In Memory of Christa Ventling Dierks, Ph.D.

(28.07.1930–03.11.2018)

Hugo Steinmann

Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2019 (29), 9–10

https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2019-29-9 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 www.bioenergetic-analysis.com

As a friend and colleague of Christa, and also as the president of the Swiss Society for Bioenergetic Analysis and Therapy (SGBAT), I feel honored that I have the chance to acknowledge Christa at her commemoration. This society was Christa’s professional home. After her career as a scientific researcher she decided to study psychology and become a psychotherapist. She became one of the most creative and dedicated members of this society.

Christa knew about the importance of research and she knew how to do research. As early as in 2000, Christa published a study on the “Efficacy of Bioenergetic Therapies and Stability of the Therapeutic Result: A Retrospective Investigation” in order to prove the efficiency of the body-oriented approach in which she had been trained. This was pioneering work! In 2002, the US Association for Body Psychotherapy awarded Christa a prize for the best research in body-oriented psychotherapy.

When I held the presidency of the IIBA from 2001–2008, Christa was of indispensable value to me. She was bilingual, while my English skills were pretty modest. Christa translated all my speeches and announcements into English during the time when I held my international position. Anyone who knew Christa knows that she did not simply translate. Also, with regard to content, she coined my speeches and publications, which was very convenient to me. She did so until her Parkinson’s disease prevented her from coordinating her fingers.

Christa published two books in addition to her several articles with a lot of enthusiasm. In 2002, Body Psychotherapy in Progressive and Chronic Disorders was published. This was years before she began to suffer from such a “chronic disorder” herself. Already in 2001, she had published a collection of articles on the subject of Childhood Psychotherapy. A Bioenergetic Approach.

When I visited Christa in Zurich on October 5^th, 2018, less than a month before her death, I could tell her that her book on childhood psychotherapy had just been published in Italian. I also told her that Livia Geloso, an Italian colleague would attend the International Conference in May 2019 to appreciate her book together with me. Her lips moved, but her voice was so weak that I could not understand what Christa tried to tell me. I looked for help from the nursing staff, but they could not help me to understand what Christa tried to say, either. Instead of talking, I decided to play a Mozart sonata to Christa on her piano. I then said goodbye to Christa and thanked her. All of sudden a little miracle happened: Christa said, in a loud, understandable voice: “Thank you for coming.”

Now she is gone! I will forever be grateful to her.

Eulogy delivered at Memorial Service for Christa in Stans, Switzerland. January 11^th, 2019

Translated by Steve Hofmann