142 INTERNATIONAL BODY JOURNAL THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SOMATIC PRAXIS follows: roots andcontextsofbodypsychotherapy. The book contains seven mainsections,as an expansive compendiumofthephilosophical,biological,psychological andsociological DAVID BOADELLA 2. 1. Michael Heller’s bookhasbeenwidelypraisedforitsdepthofscholarship. new It is 6. 5. 4. 3. A fascinatingphilosophicalchapterdealingwithSocrates, Plato, and Descartes, ofFarA detailedoverview Easternapproaches tothebodyandmindtakesup My own connections toOla Raknes andtheScandinavian legacyofReich are Only inchapter6,thelongestbook at118pages,doesHeller writethe ofpsychoanalysis, libido,Chapter 5,at105pagesinlength,detailsthehistory This isfollowed by achapterof84pagesonhypnosis,gymnasticsandrelaxation. A sectiononbiologyandneurology, 100pages long,gives agreat dealofvaluable with manyfine historicaldetails. and ofrelated schoolsfrom thatperiod. This periodisdealtwithin great length Boyesen gives himastrong interest intheOslo periodofReichian Johnsen, andLisbethMarcher. Heller’s personaltrainingwithGerda concentrates onAadelBulow Hansen, Berit Bunkan, Trygve Braatoy, Lillemor and Nic Waal continuedtoinfluenceawholegenerationoftherapists. Here Heller one wasthelegacyheleftinOslo, inspired by which,therapistssuchasOla Raknes America. There were two main developments in neo-Reichian ; ofbodypsychotherapy afterReichto dealwiththehistory leftOslo andmoved to by Reich’s secondpartner, Elsa Lindenberg. ofthischapterattemptsThe lastpart Oslo andrelated Scandinavianbodytherapiesasdeveloped by Elsa Gindler and He provides much valuable information of surroundingvegetotherapy the inbirth of Wilhelmfull story Reich inhisScandinavianperiod, whichisdealtwithatlength. also laterinBerlin. Reich and Otto Fenichel, during the time when Reich wasstillliving in Vienna and ofthischapterbeginswithastudy oftheinteractionsbetween Freud,The lastpart relationship withthebodyandhisinteractionsAdler, Ferenczi andGroddeck. and thebody. This explores aspectsofFreud’s manynew complexandambivalent Berlin. He viewpoint. alsowritesaboutenergyandspiritualityfrom hisparticular body therapyasacomplementtopsychotherapy, asitdeveloped inScandinaviaand Here, Heller gives clearinformationaboutAntonMesmer andtheearlyroots of information onenergyflow, tissues, respiration, pulsation andorganismicvitality. psychotherapy. shown tobehighlyrelevant totheunderstandingofancientroots ofbody Pythagoras, whowasoneofPlato’s maininspirations,andwhosework Ihave understanding of the links between body and mind. Here I personally missed Spinoza, follows, outliningHeller’s ofthesethinkers’ view relevance forthe first 75pages. Body Psychotherapy: History, Concepts,Methods W. W. Norton&Company(August20,2012) A Review of Michael C. Heller’s A Review ofMichaelC. Heller’s David Boadella

to makecontroversial interpretations thatexpress ordogmaticassertions hissubjective him. However, Heller is a man of strong personal opinions who does not hesitate at times different leaves onthetrees ofbodypsychotherapy. on thetrees makingitdifficult toseethewood. Heller gives incredible detailaboutsome minimal orsuperficialtreatment ofother valuable directions ofbody psychotherapy. Heller ashesinglesoutthisschoolforhighpraise, injuxtapositiontohissometimes this therapist described in such detail. It also highlights the personal preference of Michael psychotherapy school—thatofGeorge Downing. It isgoodsoseetheexcellent work of processes inthebodyandrelational interactions. theory, ortothemonumentalwork of AllanSchore, whowrote somuchaboutenergetic

His historicalresearch isfascinatingwhenhefollows themesthatexcite himorinterest It issaidthatdetailedresearch cansometimesleadtotheproblem oftoomuchfocus Within thischapterthere are 26pagesofstrong body validation for oneparticular It was surprisingto see almostnoreference, anywhere in the book,toattachment 7. The second part ofthischapterhassomethingtosayaboutthedevelopment ofThe secondpart The finalchapterof84pagesisonnon-verbal communication research in relation Important omissionsfrom thischapterincludethelackofreference tothetherapeutic The life’s work ofonethemajorbodypsychotherapists, Stanley Keleman, is Reich’s work in the American period, and major body-psychotherapeutic directions other methods. and cognitive reflection. Thismethodnever was,as Heller states,asynthesisof psychosomatic aspectsofthesethree germlayers: motoricaction,emotionalaffect Brown andJerome Liss. The word “Biosynthesis” isbasedontheintegrationof organism. This modelinturninspired, indifferent ways,Gerda Boyesen, Malcolm germ-layers inthedevelopingstudy ofthephysiologythree primary not derived from William Sheldon, asHeller states,butfrom adetailedorganismic Biosynthesis, Firstly, modelof“life-streams” theembryological inBiosynthesis was also brieflymentioned. Unfortunately, Heller gives inaccurateinformationabout Beebe and Tronick.Beebe into bodysignallingbetween infantsandbabies, highlightingthework ofStern, to psychotherapy. This is packed with valuable information about video research of BodyPsychotherapy. which wasafoundationforCourtenay Young’s book, to theextremely pioneeringwork ofPierre important Janet inbodypsychotherapy, relation toconnectingthepsyche tothebody. There isalsonoreference whatsoever work ofDonald Winnicott, inEngland, whofirstusedtheterm “grounding” in backwards ratherthanmoving forwards. brief,schools are very even minimal,andalsoprimarilyseethemasstepping briefly.mentioned, butonlyvery Heller’s remarks aboutotherpost-bioenergetic movedLewis, awayfrom forwards thistendencyinvaluable ways. out thatmanysecond-generationtherapistsfrom thisdirection, suchasRobert lead tore-traumatisation inpatients withweak ego-structures. He doesnotpoint valid criticismsofLowen’s over-emphasis oncatharsis,whichhasbeenshown may , oneofthethree co-foundersofbioenergeticanalysis.He makes that developed from thattime.Here Heller devotes mostofhisattentionto The History andDevelopmentThe History A REVIEWOF 143 INTERNATIONAL BODY PSYCHOTHERAPY JOURNAL THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SOMATIC PRAXIS 144 INTERNATIONAL BODY PSYCHOTHERAPY JOURNAL THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SOMATIC PRAXIS Evolution ofhis Work, amongotherbooks. He istheauthorof doctoratefrom theOpen Internationalhonorary University Medicine. ofComplementary been publishingthe journal He holdslectures He worldwide,andistheauthorofnumerous booksand articles. has is thefounderofBiosynthesis. He hasspentmanyyears inpsychotherapeutic practice. education, literature andpsychology. He istrainedincharacter-analyticvegetotherapy and BIOGRAPHY on theissuesIraiseandthenlookforpersonalanswers.” Michael Heller concludes hisencyclopaedia with the sentence:“I advise the reader tofocus ofresearch,his overview hisphilosophicalinterpretations andhispersonalopinions. wants toachieve. Rather, hisbookisamassive encyclopaedia ofhisscientificknowledge, gives This unfortunately it a fundamentalist flavour, which is the opposite of what Heller “idealistic”. showed thatallschoolsofpsychotherapy containaspectswhichHeller wouldjudgetobe Psychotherapy (Vol onEssenceandGround, 2,no1)in1998,myarticle where I the transpersonalaspectsofpsychotherapy waspublishedintheInternational Journal of as“idealistic”criticises theseviewpoints andtherefore unscientific.Astrong defenceof in Reich’s conceptions,Biodynamic Psychology, Biosynthesis andCore Energetics. He positions are clearlymine”. subject, sothatthereader whoreads thisbookfrom beginningtoendwillnotice that some objective, even thoughinhisfinalwords hestates:“Ihave takenclearoptionsoneach because ofhisfinelydetailedandimmense research, thathisopinionsandconclusionsare andconceptsthanonmethods.Hellerhis bookstronger onhistory gives theimpression, oftheforestand whatisnot,hisview intheendisanintenselypersonalone. This makes as largelyirrelevant. This meansthatwhenitcomestojudgmentsaboutwhatis“scientific” on someofthetrees inthatforest, andtounder-focusonothers,whichhecanthendismiss are notnecessarilytrue. viewpoint. by hismassiveThese mayappeartobesupported quotationsandreferences but DAVID BOADELLA David BoadellaB.A.,M.Ed., D.Sc.hon,psychotherapist SPV, UKCP andECP, studied According toPeter Levine,Heller’s bookis“the bible ofbody-orientedpsychotherapy”. Heller writesatlengthabouttranspersonalaspectsofbodypsychotherapy, asfound Thus, Heller’s approach totheforest ofbodypsychotherapy leadshimtooverly focus Befreite Lebensenergie(translatedasLifestreams) and Energy &CharacterEnergy since1970.In 1995,hewasawarded an : The Wilhelm 145 INTERNATIONAL BODY PSYCHOTHERAPY JOURNAL THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SOMATIC PRAXIS