Austrian Psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich initiated body Psychotherapy. A mentee of Freud, he broke away from the classical psychoanalytic world and focused on the physical impacts of emotional and mental distress. Reich theorised that we hold unexpressed painful feelings and conflicts in our posture, musculature and movement. He believed that it was possible for psychological blocks to be released through directly loosening body tensions – ‘Body Armouring’. Reich’s theories were embraced and expanded in the context of the growing Humanistic Psychotherapy movement. Many branches of Body Psychotherapy developed in the 1950’s, including Alexander Lowen’s Bioenergetics, Ron Kurtz’s Hakomi, David Boedella’s Biosynthesis and John Pierrakos’s Core Energetics.

Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy was developed in Oslo around this time by Gerda Boyesen (1922-2005), a Norwegian Psychologist and physiotherapist. She explored connections between mind and body through Reichian work and as a physiotherapist she observed the positive impacts of neuromuscular massages on her mental health patients. Over time, Boyesen came to believe that our inherently true selves can be freed from defensive structures by listening to what our bodies want and facilitating movements which have been repressed. ‘Biodynamic’ refers to free flowing life energy itself.

Biodynamic Psychotherapy combines psychotherapy and body work to help clients to get in touch with their core life energy. It is supported by theories of human development, neurobiology, attachment and trauma, as well as facets of humanistic and psychodynamic concepts.

To find out more about Body Psychotherapy, you may wish to watch this short video from the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP)