Alexander Lowen’s bioenergetic therapy is one of the most influential body psychotherapies, perhaps surpassed only by the characteroanalytic vegetotherapy of Wilhelm Reich, who was Lowen’s teacher.

In this article we will describe what this therapy consists of, as well as what character types exist according to Lowen.

Biography of Alexander Lowen

Alexander Lowen (1910-2008) was born and raised in New York. His parents had emigrated to the United States from Russia. During his childhood and adolescence, which he described as lonely and stressful, he spent his leisure time practising sports and other physical activities . Later she also discovered Jacobson’s yoga and muscle relaxation.

Lowen earned three doctorates during his life: one in Science and Business, one in Law (both at the City College of New York), and later one in Medicine at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

Between 1940 and 1952 he was a disciple of Wilhelm Reich, creator of Character-Analytic Vegetotherapy , the first body psychotherapy. Lowen practiced Reich’s methods until he began to work on his orgone theory, which many psychotherapy experts considered a real fraud.

It was then that he developed his own clinical input: bioenergetic analysis or bioenergetic therapy . In 1956 he founded the Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis together with John Pierrakos and William Walling, also former students of Reich. He continued his activity as a psychotherapist until he suffered a heart attack in 2006, two years before his death.

Bioenergetic therapy

Lowen was of the opinion that psychopathology derives from conflicts between innate human predispositions and the need to adapt to society. More specifically, he conceptualized neurosis as a consequence of the accumulation of sexual energy, in a way similar to the approaches advocated by Reich, his mentor.

According to Lowen, people tend to downplay the importance of our bodily and emotional experience ; in contrast, we overestimate cognition and over-rationalise. However, the psychological and physical dimensions of human experience are closely interrelated, so that one can cause alterations in the other.

In this context, bioenergetics can be defined as the study of the personality from the analysis of the energetic processes of the human organism. In particular, Lowen proposed that energy is naturally anchored in two poles – the head and the genitals – and flows freely between them; alterations in this flow cause disorders.

The therapeutic process

Based on Reich’s original hypotheses and his own Lowendesarrollo a therapeutic procedure he called bioenergetic analysis , although it is better known as “bioenergetic therapy”.

The goal of bioenergetic therapy is to help the client to obtain pleasure in a satisfactory way with all the basic functions of his organism: motor, breathing, sexuality, emotions, feelings and self-expression. For this it is necessary to release accumulated tension, both on a physical and psychological level.

The process of bioenergy therapy consists of three clearly differentiated phases :

  1. Become aware of physical stress and psychological problems.
  2. Emotional discharge: expression of frustrated feelings and muscle strain; defence mechanisms are no longer necessary.
  3. Release of the energy associated with conflicts; access to a full physical and psychological experience.

Character Types

Lowen described five types of characteristic structure depending on the parts of the body where the flow of energy is impeded . The body regions that this author considered particularly relevant are the eyes, mouth, neck, shoulders, chest, diaphragm and waist.

1. Schizoid

People with a schizoid character tend to dissociate their thoughts and emotions, as well as to lose contact with reality and be rejected by others. Because they grew up in hostile environments, these people are constantly afraid.

According to Lowen, in these cases the flow of energy is blocked at the neck, shoulders and waist. The weight tends to be carried on the outside of the feet, and the constitution is usually thin.

2. Oral

The oral personality is characterized by childish attitudes derived from the failure to meet the needs for affection during early development. These people are usually narcissistic and dependent on others , or excessively independent.

The energy blockage occurs mainly in the shoulders and waist, so the extremities tend to be weak and less developed than normal. In addition, breathing is shallow.

3. Psychopathic

In the case of the psychopathic character the blockages would be in the diaphragm and in the waist , which makes that the energy does not flow properly towards the genital pole. These people block their feelings, including sexual feelings, and tend to dominate, seduce and deceive others, while fearing that others will take advantage of them in similar ways.

4. Masochistic

Masochistic people tend to show a negative, submissive, insecure and unassertive attitude , and to repress their intense feelings of hostility and aggression. This characteristic structure derives from excessive pressure from adults during early childhood that blocks the person’s individuality and pleasure.

On a physical level, the masochistic character manifests itself in energy blockages in the neck, specifically in the throat and waist. This increases the likelihood that feelings of anxiety will appear. The body is usually stocky and short, according to bioenergy theorists.

5. Rigid

This type of personality is characterized by traits such as aggressiveness, stubbornness, ambition, pride, and compulsive sexuality. Rigid people repress what they consider signs of weakness, such as crying, and fear emotional closeness to other people . Of the five types, this is the least pathological because of the good contact with reality.

In this case the tension accumulates to some extent in all parts of the body; if the degree of tension concentration is relatively low, it can manifest itself in a vital and energetic attitude.