Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2026 (36), 7–9
https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2026-36-7
www.bioenergetic-analysis.com
Dear Readers,
With this issue, I conclude my tenure as Chief Editor of our Journal and extend my best wishes to Thomas Fellmann, who will replace me.
This issue of our Journal seeks to convey, as much as possible, the content of the Atlanta Conference held in October 2025, where our colleagues Garry Cockburn, Yael Harel, and Scott Baum conversed with Nancy McWilliams, Paul Watchel, and Sue Grand, respectively. You will find summaries of their presentations, which will ensure that even those unable to attend Atlanta can participate in this event.
The title and objective of the Conference was to highlight the originality and uniqueness of our method, and the sessions were organized to maximize the presence of colleagues from around the world, encouraging participation in the discussions in every way possible.
We are also publishing the list of workshops’ abstracts, which, with their interesting and varied content, allow us to share the intellectual and experiential vitality of our colleagues.
We are also very pleased with the other articles we offer you. The first is by John Conger and was sent to us by Garry Cockburn, who received it from the author in 2010 and recently discovered it among his papers. Conger had presented this work to the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Society as part of his admission to that Society, to which he was admitted and which is unpublished. Garry consulted Helen Resneck-Sannes and Sylvia Conant to ask Conger if he would be interested in having the article published in the IIBA Journal, and he happily granted his permission.
The topic of the article is very interesting because it discusses how Winnicott used some of Reich’s important concepts in his work, without citing the source. We are very pleased to present it to you both for its content and to honour a dear colleague of ours who has contributed so much to the life of the IIBA.
The other articles are by a Russian colleague and two Brazilian colleagues. Here too, in addition to the interest in the topics covered, we are pleased to be able to present the work of colleagues from countries less commonly represented in our Journal.
The first article: The Structure of Structure: A Functional-Structural Analysis of Character Patterns, by Sergey Kamratov, presents a “functional-structural analysis of character patterns, integrating insights from psychoanalysis, body-oriented psychotherapy, and the Russian psychophysiological school. The author conceptualizes character as a multi-level dynamic system that combines cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and somatic components. Special emphasis is placed on the theories of Wilhelm Reich and Alexander Lowen, who link character to bodily manifestations and energy blocks, as well as the ideas of Russian scholars, who offer a systemic perspective on behavioural regulation”.
Camila Macedo addresses the topic of adolescence and bioenergetic clinical work with these patients. “This paper presents exercises adapted from Lowen and contemporary body therapies to demonstrate the importance of somatic work with adolescents. Clinical experience demonstrates that bioenergetics provides an essential therapeutic framework for developing integrative pathways that combine sensations, images, and emotions. This approach intensifies interpersonal affective registration, validates individuation, respects expressive boundaries, accommodates emotional fluctuation, and enhances the self-acceptance necessary for identity formation.”
Léia Cardenuto addresses the topic of Impulsive/Compulsive Personalities: How We Hear and Understand Them in Our Narcissistic Society. On this topic, a few months ago the author presented a webinar, which can be followed on the IIBA website. “Given the difficulty of the topic of addictions and dependencies, based on a history of extensive research, this article will address the treatment of individuals with compulsive behaviours and addictions. Its objective is to show how Bioenergetics can be a valuable tool in cases where sensoriality is impaired. Grounded in the psychodynamic understanding of the processes involved in these behaviours, and through the understanding of the role of the ‘characterological muscular armour’, the understandings of Reich and Lowen can help these patients reconstruct their ego structures of containment and restore the ‘tonic envelope of emotions’ to make their defence mechanisms better and more flexible.”
Motherhood is sometimes difficult or impossible, and sometimes presents challenging scenarios for both new mothers and fathers. As therapists, we are called to accompany the most diverse journeys and help mothers and fathers best address situations ranging from the difficulty or impossibility of having a child, to the difficulties and discomforts that new mothers may experience. We therefore review two books: Vincentia Schroeter’s latest work, Babymaking, a memoir, and Helping mothers, helping babies by Leslie Ann Costello, a manual that can be of assistance to therapists who encounter postpartum difficulties in their patients.
Dear readers, we remind you that we are very interested in reading the books you publish and, when possible, we will review it in our Journal.
Maria Rosaria Filoni