A brief history of somatic psychotherapy
Love, work and knowledge are the wellsprings of our life. They should also govern it.
...Wilhelm Reich
In 1896 Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician, intrigued with the study of nervous ailments, coined the phrase psychoanalysis. Freud and his colleague, Josef Breuer, had already published “Studies in Hysteria” (1895) based on Freud’s use of talk therapy with a sexually abused client. And so began the development of psychotherapy as we know it today.
Wilhelm Reich, also a physician, and the youngest member of Freud’s circle, was fascinated by how trauma, repression and resistance are enacted in and by the body-mind. In his book Character Analysis (1933) he described the physiological basis for emotional difficulties and his new mind-body psychotherapy, which worked directly with the client’s breath and energy flow. He discovered that breathing is the key process that connects body and mind.
Despite notable success working with patients from this body-centered approach, Reich’s work and his egalitarian political views were highly controversial both to the psychoanalytic establishment and the Nazi government. (He fled Nazi Germany and came to the United States). Due to the efforts of his daughter Eva Reich and his students including Alexander Lowen, Reich’s work influenced many other therapists interested in developing beyond traditional psychoanalysis and inspired mid- twentieth century somatic psychotherapies including neo-Reichian work, Bioenergetics, Bodynamics and Hakomi.
Another important twentieth century pioneer was Fritz Perls who developed Gestalt therapy - an in-the-moment experiential expressive therapeutic style. Successive practitioners have further developed and integrated Gestalt and somatic approaches, integrating hands-on bodywork, breath work, movement, body awareness and emotional expression.
In contemporary psychotherapy, new research and therapeutic skills continue to enrich our field. For example, the developing fields of Attachment theory and neuro-psycho-biology have contributed profound new understandings of how the psycho/physical attachment processes between mothers and infants affect the development of our relationship styles.
As clinicians, we are committed to developing and honing our skills. We participate in Continuing Education and training so that our work evolves as the field develops. By doing so, we are able to stay current with all the new developments in our field and integrate them into our work.