Bioenergetic analysis
Encyclopedia
Bioenergetic Analysis is a form of body psychotherapy
(body-oriented Reichian psychotherapy
), based upon the work of Wilhelm Reich
, but adding a number of innovations. These innovations include emphasis on the importance of 'grounding', that is being in strong contact with the ground through feet and legs, and on psychoanalytic such as transference
, countertransference
, dreams, slips of the tongue
and Oedipal issues
. It also places even greater emphasis on sexual fulfilment than Reichian psychotherapy. It was developed by Alexander Lowen
, a patient and student of Reich's.
Body Psychotherapy
Body psychotherapy, also referred to as body-oriented psychotherapy and somatic psychology, is a significant branch of psychotherapy, with origins in the work of Pierre Janet, Sigmund Freud and particularly Wilhelm Reich....
(body-oriented Reichian psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
), based upon the work of Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry...
, but adding a number of innovations. These innovations include emphasis on the importance of 'grounding', that is being in strong contact with the ground through feet and legs, and on psychoanalytic such as transference
Transference
Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another. One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood." Another definition is "the...
, countertransference
Countertransference
Countertransferenceis defined as redirection of a psychotherapist's feelings toward a client—or, more generally, as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client.-Early formulations:...
, dreams, slips of the tongue
Freudian slip
A Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of some unconscious , subdued, wish, conflict, or train of thought...
and Oedipal issues
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
. It also places even greater emphasis on sexual fulfilment than Reichian psychotherapy. It was developed by Alexander Lowen
Alexander Lowen
Dr. Alexander Lowen was an American psychotherapist. A student of Wilhelm Reich in the 1940s and early 1950s in New York, he developed Bioenergetic Analysis, a form of mind-body psychotherapy, with his then-colleague, John Pierrakos...
, a patient and student of Reich's.