About Alexander Lowen, M.D., Founder of Bioenergetic Therapy

"Alexander Lowen: An Energetic Man" by Glenn E. Good and Fredric E. Rabinowitz, Journal of Counseling & Development, Sept-Oct 1992, 71:3-6.

"It's not fair. Leave me alone!" the young woman screamed as she hit the mattress with a tennis racket. "Keep going with those words. Say it louder, with more intensity. Keep hitting the mattress," responded Dr. Alexander Lowen. The young woman looked back into Dr. Lowen's eyes as if she was making sure that she had his approval to really express herself fully. She then banged furiously, her face flush, and in a piercing loud voice screamed, "I hate you. I could kill you." She then broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. As she tried to force herself to stop crying, Lowen intervened, "Don't cut off the energy. Let it flow." Eventually the young woman grew calm and pronounced that she was feeling less uptight about revealing herself in front of an audience of a thousand onlookers. "How do you feel now?" asked Dr. Lowen. "I feel alive. My body is tingling. I feel like a weight has been lifted."

Dr. Lowen, a vigorous, healthy-looking, 80-year-old man, turned and faced the audience at the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference in Anaheim, California. "This young woman has just demonstrated the power of the body's natural movement toward energetic release. She was able to experience her hatred in a pure fashion uncensored by her mind. This isn't a cure; it is just a release of some of the energy which she has been blocking in her body."

Dr. Alexander Lowen, the founder of Bioenergetic Analysis, was born in 1910 in New York City, the older of two children of Jewish immigrant parents. He remembers his parents as constantly fighting, although there was no violence. His main pleasure was out on the streets playing with the other children his age. There was a great amount of physical activity, ball playing, and roller skating, which he enjoyed very much. When he was about 13, the neighborhood changed, and all his friends left. Adolescence was a very lonely and isolated period for him. He aspired to build a community in which he would be important. Later, he went to the City College of New York and graduated with a bachelor's degree in science and business. He then matriculated at Brooklyn Law School where he received his LLB summa cum laude and his doctorate magna cum laude. He taught law and worked as an athletic director at summer camps. During this time, he grew curious about the relationship between physical and mental health. He experimented with progressive muscle relaxation and yoga but wasn't fully satisfied by these approaches.

In the fall of 1940, Lowen enrolled in a course offered by Wilhelm Reich on character analysis, which explored the connection between chronic muscular tension, termed body armor, and the neurotic personality. Lowen became fascinated with Reich's ideas, especially his concept of how people handle their energy. Reich believed that the key to the process was the sexual orgasm.

Lowen began therapy with Reich in the spring of 1942. Within the first session, Reich had Lowen not only experiencing his breathing but also screaming intensely. He continued his therapy with Reich for 3 years. In 1945, Lowen became a therapist trained by Reich. He charged his first patient two dollars an hour but admits now that he may not have been worth it. After 2 years as Reichian therapist, Lowen decided to go to medical school in Switzerland. He graduated from the University of Geneva in June, 1951.

Lowen returned from Europe and in 1953 associated with John Pierrakos and William Walling, physicians who were trained in Reichian analysis. Their work together laid the foundation for the creation of the Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis in 1956. As Reich turned away from character analysis and toward experiments with orgone energy, Lowen distanced himself from his former mentor. Lowen continued his personal therapy with Dr. John Pierrakos. During this time, Lowen developed the basic body exercises and positions that are now standard techniques in bioenergetics. Bioenergetic analysis, as it has currently evolved, is a therapeutic approach that combines work with the body and the mind to help people resolve their emotional problems and to realize more of their potential for pleasure and joy in living. The body work of bioenergetics includes both manipulative procedures and special exercises. The exercises are designed to help people get in touch with body tensions and to release them through physical movement. (Lowen & Lowen, 1977). Lowen's first book, titled The Physical Dynamics of Character Structure, was published in 1958 and is now available under the title The Language of the Body. Over the past five decades, Lowen has published 12 books and numerous articles. He is the executive director of the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis and consults with patients and trainees around the world. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife of 47 years.

FR: How does bioenergetics reflect your personal upbringing?

AL: Everyone who becomes a psychotherapist eventually adopts a theory that suits his needs. Before I even got involved in therapy, I was aware of the feeling that the body and the mind had to go together, in terms of my own needs. I later learned that this was due to the fact I was split. My mother was intellectual, oriented to the head; and my father was pleasure loving, oriented to the body. They were like a cat and dog trying to live together, but never trusting each other. I got something from each one, but I couldn't put it together.

GG: What moved you in the direction of working with the body?

AL: One of the things is that I have always been involved in sports, physical activities, and I have always been aware of how good I felt for that. That certainly moved me in this direction. The other thing is that unconsciously, sexuality was always a very important issue for me. I had a lot of sexual problems. So rather than run away, I was drawn toward Wilhelm Reich who, unlike most therapists, really dealt with sexual issues.

I will tell you a cute story about this. When I was taking a course with Wilhelm Reich on character analysis, he gave us a bibliography that included Freud's "Three Essays on Sexuality" (Freud, 1905/1953). After I got into therapy with Reich, I suddenly realized that I never finished reading those essays. I had stopped when I came to the essay on infantile sexuality. But from that moment when I stopped, I became convinced that sexuality was the key to health. You know, the experiences that change you are not always conscious.

FR: Tell us about your relationship with Wilhelm Reich.

AL: I met Reich out of my search for a connection between my split parts. I found that he had the answers for me. He became my teacher and therapist. When I finished my therapy with him, I felt released and joyful, but I realized later that I hadn't worked everything out. He had focused only on the orgasm reflex, which, when it develops, makes one feel good, but it doesn't hold up if major problems both physically and mentally are not worked through. I realized that I still had many problems and tensions left.

Reich was a disturbed man on some level, but he was a genius on another. I owe him a lot. I couldn't be where I am without him. He had problems in relation to people who got involved with him. Luckily, I never got that deeply involved with him, even though I knew him well. SInce I didn't get tied in to him, I avoided any real conflicts with him. At the end of his life, he went off, no question about it. But that happens to a lot of geniuses, and doesn't reflect upon their work. In my opinion it sometimes takes a crazy man to see the insanity in our culture.

GG: So you developed bioenergetic analysis as a result of your work with Reich?

AL: I developed bioenergetic analysis to work on myself, as well as my patients. Basically, my therapy has been a voyage of self-discovery. As I found myself, I have written about the issues I faced in myself. They are the same issues that other people have. My idea of health is to be fully graceful, fully gracious, and to have a sense of joy in my body. I am willing to spend my whole life to get that.

FR: In your book Bioenergetics (Lowen, 1975), you said something about wanting to be famous. What is your reaction to that now?

AL: Oh, God! I am past that now. That is what I wanted. By the time I wrote that, I was already beyond that. I told Reich that it was one of my dreams to be famous. He said, "I will make you famous." Once fame comes to pass, it is meaningless.

GG: What is it like for you to be getting older?

AL: I feel that I am much more at peace with myself. I have a much greater sense of who I am. I feel greater freedom, yet at the same time I have less energy than I had when I was younger. I am still very vital, but I would like to keep much more of my youth. But you can't do it as you get older. I think there is more pleasure in my life now than when I was younger. But, I am still somewhat driven. I am working to be free from compulsion.

FR: You have been married for quite a while. What have you learned from your relationship with your wife?

AL: She has taught me a lot. Given both of our strong desires for independence, we have passed 47 years of marriage with good feelings for each other because we have given each other the freedom to be independent. The moment people become dependent, they are going to hate each other.

My wife and I got married before a justice of the peace in a sort of elopement. I was 32 and she was not quite 20. As we stood in front of the judge, I was scared. In my fear, I said to her, "Well look. Let's just accept the commitment as a day-to-day proposition. Any time you want out, I will gladly let you out, so that neither one of us feels trapped in marriage." The only way you can make a marriage work is as free, independent people. It needs to be based on the good feelings that you have for each other, not on need.

GG: How do you respond to the critics of bioenergetics who say that touching a client's body is unethical?

AL: A therapist is in some ways a substitute parent. He is not simply a guide. One doesn't get into transference relationships with a guide. Can one be a good parent if one is afraid to touch his children? But one can be a very bad parent (destructive) if touching a child is sexual. That is sexual abuse. The therapist who cannot control the way he touches a patient should never touch one.

I do not think that you can convince critics because they are projecting their anxiety about touching into the situation. Bioenergetics is a very powerful technique, and it involves doing a lot of things that other people would not do. Not all therapists are really fully qualified to be body therapists. It is unfortunate. One of the reasons is that it takes half a lifetime to be a good therapist. There are a lot of life experiences that are needed: working on yourself, working on your problems, and learning how to do bioenergetics.

If patients can trust you, then touch is not a breach of trust. If you are not trustworthy, then don't touch them! I don't always have perfect results with my patients, but they know I am sincere, straight, and doing the best that I can.

FR: Can therapists who do other kinds of counseling or therapy integrate bioenergetic principles?

AL: Many therapists are already beginning to do more bodywork and [are] integrating it into their therapy. They realize that the body is where it is at. You have to take care of your body. You can't do it all in your head. Talking therapy alone is limited. Therapists are beginning to pay attention to breathing; they are doing a little body work, and will continue to do more as they gain experience with these techniques.

GG: Where do you see bioenergetics heading?

AL: I think that it is just beginning to be really recognized in this country. The big problem with bioenergetics is the power of the therapy; it evokes very strong feelings. It needs people to do it who are very well trained and with much experience. I don't think that you could be a good bioenergetic therapist until you have had 10 years of experience. It is a slow process. It will grow slowly, but it is the best therapy there is, generally speaking. It has the verbal analytic component and the body work. It harmonizes those.

REFERENCES:

Freud, S. (1953). Three essays on sexuality. In J. Strachey (Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 7). London: Hogarth Press. (Original work published in 1905).

Lowen, A. (1975). Bioenergetics. New York: Penguin.

Lowen, A., & Lowen, L. (1977). The vibrant way to health: A manual of exercises. New York: Harper & Row.

SUGGESTED READINGS:

Lowen, A. (1958). The language of the body. New York: Macmillan.

Lowen, A. (1965). Love and orgasm. New York: Macmillan. Lowen, A. (1967). The betrayal of the body. New York: Macmillan.

Lowen, A. (1970). Pleasure: A creative approach to life. New York: Penguin.

Lowen, A. (1975). Depression and the body. New York: Penguin.

Lowen, A. & Lowen, L. (1977). The vibrant way to health: A manual of exercises. New York: Harper & Row.

Lowen, A. (1980). Fear of life. New York: Macmillan.

Lowen, A. (1984). Narcissism: Denial of the true self. New York: Macmillan.

Lowen, A. (1988). Love, sex, and your heart. New York: Macmillan.

Lowen, A. (1989). Bioenergetic analysis. In R.J. Corsini & D. Wedding (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (4th ed., pp. 572-583). Itasca, IL: Peacock.

Lowen, A. (1990). The spirituality of the body. New York: Macmillan. Lowen, A. (1995). Joy: Surrender to the body.