«  Principal

(Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist of the F.E.A.P.; Didactic Orgontherapist of the Es.Te.R.; Didactic Director of the "Escuela Española de Terapia Reichiana"; Director of the Journal "Energía, Carácter y Sociedad".

Title Presentation: Manifestation of love drives during the process of individual and group characteroanalitical Vegeto-therapy.

Author: XAVIER SERRANO HORTELANO

Profesional degree: Psychologist; Psychotherapist; Orgontherapist; Trainer of the Scuola Europea di Orgonomía (S.E.Or.); Didactic Director of the Escuela Española de Terapia Reichiana (Es.Te.R.).

Institute: Escuela Española de Terapia Reichiana (Es.Te.R.)

Text: According to the author s clinical experience, and Reich s characteroanalytical vegetotherapy, and following the systematics designed by F. Navarro for the individual process and those designed by X. Serrano for group therapy, the author describes and gives examples of the different forms in which sexual drives, no matter whether they are oral, anal, phallic, oedipical, hysteric or genital, are expressed, and of the different messages and feelings involved, while explaining the way of approachig them in the clinical practice, according to the patient s character structure and the stage of development of the analytical process.

Through characteroanalytical vegetotherapy as a psychotherapeutic process the reactivation of the patient s personal life story in achieved by means of specific clinical psychosomatic procedures and through the adequate analysis of the emerging material and the implicated dynamics created within the therapeutical space. As from the initial practice elaborated by W. Reich, this clinical speciality has been used in many different ways. In our School, and within Orgontherapy, we work following some post-reichinian contributions as well as the methodology organized by D. F. Navarro (1) in conjunction with the group systematics personally designed by myself (2). Both my personal and my professional experience -having carried out successfully several cases- have proved that in this way, the therapeutic work allows not only the adequate handling of the different clinical possibilities by the therapist (in spite of the fact that there are still several points to be improved and delved deeply into); but also, in some instances, the achievement of the basic goals proposed by Reich; and, in most occassions the improvement of the patient s capacitiy to live and to reach a state of physical and mental balance; and finally, and which I think most relevant, the abscence of any harmful iatrogenic side-effects. Without going into the particular details of this form of clinical approach, it is important to emphasize its main characteristics, that is, that the work is carried our with the body, not on the body, taking into consideration the different rhythm of each individual; and the development of the disarmoring process following a cephallic-caudal order; and finally, the analysis and interpretation of the feelings, remembrances and emotional states, and the dynamics therapeutically related, having always present the patient s character structure: "Borderline character structure; psychotic structure, and the neurotic structure" (3). It is important to state that we are speaking of the approach and performance of a deep therapy, and, therefore, what has been described above differs from what may occur during a brief and partial approach (4) or during other therapies in which those tools are not used.

Within this process there exists a fundamental problem, which will occupy my attention in this occassion: the coming up to the surface of sexual drives while the process is taking place. What is the function of the emerging sexual drives? What do they indicate? How should they be interpreted? What are the consecuencies on the therapist? These sexual drives precisely emerge because through Reichinian Vegetotherapy the character muscular armor is disarticulated and this implies not only the coming to the surface of the subconscious through verbal language, but also also of emotional, vegetative and somatic material.

When W. Reich wrote: "...it is the stimulation of the oral zone, the pleasure of sucking what induces the individual to take nourishment..." (5), he was clearly indicating that sexuality is an instict, and not a secondary function associated to nourishment or to any other instictive manifestations, but that it is a function in itself. That is, an instict that is the physical manifestation of the vital orgonomic energy and which developes the function of self-regulation in the biosystem through the Orgasm, and that is vinculated to the concept of Love; a function that needs to come to maturity, like other instics, and that, when given the possibilities of full development, will reach the form of "genitality" as described by Reich. This is a state of evolution that we only know through ethnologic and clinical referencies, and from isolated experiencies controlled by the well known limits of child-regulation (6). What we know and live as a consecuence of certain ways of education, of a culture based on repression and on the disturbance of the sexual instinctive developement starting from the intrauterine life, is the secondary sexuality in which only the partial elements of the instict emerge, and which, in order to preserve the organism alive, will adopt different forms clearly mediatizated by culture and character structure, which can even reach the form of libido manifestations that lack any explicit sexual form, but that serve somehow to reequilibrate the organism within a state of disturbance, such as compulseve cleaning, power catexis...

We can, therefore, state that character allows sexual expressions through partial drives, pervertions and shiftings of the libido to objects and actions, all this supported by the pressure of culture and by the lack of "contact" propitiated by the character and muscular armor (7).

Reich s position, which thorugh our clinical and prophilaxis experience, has proved to have phylosophical, educational and therapeutic consequencies that are undeniable, is one of the basic factors which allows us the use of the term RECHINIAN PARADIGM.

Therefore, during our clinical work we will have to deal with patients who have a definite character structue, and who perceive and live their sexuality according to what their own character allows them. Consequently, they display secondary sexual impulses, also called drivers; more or less disguised forms of pervertion; and object displacements. We have the opportunity to witness the transformation of drives into the expressions of the Sexual Instict, which is after all the aim of Orgontherapy (Character analytical Vegetotherapy).

For didactical purposes, we can distinguish, during the process of vegetotherapy, three phases according to the emerging historical material and, therefore, the sexual phase that is being reactivated: oral, first and second segments; anal, third and fourth; phallic-oedipical, fifth, sixth and seventh segments. This change should be appreciated through oniric expressions; in the emotional state displayed by the patient in his or her daily life; also through the emerging material durign the therapeutic sessions; and finally, in the way in which the patient perceives the therapist, this being observed in the resulting expressions of sexual secondary drives. We have also observed that the way in which the patient experiences those phases varies in form and details according to the different character structure.

For instance, from the very beginning of the first phase (ocular and oral segments: oral primitive phase, primary and secondary) and both in the compensated psychotic structure and in the neurotic hysterical-masochist structure, there will appear sexual secondary drives resembling genital forces, being more outstanding and straightforward those of the psychotic structure with hysterical coverture, with strong genital feelings towards the therapist. The differential factors that help us to know which character structure we are dealing with are, in conjunction with other variables, impulsiveness in the psychotic structure;

reserve, shyness and subtleness in the neurotic; and the patient s emotional state when these drives are correctly analysed. The psychotic structure then feels emptiness, vital anxiety, loss of identity and the need of union with the therapist, and there is a transformation from an apparently genital relation into a fusion-uterus relation. The neurotic character structure will sink into a state of oral depression with feeling s of death, impotence, sadness... and of strong ambivalent dependence on the therapist. As we can see, the secondary sexual expressions in these cases occur in conjuntion with manifestations more or less related to character, that are similar in appearance, but have different contents and logic, and when analysed, will lead us towards deeper underlaying elements, closer to the core.

In the case of the borderline character structure with narcissistic-masochist coverture, usually, there are no secondary drives, no signs of the relation with the therapist. And this is precisely one of their main traits, namely, their refusal to see the other, to contact with the other, and therefore they avoid getting into contact with their own core, that is either psychotic or depressive. However, in both cases, there exists a strong primary ambivalence and privitive anxiety. For this reason, these patients assume a "role" and develop a perfect command over certain aspects of social life, such as language, humor, intellectual knowledge of certain topics... which serves the purpose of seduction to a social level and acts as a mechanism thorugh which one is listened to and looked at, but without having to listen to others, or to see others. The adequate handling of his condunct while prove to be more important in the therapeutic relation than the muscular exercises and breathing, for that enables the patient to get into contact with a deeper layer, namely, their ambivalence. This will result in the coming up to the surface of a strong need and fear of loss, and a powerful destructivity when being aware of their dependence. They desesperately want to have their object in order to posses it, to destroy it.

We can see in these instances, given as an example of the different character structures according to a basic factor, a coverture and a trait, that during the first phase, the secondary drives expressed belong to the oral stage, according to the way in which it was experienced: voracity-destructivity in the borderline character structure; urge of phoetal epidermical fusion -genitalization of social contact in the psychotic character structure; the need of an object- sexual seduction in the neurotic character structure. All of them are related to a search for the oral object, that is to say, the mother (including both the oral primitive object and the primary).

During the second phase (cervical-thoracic segment; anal stage), the sexual secondary drives adopt a more sadistic tinge, possibly appearing perverse phantasies and an homosexual component. From this stage on, we introduce the patient into a therapeutic group, so that the resulting sexual drives can gradually be directed towards the members of the group, the group therapist and the individual therapist (who usually is one of the two group therapists).

In the third phase (diaphragmatic and pelvic segments; oedipical moment) and leaving to one side small differencies depending on each character structure, we find the oedipical ambivalence: genital hate-desire of the object and the resulting transferential incestuous phatasies, in conjunction with partial impulses, exhibitionism, vouyerism and phallic expressions in both sexes, such as rape phatasies, dominant sexual conduct... During the therapeutical process above described, there occur expressions of sexual drives, sometimes miscalled "lovingly", since there is a contradiction in the term. If they are secondary drives, then they cannot be considered as "lovingly". For love is only what is related to the self-regulation capacity of the sexual instict, namely, the ability to love and experiece the "genital embrance" (8), which will not take place until the last phase o genital phase. This genital stage, where there still shall be secondary drives but, in this case, related to instict, begins with the oedipical resolution, and it is perceived by the therapist in the patient s awareness of the therapist s real function, and in his/her desire to know the therapist as a person, while feeling grateful for the work done. There should remain no trace of incestuous phantasies nor of the "emotional plague" conduct (9) towarsd the figure of the therapist (10). To reach this stage of maturity is a tremendously difficult task. Only when it is achieved, we can think of sexual expressions of love, and of seeking for a sexual partner outside the therapeutical relation. One can love the therapist as much as one loves a mother or a father, and this may allow gradually a professional or friendly relationship, that is to say, a relationship between equals. However, this will no take place immediately after the analysis, buy only after a certain period of time. It is important to bear this in mind in those circumnstancies in which the didactic work and the therapy are simultaneoulsy present, and when the patient aspires to become a therapist of the same team as that of his or her own therapist, for this change in the relationship must be carried out gradually. It often causes alterations in the behaviour that can be understood and handled easilier when taking into account what has been explained above.

In order to apply correctly all the essential elements of this methodology, it is essential for the therapist to have the adequate knowledge so that this process towards sexual maturity can be carried out progresively and the sexual drives to be expressed, which is a clear prove of the development of a bound or transferential neurosis.

In Reich s psychotherapy, body contact between the therapist and the patient is common during the clinical practice, although its consequencies on the "therapeutic setting" have not been sufficiently studied.

It seems logical to think that a new approach to psychoanalysis, that is to say, the original source, should give rise to some modifications in the transferential process, and in the therapeutic process in general. For if it is true that vegetotherapy can be considered as a functional method that makes the therapeutic process easier to resolve, it can also became a very dangerous iatrogenic revulsive that fixes the developing dynamics or causes an uncontrollable regression.

W. Reich pointed out, the importance in edukcation and in the therapeutic process of the teachers and the therapists emotional warded-off contents, which may no be conscious in many an occassion, both during the up bringing and the therapeutic process. When these are present they may be perceived by the individual, the result being uncontrollable. For instance, he explains in one of his texts how the parents restrained sexual charge can induce the oedipical fixation. To a practical level it is a fact that if we as fathers bath with our six, eight or ten years old daughter, of if she sits on our lap, although we consciuosly deny any sexual feelings towards her, there exists a strong sexual charge induced by the restrained overstimulation. It is very likely that this charge stimulates the child s biosystem, and gives rise to the fixation. During the clinical practice it occurs exactly the same. This is somethihg that patients with a psychotic structure notice in most occassions, since their energetic field is wider and the muscular armoring weaker. They can perceive what the therapist feels but do not dare to express. If they say: "I notice today you re tired", "preocupided", "angry"... we inmediately tend to defend ourselves and say: "no, no, I m fine, as always..." Great mistake! For we are then introducing confusion and using double language. It is natural to be in a certain mood and try to hid it due to our latent function, but one must not deny it, if somebody feels it. On the contrary it contributes to establish a bound and helps to do a good therapeutic work. As I said, this is specially to be applied when approaching a psychotic structure. However, in other occassions, this is not a particular isolated circumstance, but a chronic state of "restrained rage", sadness, sexual greediness, warded-off historical drives stagnated in the unconscious, and however expressed in the magnetic field with a constant repercussion on the relations with others. This emotional state will crash against the patiene s. Thus the relation between the two will stop being a relation in two different planes, and the interaction will spoil the therapeutic relation, since the patient at one given moment can feel that the therapist is attracted by him or her and will express him or herself accordingly. The therapist will deny it and interpret it as an hysteric phantasy of seduction, however the patient knows deep inside that what he or she feels is true. And it is true in some way, not at a conscious level, but since the therapist s own sexual charge is displayed, it can be felt as desire. On the other hand, these emotional historically stagnated charged can be reactivated by the patiente s straighforward replies, both of explicit desire and of rage or sadness. And the therapist also wishes to feel sadness, and cry, and be tremendously angry and to show it. In this moment there is an interaction, like two vectors arranged on the same plane, breaking the therapeutical relation basic rule that supports the transferential neurosis needed for the possitive development of the therapeutic process, namely, the differentiation of functions and levels between the therapist and the patient. However, being a psychoanalytic mummy is no solution either, as W. Reich pointed out when criticizing his colleagues. One must be able to connect, to empathize with others, to understand the other, to widen our own energetic field. One can and one must feel what is going on, but bearing always in mind that it belongs to the patient. "I understand how my patient feels, but I am with my feelings and with his or her own feelings. I perceive my patient s sadness, but it cannot make me feel sad. I perceive my patient s rage, but it cannot make me desire him or her. And in the case that this happened, indirectly caused by an historically stagnated unconscious warded-off charge, or by specific answers (neurotic contratransference), one must categorically avoid it. This explains the importance of the therapist own analysis, not as a mere excuse to justify some didactical hours, but as a deep psychotherapeutic process, and also the need of supervising clinical cases and the ad vitam therapy. For if it may occur during a verbal psychotherapeutic process, or during a psychosomatic one its effects can be multiplied by a thousand. If a patient expresses sadness, the therapist can embrance him or her, if he or she considers it to be necessary as a reply to a functional request, but only from the position of a therapist. Only in those cases in which it clearly has a function and when perceiving the patient s emotions, body contact should be permited. But if on the contrary we allow an interaction between our sadness and their sadness, we should not be surprised if the patient in a future time when feeling sexually aroused, expects the therapist to satisfy his or her desires. This attitude of "being" held by the therapist is essential and must be maintained constant during the whole process. If one cries with the patient, one can also make love with the patient or fight against him or her. And this is not a therapeutic process. It must have another name, which I do not wish to look for now. For this reason, it is important to distinguish between interaction and interrelation. There is a therapeutic relation, but in order to make the patient project his or her historical affections on the figure of the therapist, and create this highly esteemed tool that is the bound or transferential neurosis, there should be no emotional interaction, but receptivity; an interrelation between two different positions: the one who transmits, who expresses, and the one who is receptive, open minded, in contact, free from any emotional pressure, namely, the therapist. Therefore, I believe that it should be an essential rule in every therapeutic process that, as a deference towards the patient, and as a clinical need, body contact should only take place in specific necessary occasions, for instance, when having to face responses such as muscular contractions or breathign paralysis or a very deep sadness and urge for closelyness. And it should be always taken into consideration the therapist s own energetic charge and emotional state, which in technical terms has been designeted by some authors, including Reich, as the contratransference.

This accounts for the need of a deontologic code, not as a mere fashion or as the absurd invention of a distortioned mind, but because of the clinical evicence, and in order to make it clear what the therapist needs in order to do good job. That is to say, his or her personal circumstancies and behaviour are an essential clinical variable. What a great number of patients have come to our team for treatment after having had dreadful experiencies with so called body therapists who, although knowing the theoretical or technical background, lack the training to use this knowledge and let the patient express their feelings and wishes, allowing them to put them into practice, including genital contact during the session. It is time to define clearly the position of rechinian and post-rechinian therapists regarding this problem, taking into cosideration medical evidence and not some ideological theoretical or apparently progressist strategies.

Therefore, it is necessary that, in conjunion with clinical seminars where this could be made evident, in formative schools the individual analysis of the future therapists should be requested. This individual analysis must provide the minimal personal insight needed to avoid both interferencies and interactions during the therapeutical work. The therapist should keep a deontologic code in which this requirement is contained. Failure to fulfill this should be reported and be the cause for expelling the therapist from the institution. We must not be interested in "collegialism", but on health, and for that reason one must act with a minimun of coherence and professionality.

In this way, knowing how to handle the contratransferential factor and having it always in mind, and knowing how to interprete drives, the development towards sexual maturity takes place successfully. It is necessary to remember that the analysis of partial sexual impulses is achieved through facilitating verbal language and the emotial expressions that accompany them as well as the eventual bound establised through free assotiation and the analytical interpertation with historical events and with the therapist him or herself.

Let us see some examples of this (T: therapist; P: patient)

CASE A) Second phase. Borderline character structure.

P. I m stiff. I notice some tightness in my arms and neck.

T: In the eyes also?

P: Yes, also in the eyes.

T: Do you find it difficult to look at me?

P: Yes, I do.

T: Do you remember anybody whom you also found it difficult to look at?

P: Yes, my teacher at the village.

T: Why?

P: I remember his having touched me sometime. He also touched my genitals once, too. I run away and since then I have always avoided his eyes.

T: Are your afraid of my possibly touchig you?

P: (He/she is ambivalent)

I m afraid of being aroused.

T: How do you feel when remembering all this?

P: I feel angry, rage, hate.

T: Look at me and let yourself feel this rage while looking at me.

T: (He/she does it and seems to be sad and cries).

Next I ask him/her to do the acting of opening and closing his/her hands and saying "No!" with his/her fists. This is a part of the work on the third and fourht segments.

CASE B) Third phase. Neurotic character structure.

P: I feel a strong anxiety and sexual excitement.

T: This desire is asociated to any images?

P: (She is nervous, and is hidding something).

Yes...

T: What kind of images? Are you aware of your body s position?

Perhaps your are afraid of saying it.

P: Yes, I m ashamed of it. I was imaging that I took your clothes off, and then you took my clothes off, and we had intercourse.

T: How do you feel when you say it?

P: I m afraid, but don t feel so stiff.

T: (Next she does the "acting" of breathing and saying "Ah", 115 (11).

After the acting.

T: What have you felt?

P: I felt excited and angry because you ve rejected me when I told you about my desire. You remained impassive.

T: What would you like my doing then?

P: It would have been nice if you also said that you desired me.

T: Do you feel I desire you?

P: No, I don t. It makes me feel angry.

T: Do you feel that I critize you for that?

P: No, I don t.

T: Who could possiblly have critized you for that?

P: My father. As from certain age he has never touched me again and has repeated things like, "Look at your dress" or "That skirt..."

T: What do you feel when you remember this?

P: Rage, a strong rage.

T: Let s go on. You are going to do the acting of saying "no" while stamping your foot on the air and remembering what you have just said now.

CASE C) Patient with a psychotic compensated structure with hysterical coverture. First phase.

After having done the actigh of waving my hands on her ears and looking at the lamp in fixed position, says looking at far away distance:

P: I had the need of sucking the little lamp, of having it fully in my mouth, also your penis.

T:Have you felt sexual arousement.

P: No, I haven t.

T: And when I had my hands on your ears, what did you feel?

P: A strong ache on my diaphragm, cold in the abdomen, and the feelling of being protected by your hands. I had the phantasy of being all ears and enter your hands. I feel you are tired of listening to me and that you are going to leave me.

T: It is true that today I m a bit tired, but I was already tired before you came. Do you feel that whenever you have an affective relationship the other person is going to let you down?

P: Yes, specially with men.

T: Do you think there is a connection between that coldness in your abdomen and the fear of being abandoned?

P: Yes, it is similar, but it was stronger here.

T: You have to be aware of the fact that there is a strong affective bound between us and therefore, the fear of being abandoned is greater. But you can be sure that I m not going to leave you. Whatever you do or say, I shall be your therapist (12).

P: Sure?

T: It is understandable that you don t believe it at first, but you will have the opportunity to verify it youself.

NOTE: Due to some particularities of the psychotic character structure, the therapeutic work is more straightforward. Body closelyness is greater. There is less analytical work and the possibility of using some reassurance elements to mitigate the patient s primitive anxiety is present. One need not ot take very seriously statements like the one above of absorving my penis, since it constitutes a way of genitalization of the primitive orality, and indicates the need of utity. Later, in this case, the patient would see it clearly that her which she was seeking

for her mother.

There is no emotional interaction during the individual therapy. However,we facilitate it in the group therapy, that is to say, between people of the same level, within the therapeutical space, with the limitations that deference and privacy require, but without imposing abstinence outside the group. But taking into consideration possible actings-out or the realization of certain wishes regarding the therapist that can be projected on the other members of the group, in order to analyse them correctly.

Summarizing, with this brief exposition I just wanted to remind you some principles that most of you already know, and that are a clinical evicence for my team and for me. We use rechinian therapy in a very specific way, which can be better understood with the aid of the bibliography mentioned in the notes. This is the importance of the contratansferential factor during the therapeutic process: that the expressions of secondary sexual drives are signs of how the process develops. It is necessary to know the difference between sexual drives (that is to say, secondary sexual impulses) and transferential love or possitive transference, that can only take place, as W. Reich pointed out, at the end of the therapy, once the basic goals have been achieved; and finally, it is important to stress that a deontologic code is the consequence of the clinical practice and the only way to remark the need of professional coherence in the difficult and delicate path towards health.

Valencia, August, 1993.

N O T E S

1) Neapolitan neuropsychiatrist, living in Rio de Janeiro at the present. He was Ola Raknes disciple, and a pioneer of the reichenean movement in Italy, and fonded the S.E.Or. (Scuola Europea di Orgonterapia) and the Didactics of the Es.Te.R. (Escuela Española de Terapia Reichiana). He is the author of several books, some of which have been translated into Portugues, Spanish, German, Italian and French, among them: La somatosicodinámica. Sistemática rechiana de la patología y la clínica médica. Orgón Publications. Valencia, 1988; La metodología de la vegetoterapia caracteroanalítica. Edit. Orgón, Valencia, 1993. The address of Publicaciones orgón is: C/ Serpin, 36-34, 46022-Valencia, Spain.

2) See "Sistemática de la vegetoterapia caracteroanalítica de grupo" published in the journal "Energía, Carácter y Sociedad", Vol. 8 (2), 1992, Publicaiones Orgón, by Xavier Serrano Hortelano.

3) These concepts used by several authors have been widen by the reichecean paradigm and have provided a characterial concept of the different structures. This concept has been developed by F. Navarro and applied to the practice of diagnosis by X. Serrano. See "El diagnóstico inicial-diferencial en la orgonterapia desde una perspectiva post-reichiana", by X. Serrano, publisehd in the journal "Energía, Carácter y Sociedad", Vol. 8 (2).

4) Reich s theory on bref psychotherapy is been applied in the Es.Te.R. the results being satisfactory. See X. Serrano s "Psicoterapia breve de orientación caracteroanalítica" (P.B.C.), published in the journal "Energía, Carácter y Sociedad", Vol. 10 (1 y 2), 1992.

5) Charater Analysis, Edit. Paidós.

6) See the following dossiers of the journal "Energía, Carácter y Sociedad": "La vida intrauterina", vol. 6 (1), 1988; "El parto". vol. 6 (2), 1988; "La fase oral", vol. 7 (1), where the three elements of the oral phase are discussed, namely, primitive, primary and secondary; also "Algunas conclusiones experimentales de la fase oral a partir de la Teoría de la autoregulación infantíl", by Maite Sanchez Pinuaga, vol. 10 (1 y 2) in the same journal.

7) See Character Analysis, Ether, God and Evil, The Cancer Biopathy, by W. Rich, and the dossier "Contacto", vol. 9 (1) from the journal "Energía, Carácter y Sociedad".

8) See El asesinato de Cristo, by W. Reich.

9) See a chapter from Character Analysis by W. Reich in which this concept is explained.

10) During the process love expressions can occur. However, theseare isolated and a consequence of breaking off the armor and reflect the existence of brief contacts with the core. But only at the moment above described is when this funcion prevails.

119 The patient lies on the sofa during the process and the therapist sits to his/her right or left at a distance of 30 cm. from his/her eyes.

12) It is a fact that the therapeutic commitment is greater when dealing with a patient with psychotic structure. Special attention is required specially during the first phase in order to reactivate the primitive anxiety of the psychotic core. This implies to spend more time than the usually required (telephon, personal aid during a crisis).

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