Brazilian Reichian therapy

Domain IV · Body-oriented psychotherapy · J. A. Gaiarsa, Ana Verônica Mautner · 1970 · São Paulo, Brazil

What it is

"Brazilian Reichian therapy" is a training tradition and movement, not a single protocol.

Format

• The sources describe no fixed session count and no manualised phases. The arc below is assembled from Reich, Navarro and Rego as Brazilian authors present them, and the ordering is partly. Session length, frequency and total duration are not stated in the sources.
• Format

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• "Brazilian Reichian therapy" is a training tradition and movement, not a single protocol.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the patient agreeing to please you. Ask again later.
• tearing, fear or dizziness. Slow down or open the eyes onto the room.
• performing for the therapist. Keep it exploratory. It is working when the gesture carries feeling and meaning.
• apply the full screening list above. Intensified breathing can trigger panic, hyperventilation symptoms and trauma memories.
• feeling trapped, or memories of being held down; neck injury (screen first). It is working when the neck softens and talk becomes freer.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.