It Is Time for Clinical Trials

Introduction

To the general public, the orgone energy accumulator is probably the most widely known application of orgone energy, which was discovered by Wilhelm Reich between 1936-1939. From its introduction in the early 1940s, the accumulator has been ridiculed in the mass media, as well as in professional publications. Unfortunately, this hostile attitude continues to this day in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Mother Jones and other major TV and social media outlets.

However, Reich’s belief that the orgone accumulator would eventually be recognized by official medicine and used therapeutically, may be realized sooner than it appears at first glance. There are subtle but significant changes taking place in society and science.

Clinical Trials of the Orgone Energy Accumulator?

On the weekend of May 24-25, 2025 in Los Angeles, I gave two talks at a conference on the medical and scientific work of Wilhelm Reich titled “Orgone Energy: Demonstrable, Measurable and Usable” and “The Medical and Scientific Legacy of Wilhelm Reich: Proof of Concept.” The conference was organized by Dr Stephan Simonian and you can read about it at his online Journal of Psychiatric Orgone Therapy (psychorgone.com)

At this event, I reported on an upcoming one-year long pilot study of the use of orgone energy in self-care for dry intermediate macular degeneration (AMD). This condition is the most common cause of blindness among seniors worldwide. And there is no effective treatment.

To my knowledge, it is the first clinical trial of orgone energy conducted in the US since Reich’s death in 1957. It has been a long road trying to increase accurate awareness of Reich’s contributions so that we can see what may be helpful for us today.

In December 1997, I moderated a six-evening lecture series at The New York Open Center on the occasion of the centennial of Reich’s birth. One of the speakers was James M. Gordon, MD., who discussed the profound influence that Reich had on him. Dr. Gordon, the Director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC, was appointed by President Clinton at that time to head a task force on how to best integrate conventional and complementary medicine.

In reply to a question from the audience, Dr. Gordon said he thought the time was right for double-blind, controlled clinical trials of the orgone energy accumulator to be performed. He stressed that it was up to those who work with the accumulator, those who have seen or experienced its therapeutic value, to perform these experiments. That was 28 years ago but, finally, it appears as if a clinical pilot study will be undertaken by The Mindshift Institute; the Institute of Noetic Sciences; and an internatonally renowned physician whose specialty is AMD.

I have used an orgone accumulator and other orgone energy devices regularly since 1971 and have benefited greatly. However, my experiences, and the experiences of others like me, are not sufficient to demonstrate scientifically the safety and effectiveness of the orgone accumulator. In the past, there was an opportunity at the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (now called the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) to submit proposals for clinical trials of this valuable apparatus. But no one availed themselves of this opportunity. And the current adminsitration is now dismantling this NIH Center.

If clinical trials of the orgone accumulator are undertaken, and the results confirm its therapeutic effects, the recognition of the value of the orgone accumulator by official medicine might soon follow. In the past few decades, a range of “alternative” medical practices have made great inroads into conventional medicine.

For example, some surgeons at major hospitals have energy healers in the operating rooms with them. Therapeutic touch has been integrated into mainstream medical practices nationwide. And many conventional hospitals have opened “Complementary Medicine Clinics,” offering acupuncture, chiropractic care, therapeutic touch, herbal therapy and other complementary methods of treatment. In the past few weeks, the FDA has approved a new red-light therapy for use in treating patients with AMD.

Double-blind, controlled clinical trials of these different modalities convinced many open-minded clinicians, particularly younger physicians, of their value. In time, the same could occur with the orgone energy devices. The scientific exploration of orgone energy comes at a moment when the American public is forcing the medical profession to respond to its desire for improved health care and for access to healing modalities other than surgery, drugs or radiation.

In Reich’s era, there was no social or scientific context in which to understand his work. He stood alone. Although there were physicians and patients who appreciated his medical orgone therapy, there was no understanding of his physical orgone energy research in the mainstream scientific community. Today, the situation is changing, however slowly, and there is greater opportunity for Reich’s work to be revisited.

The Research of Bernard Grad, PhD —A Bridge to Reich’s Work

The scientific career of McGill University professor Dr. Bernard Grad spanned the era from the 1950s to his death in 2010. Dr. Grad has been a major influence on many of the women and men practicing complementary medicine.

Many researchers and clinicians have been influenced by the vast body of medical and scientific literature that has grown over the last 70 years concerning healing and energy functions in human and non-human biological systems. Dr. Grad’s early, carefully controlled research has had quite an impact, particularly his work with a well-known healer named Estabany. Dr. Grad reported on Estabany’s healing effects on mice and experiments in which Estabany “laid hands on” water later given to seeds which then grew faster and had higher yields than those that received untreated water.

Although these and other experiments by Dr. Grad are widely known and admired today, few who hold his research in high regard are aware of his years of work with Wilhelm Reich and his experiments with orgone energy both during Reich’s life and after Reich’s death.

In 1997, at a Wilhelm Reich centennial conference, which I organized in New York City at the New York Academy of Medicine with the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Dr. Grad was one of the speakers. Although many of those who attended were aware of Dr. Grad’s research and its influence, none knew of his orgone energy investigations.

During his career at McGill University in Montreal, Dr. Grad kept his experiments with orgone energy to himself. He believed, accurately, that an open interest in Wilhelm Reich’s work would end his academic scientific career. Have things changed significantly in the intervening decades? Very little, it is sad to say.

At that event, Dr Grad gave three presentations about his investigations of aspects of orgone energy—“The Temperature Difference Experiment;” “Experiences with Orgone Energy Accumulators and Leukemia Mice;” and “Experiment XX” which involves biogenesis. He was able to be open about his work with orgone energy because he had retired and there could be no reprisals against him.

Can the orgone energy devices now be objectively, scientifically evaluated? Does a new social climate exist that would make this possible?

The public is forcing the medical profession to be open to, and to investigate honestly, fundamentally different approaches to health. Could this soon include the orgone energy accumulator?

If those who work with orgone energy conduct well-designed, double-blind, controlled clinical trials, submit those results to peer-reviewed journals such as Alternative Therapies, and seek funding for their research from organizations open to energy healing, we will find out the answer to that question quickly.

Reich’s contributions to medicine and healing are conspicuously absent from the complementary-alternative medicine journals and the multitude of conferences on this topic that are held each year, despite the fact that many leaders in this field are aware of the value of his work—and may even use his discoveries in their practices.

For example, at a conference on energy medicine and cancer in Washington DC, I asked the late Dr Jeanne Achterberg, a pioneer in mind-body medicine and author of such books as Imagery in Healing and Woman As Healer, why there was no mention of The Cancer Biopathy, Wilhelm Reich’s ground-breaking book on orgone energy and cancer treatment, at the conference. She paused, thought a moment, and then said, “I suppose it’s safe to talk about that here. We didn’t understand Reich back then. But now we do.” She noted that Reich was correct about energy medicine.

To my surprise, Dr Achterberg continued, “My husband, Dr Frank Lawlis, has used orgone accumulators with his patients for 30 years but never speaks about it.” Dr Frank Lawlis was a renowned and highly influential psychologist and author whose work was focused on clinical and research methods exploring the mind-body relationship. Sadly, there are undoubtedly many other such examples of people afraid to reveal their knowledge and use of Reich’s discoveries. This has held back our ability to benefit from the use of orgone energy.

At present, the leaders of complementary-alternative medicine are as reluctant to conduct serious scientific and medical investigations of orgone energy as are their conventional colleagues. But, as Dr James M Gordon said nearly three decades ago:

The time is now right for double-blind, controlled clinical trials of orgone energy devices to be performed.