José Luis González de Rivera

Initiated by J.H. Schultz in Europe, autogenic training is a form of meditation which induces a slightly modified state of consciousness by passive concentration on selected proprioceptive sensations. Schultz attributed the therapeutic action of autogenic training to an increase on the self-regulatory capacities of the organism, operating through functional modifications in the central nervous system. For a long time, it had been observed that many patients developed transient training symptoms, consisting of short-lived motor, sensory, emotional or experiential discharges. Those unwelcomed phenomena were considered unavoidable side effects, which occasionally forced the discontinuation of treatment. A major advance came in 1961, when W. Luthe discovered the meaning of these autogenic discharges, showing them to correlate with the symptoms, clinical course and traumatic history of the patient [1]. The paroxysmal involuntary complex manifestations, which could break through the most relaxed state, were then considered as homeostatic adjustment reactions, permitting the elimination of the neuronal excitation associated to memory engrams of traumatic events. To exploit the potential therapeutic value of this discovery, Luthe [2, 3] developed a new technique autogenic neutralization which encouraged the occurrence of autogenic discharges and assured its management in a safe technical environment. The method was perfected and further developed in Canada by Luthe and Gonzalez de Rivera [4, 5], evolving progressively into a complex and most effective form of psychotherapy. Despite many differences in technique and in approach, autogenic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis share, to a certain extent, many conceptual similarities. Although it is impossible to review both fields in a short chapter, I will elaborate on some of the common areas.