Philip M. Helfaer, Ph.D.
Pepperell, MA USA
In March of 2003, when
I was in Norway, I heard rumors of the new journal, and one day someone showed
me her copy. It was Volume 1, Number 1, January 2003, of The European
Journal of Bioenergetic Analysis and Psychotherapy. It is beautifully
produced and laid out with seven substantial articles and a brief report.
I was thrilled because I remembered the excitement when I introduced the IIBA
Clinical Journal at the 1984 biennial conference in New York State. After
the closing of the meeting, everyone ran to buy one. I’m writing this letter
to encourage everyone to run and subscribe to this new journal. You can do
so through the web site: www.bioenergetic-journal.net. You
might send subscriptions to friends and colleagues in other fields as well
as your own.
To develop, a discipline needs its own literature and journals. This particular
journal was the dream of Dr. Regina Axt. Her vision is a journal of solid
professional standards, comparable to other medical and psychological journals,
and she has introduced the necessary peer-review process. The journal is also
intended to meet the need of the European bioenergetic community for a place
to publish bioenergetic research.
We see our young discipline struggling to develop in Volume 1, Number 1, of
The European Journal for Bioenergetic Analysis and Psychotherapy.
There is more than one clinical approach represented here. There is also more
than one model of what counts as clinical and conceptual validity. This offers
a lot to sort through.
Can our small institute support another journal? I believe we need to. For
one thing, it sets up more opportunity for dialogue, and for another I hope
that we will find in this new journal, the expression of bioenergetics developing
with uniquely European flavors, with some admixture of North and South Americans
and others. The first issue fulfills these promises.
Don’t miss this journal. Don’t miss the first issue. Support it. We all need
it.