Reichian Therapy / Dr. Frisch’s Method

When we are open, we experience pleasure, liveliness, and vitality. Many of us, however, find that our lives and relationships feel painfully constricted. We develop coping strategies early in life to ward off difficult, uncomfortable feelings. These defenses become habitual and can inhibit us from experiencing joyful, expansive feelings as well as honest contact with our pain. We become frozen and trapped in our defenses, and can become physically ill. These symptoms are cries for help from our wounded past, a past that may keep us from being fully available to the present. Our contracted self is revealed in our character structure and body armor. To find our free, authentic self we must become conscious of our armoring – our self-distortions that turn us into unhealthy adults that attack, cling, isolate, dominate and distort reality.

As we shed unnecessary layers of armor and facade we begin to discover our true, creative, naturally sexual and spiritual natures.

What is Dr. Frisch’s Method?

Dr. Frisch was a clinician, teacher and supervisor for 4 decades. She has developed an innovative approach based, in part, on the theory and technique of Wilhelm Reich and includes the development of her own unique, formalized method founded on her years of experience.

From Reich, she teaches and practices Character Analysis, an out-of-the-box, at times confrontive, active and engaged dialogue with the patient’s defensive character patterns and unhealthy coping strategies that are visible and obvious in the room, in the here and now. The defensive patterns are usually part and parcel of the patient’s presenting list of problems and symptoms. She has elaborated on Reich’s character typology and expanded it – facilitating her acute perception in defining various patient patterns. Dr. Frisch guides the patient to change dysfunctional character armoring seen in the specific style of each patient. Her approach is an intensive, confrontational, personally demanding process for those who wish to profoundly change themselves and their life.

Dr. Frisch works with a mind/body approach, a critical theoretical underpinning of Wilhelm Reich. The mind/body are functionally identical as our character expresses itself in the body creating body armor. The body reflects our stress level, our chronic patterns of holding, our debilitated nervous systems and manifests symptoms: chronic pain, gut problems, irritable bowel, fatigue, headaches, etc. As we increase our capacity to breathe naturally, feel into our difficult memories, we are able to release chronic muscular tensions with deep massage, expressive exercises and subtle manipulations. The method creates relief and unwinds the distraught body/mind.

Dr. Frisch’s method includes a focus on early attachment stage ruptures that appear less as neurotic defenses, but are defined by more serious defensive patterns and symptoms. She helps the patient regulate their life in all areas: sleep issues, bad financial habits, work-related difficulties, communications problems and other aspects of a life that isn’t working.

She is an expert in marital therapy and works with couples and families to unwind difficult and painful patterns.

Dr. Frisch includes dream analysis and focuses on activation/individuation issues utilizing the theory of Carl Jung. She helps patients navigate through all stages of life including the attainment of transformative spiritual objectives as integral to a transcendent viewpoint.

Reichian Therapy

The Reichian Therapist locates painful constrictions and facilitates expansion. What makes Reichian Therapy uniquely powerful is that it includes bodywork to address the physical, somatic component – the physical expression of the mind’s defenses. Dreams deepen the exploration because they provide direct access to the unconscious.

The Price of Constriction

The growing relationship with the therapist illuminates the protective stance we have in relation to others and ourselves. As we grow and survive adversity, we develop repetitive coping strategies to fend off difficult feelings. These strategies can alienate others, keep us from our true feelings, needs, and desires, and inhibit our ability to actualize our authentic selves. Our creativity and success in the world becomes minimized. Constricted respiration can be an additional sign of dysfunctional coping. Very few patients, indeed few people, breathe to full energetic capacity. One of the best ways to suppress painful emotions is to hold your breath. Infants and children spontaneously hold their breath in frightening situations. This happens to them many times each day in a dangerous environment. By adulthood, the chest is frozen in chronic constriction and the breath reduced to a minimum.

Problems of depression, anxiety, phobias, insomnia, emptiness, loneliness, eating disorders, and addiction are defined and understood as reaction patterns to both present and past issues. Chronic personality disorders and unhealthy behavioral patterns and symptoms have their roots in maladaptive character styles developed throughout a lifetime. As these all-inclusive patterns are confronted, the character defenses are dislodged, giving way to deeper issues and feelings that can finally be resolved. At this point the character is restructured and the individual can live a healthy, rewarding life.

The Process of Expansion in Reichian Therapy

The Reichian Therapist usually starts biophysical work by focusing on the eyes and respiration. The eyes (as an extension of the brain) help us to sustain contact with the world and ourselves. Almost everyone has some blocking in the eyes, and it is important that the eyes be reasonably unarmored for therapy to proceed. It is also important to dissolve blocks in respiration as breathing is essential in building and sustaining an energy level that will “push” emotions to the surface.

Reichian or Orgone Therapy, works from the head down toward the pelvis, leaving the latter for last. At the same time character analytic work is proceeding, peeling back layers of character attitudes that hide emotion, the layers of body armor are dissolved as well. The combined work results in spontaneous emotional release and provides the therapist with a deeper understanding of the character of the patient, yielding insight on “where to go” to deepen the therapy.

Reichian Therapy supports individuals, couples, and groups to experiment with their character and body structure in bold and profound ways that insist on change. Couples struggle as their character stances collide. Productive communication can become paralyzed. Reichian Therapy alters this stasis and teaches effective communication strategies so that the couple can maintain harmony and support the autonomy of the individuals. Group therapy is a process where participants can reveal their habitual, dysfunctional relationship patterns and learn different ways of being/behaving through the confrontation and support of other group members. Group therapy is a very effective, fast, catalytic tool for change.