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Wilhelm Reich

John Bowlby

Contact and Attachment

2025 Virtual Summer Conference
August 1-3, 2025 via Zoom video

Wilhelm Reich and John Bowlby’s Views on Bonding, Trauma, and Well-Being

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Wilhelm Reich

John Bowlby

This conference focuses on a pivotal dimension of the work of Wilhelm Reich: the idea that a newborn’s earliest contact with caregivers lays the groundwork for future psychological well-being—or, conversely, for potential disturbances. Drawing on extensive clinical experience, Reich emphasized the importance of self-regulation and open emotional and physical expression in infancy and early childhood for preventing the development of character armor, chronic muscular tension and inhibited emotional expression that lay at the core of most neurotic behavior.

His insight laid important groundwork that anticipates the development of attachment theory, echoing many of the field’s key concerns. John Bowlby and subsequent researchers developed core concepts important to Reich related to early emotional experiences and responsive caregiving with empirical data and further theoretical and clinical contributions. Although Bowlby does not refer to Reich in his own writing, there are clear parallels and points of convergence in their understanding of psychosocial development and emotional regulation. The central question this conference will explore is whether the energetic processes Reich described could fill gaps in contemporary understandings of attachment, ultimately offering a deeper perspective on bonding, trauma, and well-being.

Our panel of speakers includes distinguished experts, scholars, authors, and therapists with diverse backgrounds in the work of Wilhelm Reich, John Bowlby, and attachment theory, and we hope to foster a lively interchange of ideas.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Friday, August 1

 DAY ONE – INSIGHTS

12:00 pm – 12:15 pm EDT

Renata Reich Moise / Jennifer Evans
Welcome and Introductions

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm EDT

Håvard Friis Nilsen
Reich and Bowlby Revisited

While John Bowlby’s attachment theory is used by therapists all over the world and has become the foundation for a regular industry in self-help books and podcasts, Wilhelm Reich is usually overlooked in the mainstream psychotherapy field today. However, these two theorists had more in common than one would think. In this talk, Professor Håvard Friis Nilsen will explore the intersections between Bowlby and Reich, and in particular how Reich worked on some of the themes that have become associated with Bowlby, before him: attachment, contact, avoidance and the detrimental effect of childhood trauma for the ability to love.

Bio: Professor of Social Science at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway, studied history and philosophy of science at the University of Oslo, Universite Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, and the University of Cambridge, has published several books and articles, among them “You Must Not Sleep: Wilhelm Reich and Psychoanalysis in Norway” and “Resistance in Therapy and War” in The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (2013).

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm EDT

Jonathan Koblenzer
Wilhelm Reich and the Unacknowledged Origins of Attachment Theory: From The Impulsive Character to Fairbairn and Beyond

This talk will explore how Wilhelm Reich’s The Impulsive Character introduced key ideas that were used in the theoretical turn in psychoanalytic thinking from Freud’s drive theory to the object relations model, which later formed the psychoanalytic foundation of John Bowlby’s attachment theory. Jonathan Koblenzer will focus on the work of W.R.D. Fairbairn, with references to Melanie Klein and others, and will consider how Reich’s influence—frequently unacknowledged—can be seen in the work of these later thinkers.

Bio: Dr. Koblenzer is board certified in internal medicine and psychiatry, and trained in psychoanalysis. He is on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. Dr. Koblenzer practices psychotherapy in New York City.

Saturday, August 2

 DAY TWO – PERSPECTIVES

12:15 pm to 1:15 pm EDT

Hannah Zeavin
Screening Mother, Coding Baby—Bowlby and Spitz’s Research into Prisons and Delinquency

Attachment theory is now widely known as a framework for understanding relationships, often reduced to online quizzes or pop psychology. But its origins are far more complex—and deeply intertwined with the institutions of social control. In this talk, I trace the development of early mother-infant interaction theories through the influential research of René Spitz, who studied the emotional lives of infants born to incarcerated women in New York, and John Bowlby, whose work with juvenile delinquents in postwar England shaped the foundations of attachment theory. These early studies helped define what constituted “healthy” emotional development—and they did so in institutional settings, where the stakes were not just psychological but disciplinary. I argue that attachment theory emerged as a kind of predictive tool, used to evaluate and manage family life both inside and outside the walls of prisons and reformatories.

Bio: Hannah Zeavin, PhD – Associate Professor of the History of Science and New Media in the Department of History and The Berkeley Center for New Media at the University of California, Berkeley. Author of

“Mother Media: Hot and Cool Parenting in the 20th Century,” slated for release in April 2025 by MIT Press, and “All Freud’s Children: A Story of Inheritance,” under contract with Penguin Press in the U.S. and Fern Press in the U.K.

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm EDT

Howard Steele
Attachment Across the Lifespan, and Across Generations

This talk will summarize major findings from the London Parent-Child Project begun in the late 1980s with supervision from Peter Fonagy and John Bowlby.  The longitudinal project began with Adult Attachment Interviews collected from first-time expectant mothers and their male partners, expectant fathers. Follow-up observations were conducted at multiple time points including 12-months to observe the infant-mother attachment, at 18-months to observe the infant-father attachment, and at 5-years, 6-years, 11-years, and 16/17-years in the first born child’s life. Findings will highlight the distinctive and shared influences of mothers and fathers on their first-born child — with a focus on the concept of ‘reflective functioning’ that emerged from this longitudinal study. In keeping with Bowlby’s theory of attachment that overlaps, in part, with the writings of W. Reich, the focus will be on what ‘predicted’ the first-born child’s mental health at various ages? And to what extent does this study confirm or qualify stability of attachment over time?

Bio: Howard Steele, PhD, is Professor of Psychology, at the New School for Social Research. At the New School, Dr. Steele co-directs (with Dr. M. Steele) the Center for Attachment Research, www.center-for-attachment.com. Howard Steele is also senior and founding editor of the international journal, “Attachment and Human Development,” and founding president of the Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies, www.seasintnational.org.

Both Miriam Steele & Howard Steele were among the 2017 Bowlby-Ainsworth Awardees so recognized by the Center for Mental Health Promotion. Howard Steele and Miriam Steele are co-editors of the 2008 book, “Clinical Applications of the Adult Attachment Interview,” and the 2018 “Handbook of Attachment-Based Interventions,” both published by the Guilford Press, New York. The Steeles are members of the Adult Attachment Interview Trainers’ Consortium (www.mainattachment.org).

2:45 pm – 3:45 pm EDT

Daniel Schiff
Attachment Styles and Character Structure – A Functional Identity?

This talk explores the potential functional identity between attachment styles and Reich’s character styles, with special attention to their orgonomic and bioenergetic foundations. Drawing on Bowlby and Ainsworth’s attachment theory and Reich’s work in Character Analysis, the presentation examines how relational and defensive patterns are not only psychological and behavioral but also deeply embodied, structured through chronic muscular armoring and energetic inhibition. Reich’s concept of functional identity—the simultaneous identity and antithesis of two functions with a shared deeper process—is used to investigate whether attachment patterns and character attitudes serve analogous functions in the regulation of affect, defense against anxiety, and maintenance of psychic cohesion. By viewing attachment strategies and character attitudes as parallel expressions of biophysical adaptation to social conditions, both systems can be seen as describing distinct surface phenomena—relational and postural—that reflect a common underlying orgonomic function.

Bio: Daniel Schiff PhD is a psychologist, psychotherapist, teacher and trainer with 50 years of clinical experience. His interest in Reich’s work and Gestalt therapy began in the early 1970s, leading to subsequent training in Neo-Reichian Therapy, Orgone Therapy, and Gestalt Therapy. Since 1987 he has served as an adjunct professor in a number of graduate programs, teaching various courses in fields of psychology and counseling, and has offered lectures, seminars and trainings in orgone therapy and somatic psychotherapy both in the US and abroad. In 2020 he established The Somatic Psychotherapy Training Institute – Pacific NW, located in Portland, Oregon to provide training in the field of somatic psychotherapy for practitioners and students in the fields of counseling and psychology, clinical social work, mental health, and other health professions. Through the institute he offers a four-year online training program in Contemporary Orgone (Reichian) Therapy, an orgonomic case consultation group, as well as clinical supervision and consultation. More information on his work can be found at www.dschiffphd.com.

Sunday, August 3

 DAY THREE – CONNECTING THE DOTS

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm EDT

Harry Lewis
Unifying the Work of Reich and Bowlby in Treatment

This presentation, grounded in clinical experience, explores how the insights of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth on attachment can be meaningfully integrated into therapeutic practice through the lens of Wilhelm Reich’s foundational concept of contact. Emphasis will be placed on Reich’s understanding of emotional and energetic expression, and how this work—rooted in our biological nature and the need for authentic contact—can be unified with attachment theory to inform and deepen treatment. Special attention will be given to our roots in nature as a shared foundation for both perspectives.

Bio: Harry Lewis is a licensed psychiatric social worker specializing in Orgone Therapy, character-analysis, and psycho-somatic disorders. He has been a student of the work of Dr. Wilhelm Reich since 1970. He received his MSW from Fordham University, doctorate from Columbia University, and postgraduate training in psychoanalysis at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York City. Dr. Lewis was trained in Orgone Therapy and had a long association with Dr. Victor M. Sobey, M.D., who was trained by Dr. Reich. Harry Lewis has taught psychology, child development and psycho-somatic psychology at The New School for Social Research, and has lectured extensively on the work of Dr. Reich and the work of Dr. John Bowlby. He is a member of The Institute for Orgonomic Science, and teaches and runs trainings in Orgone Therapy in New York, Mexico and Norway.

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm EDT

Judyth Weaver
Contact and Attachment — Prenatally and Presently

This talk will focus on the prenatal experiences that create and influence the issues of contact and attachment and then take us into the present with experiences of the work that influenced Reich and that he incorporated into his therapeutic practice.

Bio: Judyth O. Weaver, Ph.D. is a multifaceted teacher and counselor, incorporating extensive training in diverse areas. She holds a Ph.D. in Reichian Psychology. Judyth is the creator and founding chair of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute Ph.D. Program in Somatic Psychology. She taught at the California Institute of Integral Studies (San Francisco, CA) for 25 years and at other graduate schools in the S.F. Bay area as well as being founding faculty at Naropa Institute, now Naropa University, (Boulder, CO) in the 1970’s, creating it’s T’ai Chi Ch’uan program. She is certified in Reichian Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, massage, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Pre- and Perinatal Therapy and as a teacher of Tai Chi Chuan, a senior teacher of the Rosen Method and Sensory Awareness. She met Eva Reich in 1981 and became her student and good friend until she passed in 2008.

2:45 pm – 3:30 pm EDT

Jennifer Evans with David Silver
Special Feature: Exploring the Reich Archives with AI: A Live Demonstration

This session offers a live demonstration of how AI tools can deepen engagement with archival material from the Wilhelm Reich Archives.

Using NotebookLM, powered by Google’s Gemini language model, we will explore transcriptions from the 1949 Committee for Self-Regulation—roundtable discussions between orgone therapists and non-physicians on infancy and childrearing.

David will demonstrate how this technology can generate interactive podcast-style content, while Jennifer will show how it helps extract insights from large bodies of text. The session will be hands-on and experimental, highlighting how accessible AI tools can support archival research, generate connections across disciplines—such as between Reich and Bowlby—and even respond meaningfully to present-day parenting questions.

We will close with an open discussion on the promises and potential pitfalls of using AI for historical exploration.

Bio: Jennifer Evans is an independent scholar based in Atlanta, GA. She earned her doctorate in the History of Science from Harvard University. Her dissertation focused on Wilhelm Reich’s bioelectrical experiments, examining their scientific and cultural context and influence on the development of Reich’s thought. She is currently pursuing a certificate in Sexuality Education from the University of Michigan School of Social Work with a goal of discovering new and creative ways to make Reich’s work on the function of the orgasm accessible to a modern audience.

Bio: David Silver holds a B.F.A. in Film & Television from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and an M.S. in Computer Science from NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and has been Executive Director of the Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust since 2019.

 INFO

Language: The conference language is English. We do not have the resources to offer professional translation. Zoom video auto captioning with translation will be available. The performance is limited. If you are a non-English speaker and would like to try to use the Zoom translation, contact us to request a discounted conference fee.

Recordings: The presentations will be recorded and made available for secure viewing one to two weeks after the conference.

Conference Committee: Jennifer Evans, Håvard Friis Nilsen, David Silver

Sponsored by: The Wilhelm Reich Museum, Rangeley, Maine, USA

Contact: info@wilhelmreichmuseum.org

 
TIME ZONE REFERENCE

Time Zone

Hours

United States East Coast12:00 noon to 4:00 pm EDT
(Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-4)
United States West Coast9:00 am to 1:00 pm PDT
(Pacific Daylight Time, UTC-7)
United Kingdom5:00 pm to 9:00 pm BST
(British Summer Time, UTC+1)
Germany18:00 to 22:00 CEST
(Central European Summer Time, UTC+2)