Emotional Armoring : An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy [Paperback]

Morton Herskowitz D.O. (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Lit Verlag (August 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3825835553
• ISBN-13: 978-3825835552
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to orgone therapy., March 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emotional Armoring : An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy (Paperback)

In this book chronicling his more than 50 years of experience practicing as a psychiatric orgone therapist, Dr. Herskowitz provides the reader with an in-depth view of the process in all its various manifestations.

After training in classical psychiatry Dr.Herskowitz continued his studies, first as patient of Dr.Reich's to help "dismantle" his own neurotic structure and character defenses, then as a colleague, participating in the conferences, seminars and projects that were being conducted under Dr.Reich's aegesis. After Reich's death, Dr. Herskowitz continued to practice psychiatric orgone therapy in Philadelphia, PA, which he does to this day.

This book is rich in its use of clinical vignettes, illustrating the process of orgone therapy and the dissolution of the patient's characterlogical and physical armor. Although descriptions of the different armored segments have been given in other orgonomic literature, Dr.Herskowitz manages to give additional information regarding its recognition and treatrment that comes across as fresh and valuable. This could only come from someone who has spent many years working with human beings in a patient, contactful and honest manner. These qualities flow off the page, providing the reader, both layman and professional alike, with insight and knowledge and an appreciation of this work.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to a unique form of psychotherapy, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Emotional Armoring : An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy (Paperback)

Dr. Herskowitz reveals himself in this book as the kind, loving and understanding person that he his. The book is well written, an easy read for the lay person and explains important concepts about therapy in an easy to understand manner. This book is full of clinical examples to demonstrate the principles that are being described. It is clear, emotionally sensitive and timely. It is a must read for anyone considering a psychotherapy that integrates the mind and body together.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The taste and flavour of medical orgonomy, July 13, 2007

By 

A. Mutimer "amutimer" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Emotional Armoring : An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy (Paperback)

This review assumes a basic understanding of the ideas of Wilhelm Reich.

______________________

The book is s description of medical orgonomy in practice. It is orderly, concise and evocative. But potential readers need to understand something before they shell out.

"A chapter on reducing armoring should be introduced with a warning that the techniques describes are intended neither as a do-it-yourself, self improvement program, nor as procedures with psychotherapists untrained in orgonomy should experiment" - Emotional Armoring: An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy, p.67 (Chapter 5)

Given that dissolution of emotional armour is the goal of medical orgonomy the above statement narrows dramatically the *practical* value of the book. The intended readership for this, the most important chapter, is the small number of suitably qualified psychotherapists who have trained, or who are training, in medical orgonomy. This is an absolutely *minute* fraction of the world community and a very small fraction of the people who will read this book.

The reason for this restriction by the author is that, whilst the therapy is logical and can be understood by anyone who applies themselves, it is dangerous. Emotional armour serves a very important function which is that of containing the huge anger held by nearly everyone caused by having their natural functioning thwarted by naive parents acting as the unwitting agents of an essentially sick society. Any uncontrolled dissolution of the armour can cause such massive release of this anger that the subject can very easily become a serious danger both to himself and to others. At a lower level the subject's relationships and livelihood will almost certainly be at risk. So what we have to face early on in appraising this book is that its core content, which is practical, is not available as such to the vast majority of people who will read the book. If we add to this that there are VERY few trained orgonomists in the world - I suggest just a few hundred - to whom a person could submit themselves for this kind of therapy the book is a recipe for frustration.

So how might the non-professional benefit from reading the book?

Well the great problem with Reich was that he was at great pains at each stage in his work to justify himself. This is all perfectly understandable, and indeed, was essential, at the time, but if you are looking for a concise description of medical orgonomy the writing of it's creator is not the place to go. Far better to read the work of other people who understand it - better yet people who understand it and who have actually done it. In this regard the present book may be the very best there is. In fact, having looked around, I know of only two such books, the one here and "Man in the Trap" by Elsworth Baker which I also strongly recommend despite the fact that it suffers from exactly the same restrictions. Actually the two books are highly comparable; they are both written by practicing orgonomists who have the same somewhat forthright style borne of the effects of the therapy itself; both have sections that follow the head-to-pelvis sequence that is an absolute condition of Reichian bodywork; and they both give plenty of examples of how to tackle each segment and what can happen as a result. In this sense they convey very well the *taste and flavour* of medical orgonomy. It is hands-on, it is robust, it is serious, it is a deep human process that takes the therapist and the patient to very frightening and painful territory that will typically include periods of huge anger and deep sadness and the physical manifestations thereof; hitting, kicking, shouting and heartfelt sobbing on the part of the patient being absolutely the norm.

Ok so, assuming you are not one the few hundred qualified people I speak about above you will catch the *flavour* of orgonomy from this book and you may well sense that there is something very important about it for you personally- but there, I suggest, it will stop. Unless you are very lucky indeed and live close to a practitioner, not to mention rich enough to pay him, you will not be able to take the matter forward. All that will result is an essentially intellectual journey which, appraised in the very terms that are valuable to orogonomists themselves, is useless.

As I say at the start of this review that I assume that you have an understanding of the ideas of Wilhelm Reich. If you have then you will realise that the therapy described in this book derives from a strict application of his theoretical position. However there are many who claim the name of Reich in their practice using "Reichian" or, more honestly "neo-Reichian", but whose practice merely uses a few ideas taken from Reich's work. Herskowitz is very aware of this and takes the time, more than once, to point out the failings of such deviations from what Reich actually said, essentially those of ineffectiveness and of danger. Casual buyers of such services beware! In fact, if the book here serves to warn effectively in this area then it serves another, albeit somewhat negative purpose for the non-professional.

So, having pointed out the great limitations of the book, limitations that, I hasten to point out, arise not from any fault of the author but from the nature of the therapy and the scarcity of therapeutic resources, what is my conclusion for the journeyman into the realms of orgonomy? My conclusion is that this book is very important because it is descriptive of what I believe to be the most important therapy in existence, and because, in the few cases where it is applied properly, the transformation is one of the very few that can take a person forward, truly. Take them forward to where? To natural integrated functioning, which is a big step to so much more.

In closing I leave you with a recommendation that will appear to be completely at odds with the thrust of the book here, "No Boundary" by Ken Wilber. In this book we can catch a glimpse of the big picture into which orgonomy falls, in my humble opinion.

Regards

Adrian