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Louise Fréchette
Basic principles, Fundamental Concepts
and Values in Bioenergetic Analysis

Bioenergetic Analysis
32. Volume, No. 1, 2022, Page 43–49
Psychosozial-Verlag
DOI: 10.30820/0743-4804-2022-32-43

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Basic principles,
Fundamental Concepts and Values
in Bioenergetic Analysis
Louise Fréchette

Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32), 43–49
https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2022-32-43
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
www.bioenergetic-analysis.com

Abstract

The original basic principles, fundamental concepts and values laid out by Wilhelm Reich
and Alexander Lowen constitute, to this day, a solid basis upon which we continue to build
and expand the theoretical corpus as well as the clinical practices of today’s Bioenergetic
Analysis.

Keywords: organic pulsation, character structure, grounding, authenticity

Basic Principles, Concepts, Values

The strength of Bioenergetic Analysis first rests in its basic principles, its funda-
mental concepts, and its values. Wilhelm Reich, and then Alexander Lowen left
us with a precious legacy, on which we continue to build.
In Character Analysis and The Function of the Orgasm, Wilhelm Reich
(1933, 1942) laid the foundations of a new type of psychotherapy that took into
account the somatic aspect of the person in the psychotherapeutic process. His
work led him to elaborate important principles like the antithetical function of
the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, as well as the functional
identity principle, both of which brought a biological, observable dimension to
his theory on character analysis.
Lowen (1958, 1976) built on the foundations laid by his mentor, to create the
Bioenergetic Analysis approach, by writing about various character types in a first
major opus titled The Language of the Body. Then, in Bioenergetics, he summed up

Psychosozial-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Gießen • www.psychosozial-verlag.de 43

Strengths of Bioenergetics: Three Papers from Panel Presentation

the basic tenets of Bioenergetic Analysis and offered a synthesis of the character
types. Lowen also developed the concept of grounding, a key notion in Bioener-
getic Analysis.
Let us now see how these original concepts, basic principles and clinical prac-
tices developed by Reich and Lowen constitute to this day a sound basis and a
testimony to the strength of Bioenergetic Analysis.

Reich’s Antithetical Function of the Sympathetic

and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems and the Concept
of Organic Pulsation

Reich thought that the strength of an organism lied in its capacity for pulsation:
the stronger the pulsation, the stronger the vitality of the organism. He argued
that the capacity for pulsation is related to the degree of freedom to which the
energy can freely flow from the core to the periphery of the organism. Howev-
er, because of the challenges of life, this energy flow does not circulate freely as
we oscillate between states of expansion and states of contraction. Reich’s belief
was that if an organism became less defended, less armored through therapeutic
work, the amplitude of movement between states of expansion and contraction
would increase, thus allowing a stronger organic pulsation and more vitality in
the organism.
Reich’s concept of the antithetical function of the sympathetic and parasym-
pathetic nervous systems, although elementary at the time, and since revised in
the light of the development of Porge’s (2011) Polyvagal theory, still was an at-
tempt at bringing a scientific dimension to the phenomenon of expansion and
contraction in the living organism, based of his observation of unicellular organ-
isms like amoebas.
To this day, when we do therapeutic work, we are still mindful of the quality of
the pulsation of life we witness in our patients’ bodies. We still observe what helps
our patients to relax, feel safe, become more expressive, and let more of their true
Self come to the surface. Conversely, we also pay attention to the context in which
they retract, contract, pull in, freeze, or disconnect, due to a state of fear, or to
whatever defensive manoeuvre that has been triggered in the course of the work.
Hence, the understanding of the ebb and flow of the energy from the core to the
periphery, is still to this day an important component of our therapeutic work.
This organic pulsation principle is not merely an intellectual concept. It rests
on scientific, observable phenomena that are now being confirmed by the re-

44 Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32)

 Louise Fréchette: Basic principles, Fundamental Concepts and Values …

search in neurobiology, and therefore constitutes a solid building block in our

theoretical construct.

Reich’s Functional Identity Principle

Another basic principle formulated by Reich can be viewed as a cornerstone in

our approach. It is the functional identity principle. This principle states that the
function of the bodily tension patterns is identical to that of the defense mech-
anisms on the psychic level. In other words, the body reflects the inner psychic
organization in the form of typical postures or bodily tension patterns.

“Character armorings were now seen to be functionally identical with muscular

hypertonia. The concept ‘functional identity’ which I had to introduce, means
nothing more than muscular attitudes and character attitudes have the same func-
tion in the psychic mechanism. They can replace one another and can be influenced
by one another. Basically, they cannot be separated. They are identical in their func-
tion” (Reich, 1975, p. 243).

The functional identity principle, which was developed in The Function of the
Orgasm, several years after Reich had written his opus on Character Analysis, was
probably one of the most brilliant insights into the relationship between body
and psyche, at the time. It was a ground-breaking finding as it opened up new pos-
sibilities with regards to a type of clinical practice that took into consideration the
observation of tension patterns in a person as a key factor in the understanding
of his/her psychic organization. It expanded on and deepened the initial insight
Reich had when he first wrote Character Analysis while he was still the analyst
preoccupied with the analysis of formal resistances, writing the following:

“The way the patient speaks, looks at and greets the analyst, lies on the couch, the
inflection of the voice, the degree of conventional politeness which is maintained,
etc., are valuable cues in assessing the secret resistances with which the patient coun-
ters the basic rule. And once they have been understood, they can be eliminated
through interpretation. It is not only what the patient says but how he says it that
has to be interpreted” (Reich, 1976, p. 54).

Here, again, a basic principle like that of functional identity is at the foundation
of the therapeutic work we still do to this day. In our practice, we still pay atten-

Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32) 45

Strengths of Bioenergetics: Three Papers from Panel Presentation

tion to tension patterns and to how they may reveal typical defensive attitudes. It
gives us clues as to how a person had to armor himself/herself in order to survive.
The fact that the functional identity principle still guides our intervention is an-
other testimony to the relevance and soundness of this theoretical concept.

Lowen’s Character Types

Like his mentor Reich, Lowen believed in the concept of organic pulsation. He
developed Bioenergetic Analysis around the notion of restoring the natural pul-
sation in the body by directly working with the muscular armor with a triple aim.
By softening the bodily tension patterns, he believed this facilitated the access to
the person’s core feelings, while allowing him to work as well with the ego defens-
es triggered in the course of the work. Lowen’s clinical practice of focusing on
softening the muscular armor was designed to open up energy circulation in the
body in order to restore the vitality and the expressive capacities of the person.
Lowen was also a strong believer in Reich’s functional identity principle. He
was a keen observer of his patients and because he had a special talent for body
reading, he eventually started to differentiate between various types of tension
patterns related to different types of issues, which led him to write about various
character types. He eventually developed a chart that defined five character types:
the schizoid, the oral, the psychopath, the masochist and the rigid.
It is important, however, to remember that Lowen himself expressed regrets
for having developed the character types because he thought therapists tended to
“label” their clients. As a matter of fact, when he published Bioenergetics, where
he presented a synthesis of the main aspects of the character types, he insisted on
the importance of “seeing the person” as opposed to trying to fit that person into
a type:

“We, bioenergetic therapists do not approach a patient as a character type. We see

him as a unique individual whose striving for pleasure is fraught with anxiety against
which he has erected certain defenses. Determining the character structure enables
us to see his deeper problems and so to help him free himself from the limitation
imposed by his past life experience” (Lowen, 1976, p. 137).

Indeed, in his later years, Lowen continued to expressed regrets for having elabo-
rated his character types chart, and he kept emphasizing the importance of “seeing
the person” in order to understand the unique way of being of each patient.

46 Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32)

 Louise Fréchette: Basic principles, Fundamental Concepts and Values …

Despite Lowen’s misgivings about having elaborated the character types, they
are still taught to this day, and they have their usefulness. As teachers, we always
insist that character types not be used as labels. The useful contribution of the
character types to our approach has been to help us better understand that var-
ious core issues may arise at various developmental stages, related to a variety
of painful experiences (rejection, abandonment, seduction, control, rejection of
sexuality) and that these experiences would impact the person in different ways,
both somatically and psychically. They constitute important points of reference
to help us understand the complexity of a patient’s unique existential struggle, as
we may observe a combination of issues or layers related to more than one char-
acter type in the same person.
To this day, the reference to character types helps us connect what we observe
in the bodies of our patients, with what we hear about their personal history as
well as their current plight. However, we had to learn how to use the character
types in such a way as to refine our ability to “see the person”. We also had to ex-
pand the original chart to eventually include characterological organizations like
the borderline and the narcissist, as well as expand on our understanding of the
more primitive structures. Still, all in all, the original character types Lowen has
left us constitute a solid basis upon which we continue to build and expand our
theoretical concepts and clinical practices as bioenergetic analysts.

Lowen’s Concept of Grounding

Although Lowen understood the value of surrendering to one’s sexual response

and tender feelings, which had been Reich’s sole focus in later life, Lowen also be-
lieved patients should be helped to own their strength and develop their capacity
for self-assertion (aggressive energy). Consequently, Lowen paid attention to the
importance of verticality in the therapeutic work. He wanted to make sure that
his patients could face the world on their own two feet when they came out of an
intense therapeutic session, hence the concept of grounding.
Lowen’s concept of grounding is another cornerstone of Bioenergetic Analysis
and another strength of our approach. Grounding means finding one’s connec-
tion to the ground, bringing down the energy to the feet, to the earth. By doing
so, a person finds an anchor, settles in his/her center of gravity, not only somati-
cally but psychically as well. By grounding, a person learns to self-regulate, to self-
possess his/her inner experience and as well as his/her capacity for self-expres-
sion.

Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32) 47

Strengths of Bioenergetics: Three Papers from Panel Presentation

“What I do know surely is that the more a person can feel his contact with the
ground, the more he can hold his ground, the more charge he can tolerate and the
more feeling he can handle … This makes grounding a prime objective in Bioener-
getic work. It implies that the major thrust of the work is downwards. That is to get
the person into his legs and feet” (Lowen, 1976, p. 196).

As we have experienced in the evolution of Bioenergetic Analysis throughout

the years, grounding remains a precious concept as well as a valuable clinical
tool to work on self-regulation, especially with issues related to trauma. Hence,
grounding remains another important cornerstone in the contemporary practice
of Bioenergetic Analysis. It is a solid concept that has proven its value in our clin-
ical practice.

Lowen’s Faith in the Body

The strength of Bioenergetic Analysis also resides in its founder’s unwavering

trust in the wisdom of the body and in its potential for healing, a trust he knew
how to communicate through his writings and during his workshops. However,
the downside of Lowen’s deep conviction that he was correct in his views, result-
ed in an authoritarian attitude that did not leave much space for confronting his
ideas and his practices. Nevertheless, his legacy is still major in terms of the depth
of the healing work that is being done in Bioenergetic Analysis.

Bioenergetic Analysis and Core Values of Authenticity

and Congruence

Right from the beginning, Lowen insisted on the need for every therapist and
trainer to “do their work”, meaning undergoing personal therapy and continuing
to work on one’s personal issues even after training was completed. The Bioener-
getic Analysis training itself always expected a high degree of personal exposure
that revealed vulnerability and authenticity. The many hours of therapy and train-
ing we all had to go through forced us to face our own issues and be authentic
and true to ourselves as much as possible. In our community, authenticity and
congruence are highly valued. We are far from perfect, but at least, as a collective,
we have at heart to try to be open and honest with one another and to be aware of
our own shadow. This is not always pleasant or easy to do, we do not always live

48 Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32)

 Louise Fréchette: Basic principles, Fundamental Concepts and Values …

up to that expectation, but I still believe this is one of our strengths. Not only is
it one of our strengths, but it is also what helps us feel connected to one another
on a deep level, despite our many differences.

Trying to Fill in the Gaps Left by Reich and Lowen

As sound as our basic concepts, principles and clinical practices had been, thanks
to Reich and Lowen, Bioenergetic Analysis had its limitations, both theoretically
and in practice. This is due to the era in which it was developed as well as to the
style of its founder. After Lowen stepped down as director of the International In-
stitute, there was a strong need to fill some gaps and to connect to the mainstream
of psychotherapy. In the second intervention on this panel, Vincentia Schroeter
will address the story of how we continued to evolve.

References

Lowen, A. (1976). Bioenergetics. London: Penguin Books.

Lowen, A. (1971, original ed. 1958). The Language of the Body. London: Collier Macmillan
Publishing Co.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, At-
tachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
Reich, W. (1976, original ed. in German 1933). Character Analysis. Pocket Book.
Reich, W. (1975, original ed. 1942). The Function of the Orgasm. Pocket Book.

About the Author

Louise Fréchette is a member of the international faculty of the IIBA, member of the Société
Québécoise d’analyse bioénergétique (SoQAB). She is a practicing bioenergetic analyst
since 1980, in Montreal, Quebec. Since 1987, she has been teaching Bioenergetic Analysis
in Canada, in the United States, in France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Russia, as well as in Ar-
gentina, Brazil and New Zealand.

[email protected]

Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2022 (32) 49