Casual Friday

Wilhelm Reich

Wilhelm Reich is a man worth talking about. He was the man behind Orgone therapy (or Reichian therapy) that paved the way for several forms of holistic body-mind psychotherapeutic disciplines such as Bioenergetic Analysis (developed by Alexander Lowen, a client and disciple of Reich).

Wilhelm Reich was born in March 1897 and died in November 1957. He originated and developed a new science called orgonomy that focused on the functional laws of cosmic energy. He grew up in the German Ukraine on a 1000 acre farm owned by his parents. His mother committed suicide when he was 11 and his father died when he was 17, leaving him to inherit and steward the farm until it was destroyed by the Russians in 1915. He had an early intrigue with the life process of both plants and animals that eventually led him into medicine in when he was 21 years of age.

While studying at the University of Vienna he became interested in Freud and psychoanalysis that opened up the opportunity to become a first assistant physician when Freud organized the Psychoanalytical-Polyclinic in 1922. A few years later he published his first major book, The Function of the Orgasm. This was an extension of his discovery of a connection between the satisfactory sex life and the lack of neurosis.

His early approach to psychotherapy was to make contact with the person he was treating. This may not appear radical today but it was controversial in a time when it was normal to sit behind the patient who lay on a couch. This alternative tactic initiated much of Reich’s research into energy regulation within the body. By engaging with the patient he was able to notice resistance and defenses which were not understood in his day. He helped the patient by pointing out their resistance and began working with the defenses of the body. As much of this defensive armor dissolved the root of the neurosis spontaneously appeared. Many patients experienced significant changes in attitude, behavior and expression.

Reich proposed that psychological and emotional distress is the result of blocking positive emotions such as sadness, joy, grief and fear. This blocking in turn gave way to what Reich called armoring. He then set out to develop effective ways to undo this armoring to free people who were emotionally inhibited in their daily life. He discovered that armoring formed through some of the painful and traumatic experiences in life that necessitate defense. He noticed that the more armoring the less movement and the more restricted an individual was when it came to giving space for painful emotions such as anger and shame. He recognized that the armor was expressed not only in the attitudes and posture of a person but also in their musculature and a new discipline of character analysis was born.

Reich used both dialogue and physical intervention to work with a patient. For those who had the opportunity to be one of his clientele experienced more pleasure, streaming and a deep feeling of being alive. This was to slowly replace their previous life of pain and rigidity. Not only did a patient become healthier psychologically but also was freed from many of the previously chronic pains. As Reich further developed his practice patients began to move and flow with the energy in their body. This soft undulating movement was called the orgasm reflex. Reich called the capacity for this type of experience “orgastic potency”.

Reich’s level of curiosity did not wane. He researched more on how to regulate and stabilize the energy levels, their charge and discharge. He studied the energy charge within people and creation by developing many new tools by entering the world of biophysics. He later named this life energy as “orgone energy”. He was widely misunderstood by his peers and eventually was imprisoned by the FDA for distributing orgone accumulators that were viewed as fraudulent devices. He died soon afterwards in prison.
There is no doubt that many of Reich’s theories and opinions were outside of the box and bazaar. Whether or not he was a criminal is very debatable. He demonstrated a determination to find an effective way for more people to experience life through research, study and some activism. I am attracted to Reich’s work not only because of his research and discovery but also because of his pragmatic approach and social responsibility. His researched sparked a concern with more than the individual. He became concerned with the social causation of the neuroses and armoring.

I believe that the work of Wihelm Reich can help us discover new ways to work with organizations and industries so that they may become more sensitive to the cause of neuroses while making moves towards a new way of being that would enhance the health and expression of staff, the wider community, and the environment.

Mark Dowds

Lowen, A. (1975). Bioenergetics, NY: Penguin Compass
Keleman, S. (1987) Embodying Experience, Berkeley CA: Center Press
Baker, E.F. (1968) The life and work of Wilhelm Reich, reprinted from the Journal of Orgonomy Volume, 1: American College of Orgonomy

posted by Mark Dowds @ Sunday, January 09, 2005