. One was in the late 1960's and early 1970's and one is happening now. Before the current period, a person often found Reich􏰂s theories or a practitioner of Reichian therapy or one of several offshoots through a winding series of accidents or serendipity. Although Reich was a maverick and his ideas were radical at the time, they did not form in a vacuum. Indeed, the intellectual and cultural climate of Europe during the second half of the nineteenth century and early portion of the twen- tieth century spurred developments that had deep implications for the field of psychology.􏰁

Freud

In 1873, Freud entered the University of Vienna to study medicine. Freud borrowed heavily from Helmholtz􏰂s principle of the conservation of energy. The conservation of energy doctrine stated that there is a constant amount of available energy. No new energy is created and none is destroyed nor disap- pears. Helmholtz􏰂s doctrine led to the popularization of such concepts as force, energy, power, action, impulse, impetus, and stress. All of these concepts emerged in one form or another as parts of major psy- chological theories, including psychoanalytic psy- chology. For example, Freud believed that a finite amount of energy powers unconscious conflicts. If the energy is blocked, it will somehow find a release. In this way, Freud viewed the psyche through the lens of physics and the conservation of energy.􏰁 􏰀Freud was so steeped in Helmholtzian thinking that his first attempt to formulate a theory of mental functioning was cast in the language of classical mechanics. Freud􏰂s Project for a Scientific Psychology states: 􏰀The intention is to furnish a psychology that shall be a natural science: that is, to represent psychi- cal processes as quantitatively determinate states of specifiable material particles, thus making those processes perspicuous and free from contradiction (Freud, 1895, p. 295).􏰁 Similarly Helmholtzian, Freud reduced psychological phenomena to physical princi- ples and one motivational drive, for example, libidinal energies emerging from an instinctual id.􏰁 􏰀However, the classical mechanics of nineteenth century science did not go unchallenged. Freud's psychoanalytic theory, being similarly basically reductionistic, faced the same criticism pointed at the work of the Helmholtz School as being too mechanistic, too materialistic, and too base. As D.H. Lawrence fulminated in Fantasia of the Unconscious, The scientist wants to discover a cause for everything (p. 61).􏰁 The people who ques- tioned it came from a strong philosophical tradition that contrasted with rationalism. Goethe􏰂s Naturalphilosophie in the beginning of the nine- teenth century through Henri Bergsons ideas about 􏰀vital force or elan vital in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century formed a smaller, but strongly vocal opposition. Both Goethe􏰂s and Bergson􏰂s work questioned the dominance of rea- son, instead emphasizing the intuitive and the expe- riential. According to Goethe, 􏰀Naturalphilosophie saw both man and the universe as organisms, ulti- mately consisting of forces, of activities, of cre- ations, of emergings - organized in basic eternal conflicts, in polarity (Sharaf, 1994, 55).􏰁 The echoes of vitalism are heard in these words, which in the latter twentieth century reverberated in the emergence of humanistic psychology.􏰁 A health movement interested in natural sources of healing, such as water, heat, light, and touch, also flourished during the turn of the century. Artists such as D.H. Lawrence, and Herman Hesse were in con- tact and strongly influenced by this movement. So was the great dancer, choreographer, and theorist, Rudolph Laban, whose work forms a cornerstone of dance therapy. Reich began his medical training dur- ing the tail end of this ferment, and his work reflects the struggle to meld rationalist mechanism and vital- ism. Before Reich, there was no body psychotherapy as it would be defined today, but the connection that Freud made between the body and the mind cannot be underestimated.􏰁 􏰀Freud began his investigations into the psyche stimulated by his interest in conversion hysteria. By seeing physical symptoms such as hysterical deafness and hysterical paralysis as signs of disturbances in the psyche, rather than malingering, Freud was in a way one of the first body psychotherapists. He understood that there was a connection between body and mind. It was Freud who stated in The Ego and the Id, 􏰀The ego is first and foremost a body-ego,􏰁 contending that our first sense of self is as an embodied self. However, this aspect of his work has been obscured because Freud chose to remain within the confines of the psyche to affect the body, and not the reverse, by pursuing the 􏰀talking cure.􏰁 The talking cure occurred when the patient recalled past events, especially events that occurred when the symptom(s) first happened. Other probes into this hidden source of unconscious motivation were developed, such as recalling slips of the tongue, dreams, or any other phenomena related to this unconscious world. His method then expanded into an elaborate theory of personality involving a structure: the id, ego, and superego; and a function: repression, transference, projection and the various complexes.􏰁 Reich 􏰀Wilhelm Reich encountered the work of Freud in 1919 through a seminar in medical school. Reich􏰂s rise in the new psychoanalytic world was nothing less than meteoric. Within one year, 􏰀Freud permitted the young medical student to start seeing analytic patients and referred several cases to him (Sharaf, 1994, 58).􏰁 􏰀Reich plunged into psychoanalysis, regarding it as pure knowledge to be furthered. In the typical innocence of a young knight, he did not see the tan- gle of politics and emotional investments quickly in the psychoanalytic world and around Freud. Nor did he see the effects on others of his own extremely complicated personality. By 1922, Reich suggested the formation of a technical seminar for younger analysts in which an open examination of analytic failures would be possible. Reich led this seminar from 1924 to 1930, and during this time he began to formulate his concept of character analysis. It was this work on character that would survive in the more orthodox psychoanalytic world even after his many exiles and expulsions. It was also through Reich􏰂s work on character that he began to under- stand the importance of the body in psychoanalytic work. Initially, Reich was interested in resistance on the part of the patient as the reason psychoanalytic interpretation failed. His search for a way to system- atically work with resistance led him to notice the importance of nonverbal, as well as verbal, work. Reich was convinced that for analysis to be success- ful, memory had to be accompanied by an emotional release. The talking cure alone was not enough. Reich observed that his patients used manner, pos- ture, even dress to block affect. Progressively, through his clinical work, Reich observed what he called 􏰀character armor -- the automaton quality of patients, their lack of spontaneous feeling.􏰁 􏰀Initially, Reich􏰂s work on character analysis was well received with few criticisms. However, Reich􏰂s simultaneous work on sexuality and his involvement in the turbulent political situation in Vienna in the late 1920's would eventually draw heavy fire from his psychoanalytic colleagues and finally Freud himself. His search for scientific discovery and subsequent attempts at repression of his ideas by organizations and governments became the leitmotif of Reich􏰂s life. This theme played through to his death.􏰁 􏰀Reich began his investigations into sexuality with the intention of extending Freud􏰂s idea that a good sexual life was a foundation of psychological health. As early as 1923, Reich was developing his theories on genitality and the role of sexual energy in neurosis.􏰁 􏰀By 1929, Reich was establishing sexual hygiene clinics through the Socialists. Reich advocated many issues that reappeared in the sexual revolution of the 1960's and 70's: questioning traditional marriage and the domination of women, allowing sexual relations between adolescents, affirming sexuality in children, sex education, abortion and birth control. Psychoanalysis in post-Victorian Vienna was still on the fringe and had been under attack since its incep- tion for its concentration on sexuality. The early Freudians were quite sensitive to their public image and were still trying to legitimize their work as a sci- ence. Reich, with his strong personality and views, must have been seen as waving a red flag, directing the forces of opposition right to their door.􏰁 􏰀By 1933, Reich was in trouble everywhere and with everyone. The Communists rejected Reich on the grounds that he was too Freudian. The Freudians thought he was a Communist. The rising Nazis saw him as an enemy. This began Reich􏰂s series of exiles.􏰁 􏰀By 1934, Reich􏰂s link with the Psychoanalytic Association was in great jeopardy. Besides rousing the hostility of his colleagues with his political activ- ities, Reich􏰂s progress in psychoanalytic work had brought him into direct opposition to the Master. In the 1920's, Freud posited the death instinct as an answer to the persistence of negative psychodynam- ics, particularly in masochism. By 1932, Reich was ready to challenge his mentor and published a case dealing with masochism that questioned the death instinct. Not only did this case fracture the schism between Freud and Reich beyond repair, it was the first published case in which Reich actively worked at a body level. Noticing some spontaneous kicking by his patient, Reich had the choice of asking his patient to verbalize his emotions or encourage more kicking. He chose the latter, with the result that the kicking led his patient to discover joy in provoking his parents. Reich also began physically mirroring his patient􏰂s attitudes to give him an idea of the outer expressions of his inner states. Reich noticed that his patient􏰂s desire for pain was not a desire for pain per se, as Freud would have interpreted. His patient had a deep fear of being alone and was so armored that he could not feel contact. Only by abrasion of his skin and pain could he feel any warmth. The pain itself was not the goal, but the feeling of warmth at the skin level.􏰁 􏰀Involving the body specifically, Reich first noted in this case not only a psychic rigidity, but a physical rigidity as well, particularly in the musculature of the pelvis. The case was published in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, but with a note from Freud warning readers that Reich was a Communist. By 1934, he was excluded from the rolls of the German Psychoanalytic Society at its Congress at Lucerne, Switzerland. Although he attended the Congress, it was as a guest speaker. His paper was on 􏰀Psychic Contact and Vegetative Current.􏰁 In it, he began his discussion of vegetative energy that would lead to his orgone theories later. With Reich􏰂s discussion of the vegetative current and the ability or inability of patients to make emotional contact with themselves and others, we see both Helmholtz􏰂s mechanics and Bergson􏰂s vitalist ideas emerge in Reich􏰂s work.􏰁 􏰀Reich􏰂s ideas often appear to be unmothered, springing forth like Athena from the head of Zeus. However, Reich was not completely alone in his study of body and psyche. George Groddeck (1866- 1934), who joined the psychoanalytic movement in 1917 and is referred to as the 􏰀father of psychosomatic medicine, preceded Reich in taking a psy- chophysical approach when he treated isolated pat- terns of chronic tension as psychosomatic symptoms. Ernst Kretschmer (1888-1964), a psychiatrist, corre- lated body types with personality characteristics, pre- ceding Reich􏰂s work on character structure. Reich likely knew of Kretschmer􏰂s ideas through a supervi- sor, Paul Schilder, who was an admirer of Kretschmer (Downing, 1980). Closer to home, the woman whom Reich was with during his time in Oslo, Elsa Lindenberg, was a dancer. She had worked closely with Rudolph Laban. Laban (1879-1958), in addition to his work in dance notation, movement choruses, and other innovations, had developed a form of analysis called effort-shape work. This analy- sis included movement in time and space and looked at emotion within gesture. Lindenberg had also stud- ied with Elsa Gindler in Germany. Gindler (1885- 1961) was the teacher of Charlotte Selver, who devel- oped Sensory Awareness. Selver􏰂s work would later blend somatic therapies and body psychotherapies in the late 1960's and early 1970's. To what extent Lindeberg might have influenced Reich􏰂s theories and work, we do not know. However, it was during this time with her, that his work with the body truly developed. Reich had begun to use touch with his clients to break up what he saw as the armoring in their bodies.􏰁 􏰀This touch was different from massage, very pointed, affectively neutral and almost medical.􏰁 The touch was directed toward emotional release and was deep and hard. Reich tended to stay away from soft- er touch, which he felt might be interpreted as seduc- tive. He began to observe the role of respiration with regard to emotion, the observation of the patient􏰂s respiration becoming almost the 􏰀free association􏰁 of his therapy. Always looking for the underlying sys- tem, Reich began to formulate his theory of muscular segments, how chronic bands of tension in different segments with the body related to blocked affect and memory and how the muscular segments interrelated to each other and with behavior to form an exquisite- ly complex defense network. From his experiments with natural science, Reich also began to regard the body in Helmholtzian terms of pulses and flows of energy, expansions and contractions.􏰁 􏰀To place Reich in a historical context, Reich􏰂s work, like Freud􏰂s, showed evidence of the Helmholtz School influence. For example, Reich􏰂s concept of energetics based on the charge-discharge model is dis- tinctly mechanistic and reflects Helmholtz􏰂s conser- vation of energy doctrine. His later efforts to tie his ideas to an identifiable, quantitative energetic force that permeated the universe called orgone energy would be perfectly at home with the unity of science movement by linking physics and psychology. Yet at the same time, Reich􏰂s orgone energy also smacks of vitalism by being a universal energy that animates human life, thinking, and feeling. William James, one of the first great American psychologists, referred to that which emphasizes scientific determinism and the importance of matter as 􏰀tough-minded,􏰁 being more materialistic, sensationistic, and experimentally rigor- ous. On the other hand, James said 􏰀tender-minded􏰁 psychology, being more humanistic and person orient- ed, stresses free will, self determination, and the importance of mind (James, 1907). The struggle between two opposing points of view in explaining human behavior has been going on for centuries. Plato, for example, called scientific thought, i.e., log- ical thought based on premises, 􏰀understanding,􏰁 and called philosophical thought, i.e., insightful and immediate apprehension, 􏰀intellectual􏰁

The struggle plays out as determinism versus free will, mechanism versus vitalism, materialism versus idealism, environment versus organism, and causation versus teleology (Watson, 1967). Without the 􏰀tender- minded􏰁 side to Reich􏰂s body of work, body psy- chotherapy may have never progressed beyond being an offshoot of psychoanalytic psychology.􏰁

After Reich

􏰀With the emergence of humanistic psychology, along with a push from the Human Potential Movement, the pendulum began to swing back to 􏰀tender-minded psychology and away from the 􏰀tough-minded􏰁 side that had ascended in the mid- 1800's. The humanistic point of view is to a degree a continuation of the vitalism movement that was almost discarded in the nineteenth century. Both hold that explanations of human behavior require human concepts, not explanation by analogy from animal behavior. Vitalism relates well to the psychology of becoming (a cornerstone of humanistic psychology) in that there is within each person a vital force for growth and development. The humanistic notion that humans have an inner direction is also akin to vital- ism. Examples of this inner force are the humanistic beliefs that human phenomena involve a life seeking and life propelling drive, and within each individual dwells a tendency to seek, to strive, to preserve that which is basically human.􏰁 􏰀The kernel idea of humanistic psychology is that humans are purposive organisms. Many body psy- chotherapists espouse values that stem from humanis- tic psychology. For example, a de-emphasis on diag- nosis in the fashion of the biomedical model is drawn from the idea that abstractions are unnecessary. The goal of growth comes from the idea that each person possesses a growth potential that stimulates one to realize and to develop into whatever and whomever they are to become. Cultivating spontaneity and the use of imagination derives from the idea that people are basically spontaneous (DeCarvalho, 1991).􏰁 􏰀The early 1970's saw interesting developments concerning body psychotherapy in Europe. While there had been a small, but growing, Reichian tradi- tion all along, Americans with new innovations and theories came to Europe to reseed and popularize body psychotherapy. The visits of Lowen, Pierrakos and their trainers spread Bioenergetics over most of Europe. Later, and separately, Pierrakos􏰂 Core Energetics would take a foothold. Al Pesso brought Psychomotor work to Europe, establishing a strong base in Holland. The Browns began trainings in Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia, and Italy. Reflecting how strongly the Americans were influ- encing humanistic and body psychotherapy in Europe, a comic article was published in the late 1980's in a New Age magazine in Zurich entitled, 􏰀How to be a Successful Psychotherapist.􏰁 The first recommendation was, 􏰀Have an American name or something close to it.􏰁 􏰀Perhaps John Pierrakos had the most sweeping outlook on the role of body psychotherapy in the future. He believed it would accompany the inex- orable evolution of consciousness. He said, 􏰀Life is now spinning at a tremendous rate. The elements that are not in truth are breaking down. This releases the dead energies of life. There is confrontation with these dead energies and a release. It is a great time of transformation. We are in a crucible. This time is bringing invisible and deep connections.􏰁 􏰀In summary and returning to the historical per- spective, body psychotherapy is unusual in the world of psychology in that it embraces two of the three core ideas in psychology -- perception, motivation, and learning -- while most areas encompass one. Perception, which is linked to body psychotherapy via humanistic psychology, which in turn is linked to phenomenological and existential psychology, and the Gestalt philosophers, is one. Motivation, which is linked to body psychotherapy via psychoanalytic psychology, is the other. In the voices of body psy- chotherapists like Alexander Lowen, John Pierrakos, Charles Kelley, Malcolm and Katherine Brown, Ilana Rubenfeld, Ron Kurtz, Al Pesso and Diane Boyden, and David Boadella we hear echoes of earlier voices . . . Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich, Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, F.M. Alexander, Moishe Feldenkrais, Kurt Goldstein, and many others.􏰁 􏰀Learning, which was primarily associated in the first part of the twentieth century with behaviorism and experimental psychology (Bormann, 1980,7) and more recently with cognitive theory, until recently has not had as much affinity for body psychotherapy.􏰁 􏰀Cognitive theory stresses learning occurs as a result of internal mental processes. That is, cognitive research seeks to describe the role of the person􏰂s own mental activity in learning and remembering (Schwartz and Reiberg, 1991, 2). This perspective views people as problem solvers who actively use information from the world around them to master their environment (Solomon, 1992, 105). This broad- er perspective regarding people opened learning the- ory to humanistic concepts, one of the threads of body psychotherapy ideas. Cognitive theory􏰂s influ- ence also has made learning theory and body psy- chotherapy more accessible to each other by empha- sizing events that take place inside the learner.􏰁 􏰀The strong interest shown at USABP national conferences in the early child development research of Allan Schore, Catherine Weinberg, and Ed Tronic reflects an emerging compatibility between the ideas represented by these researchers and those central to body psychotherapy that may be one of the first gird- ers in a bridge between body psychotherapy and the third core idea of psychology. Perhaps the story of the body psychotherapy of the twenty-first century will be the evolution of an integrative body psychotherapy that intertwines perception, motivation, and learning.􏰁 Core energetics as an example of a psychotherapy embodying mind, and spirit The art and science of body psychotherapy: a personal perspective Body psychotherapy, in a historical perspective, has been accomplished through ritual, religion, drama, and storytelling since the earliest times of which we have any knowledge. Psychotherapy, viewed as the journey of a soul, is simply a continu- ation of a mythic, dramaturgical . This is the journey of the author of the ODYSSEY, Cervantes in DON QUIXOTE, Dante in THE DIVINE COMEDY, Milton in PARADISE LOST, to name only a few of the best known.. By daring to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise and began the human journey. We are HOMOSAPIENS. Core Energetics is a deep, powerful therapeutic process seeking to integrate the mind, body, emo- tions, will and spirit in the service of the love and pleasure that are the essence of life. When fear, anger, hatred, etc., is stored in the body􏰂s tissues, physical and mental health may be threatened. Work with the body facilitates the release of emotional blocks, defensive postures, and destructive belief systems, so that the energies of the body can flow more freely, creating greater life fulfillment for the individual. Persons can be helped to transform these obstacles which block contact with the core, the source of all healing, wisdom, joy and creativity. The therapist provides a supportive environment in which the client can access deep inner processes, reach cathar- sis or containment, and release blocked energy in the body. Although aware of the client􏰂s character defenses and destructive life patterns, the therapist focuses on the core of the person: his/her spiritual capacity, ability to love, and life task. The therapeutic work of this process is based on the principle elucidated by Wilhelm Reich: that we are a psychosomatic unity which has within it the capacity to love and heal, and that we have an inner impetus toward creative evolution. In order to evolve, we must deeply transform the negative aspects of our personality, releasing their energy into growth and creativity. The physical body is the vehicle through which we express our emotions, thoughts and spiritu- al selves. By working with the body to help confront the defensive reactions of our emotions, we open up the way to healing and evolution. We can envision ourselves as made up of layers of energy. At our center is the pulsating, moving energy of life. This is our life force which, following the laws of physics (and of biological development) seeks to expand and grow. Our core is our connection to our spiritual nature and to the universe. The next layer (called simply the secondary layer by Reich) is the lower self, which contains our wounds and the dark or shadow side of our nature. Our life force is blocked when we are not allowed to express who we really are, especially our emotional pain or negative emo- tions. This energy, stagnating, produces a layer of defenses which become the physical and charactero- logical armoring. On top of this we position a social mask, designed to protect ourselves and others our lower self. Both the armoring and social mask are roughly equivalent to Winnicott􏰂s 􏰀false self.􏰁 But, this mask or false self unfortunately also dampens the vibrancy and buoyancy of the life center, the core.

Technique

Character defenses (coping mechanisms from childhood that are overused or inappropriate in adult- hood) are treated by charging segments of the body where energy is absent or discharging segments of the body where energy is blocked. Repressed emotions, memories and belief systems are retrieved by freeing muscular and organ contractions. The therapist may place the client in stress positions, initiate grounding exercises, introduce deep breathing, or work with the body on the couch or roller. The therapist may use her hands to assist this process by working on the client􏰂s physical/energetic blocks. When touch is involved in the session, it may be hard or soft depending on the type of resistance in the musculature and the charac- ter defense of the client. Touch must be approached with caution and respect for the meaning it holds for the client. For many people defenses must be built and structures erected. Emotions need to be contained and channeled rather than expressed. In addition, the therapist works with destructive aspects of the personality by helping the person pen- etrate the ego-mask, the idealized self-image or the false self in order to meet and release the frozen neg- ativity hidden beneath it. By bringing this suppressed material to consciousness, energy is released, and the client connects with a full and vibrant life force.

Theory

Energy and consciousness are the two dimensions of the life force which operate at all levels of the per- sonal reality. Consciousness shapes and directs our energy. It is limitless, especially when expressed through our spiritual aspect, through love. The deep physical work expands the energy field and thereby the consciousness. Just as energy and matter are interchangeable, or perhaps the same thing, so ener- gy and consciousness form a unity. When negative or painful experiences occur, we create energy blocks in order to survive. But, these safety maneuvers block the movement of energy from the core of our being into creative expression in the world. The more pain a child experiences, the more extreme are the measures to protect the integrity of the self and to diminish or block the pain. The modes of protecting ourselves become patterns of holding the physical energy. This creates blocks in the physical body. For example unconscious fear can be kept at bay by held breath and raised shoulders. If this hap- pens enough times, a person develops permanent holding patterns which are present in the body and can be seen and worked with by the therapist. These blocks tell the therapist where and how to proceed. The model of energy and consciousness which is the foundation for this therapy stresses the relation- ship between the five levels of existence: the physi- cal body, the feelings and emotions, the mind and thoughts, the will and the spirit or soul. Unification and integration of the whole entity is the goal. The therapeutic work is based on three principles: 1. The person is a psychosomatic-spiritual unity; 2. The source of healing and the capacity to love is within the self. 3. All of existence forms a unity that moves toward a creative evolution. In the human entity, this evolution consists of the deep transformation of neg- ative aspects of the personality into a creative whole. Energy is a living force that emanates from each level of consciousness. It is characterized by pulsa- tion, motility, rhythm, abundance, flexibility and malleability. Human consciousness uses energy to sculpt the shape of the body and determine the basic form of existence. The physical body is the laborato- ry of life and the vehicle through which emotions, thoughts, and the spiritual self are expressed.

Conclusion

I have endeavored in this brief summary of the history of body and energy psychotherapy to illus- trate the emergence first of psychoanalysis and then of body and energy psychotherapy as a subset of trends in the larger medical and scientific communi- ty. Freud􏰂s startling models of the psyche, based on Newtonian physics and his training in neurophysiol- ogy, evolved and stimulated the work of Wilhelm Reich, one of his most brilliant students to carry his work into areas he originated but subsequently dis- avowed. Out of this grew body and energy psy- chotherapy, which rejected its progenitors for a gen- eration until it had established an identity sufficient- ly cohesive to allow its students to delve back into psychoanalysis, especially as it has developed in the schools of object relations theory. Some schools of body and energy psychotherapy, such as Core Energetics, again paralleling developments in medi- cine, also incorporate a spiritual dimension.