Q: Who is Wilhelm Reich? Who are the "Neo-Reichians"?

A: Wilhelm Reich was a psychoanalyst, a protege of Freud's, practicing in Vienna in the 1920's and 1930's. In the 1930's he began developing a theory about the physical process of emotions: that what we experience as "feeling" is a flow of physical energy in the body. And that blocking feelings is done by physically blocking the energy flow. Reich also studied the effects of the fascist society he lived in on individuals' emotional processing, and worked to promote more freedom. He got in trouble with the Viennese psychoanalysts for diverging from Freud's theories, and with his government for dissidence. He came to the United States in the 1940's, where he established a research facility in Rangely, Maine. There he studied the physical properties of energy, both in human bodies and in the environment. Reich had many students, and some of them went on to develop his theories along various paths: these are the Neo-Reichians. They include Elsworth Baker (Orgonomy), Alexander Lowen (Bioenergetics), John Pierrakos (Core Energetics), and Charles Kelley (Radix).

Q: What is the difference between Radix and other Neo-Reichian approaches?

A: While all Neo-Reichian approaches evolved from Wilhelm Reich's work, some theoretical differences have occurred over time that result in the techniques being different. Also, most approaches have at some point incorporated theory and techniques from people other than Reich. Radix, for instance, was developed by Charles Kelley, who is a vision psychologist and was a student both of Reich and of Bates vision work. So Radix incorporates Bates work as well as Reichian ideas; also, it has evolved along with developments in the verbal psychotherapy field.