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I am not a psychoanalyst; rather, I am a clinical psychologist trained in the psychoanalytic field. Fifteen years ago I became acquainted with movement therapy, and a couple of years later I started training in Bioenergetic Analysis. Those years were very enriching for my body-psyche development, but I suffered a great loneliness among my verbal colleagues. There was no way to convey to them the strength and depth of these therapeutic approaches. Whenever I tried to talk about it I was perceived as a bit “off the track.” This gap between my inner experience and my inability to communicate it to my professional environment was the main impetus for writing this article, wherein I have tried to integrate my two therapeutic identities (verbal and body). This process has not been easy. I believe that my own personal experience of this difficulty is emblematic of a universal problem among therapists. I call it the professional split.
I examine this question from two perspectives: historical and dynamic.
For me, the controversy between Freud and Ferenczi that erupted in the psychoanalytic community is an important starting point of understanding. Let us trace Freud's professional and personal development,