Aadel Bülow-Hansen

Who is Aadel Bülow-Hansen?

Aadel Bülow-Hansen was a Norwegian physiotherapist. She was known around the world for developing Norwegian psychomotoric physiotherapy with psychiatrist Trygve Braatøy, from 1947-1953.

Through her practice, Bülow-Hansen had seen how important the breath was to physiotheraputic development. A controlled respiration was one of the things contributing to a healthy body. Controlled breathing can also lead to control of the emotions. Bülow-Hansen was interested in the body as a whole, and didn't like to think of the body and psyche as two separate parts.

Although her only education was at Christiania Orthopediske and Medico Mekaniske Senter, she read a great deal of literature. She grew up in a high-class environment, with a father who was a doctor with friends in high places. She moved in the "upper circle". Although she worked with doctors and psychiatrists, she had little time for psychologists, whom she saw as treating patients too theoretically.

During the war, she worked together with Dr. H. Seyffarth to find treatments for work-related stress, which was a growing problem. She did not develop a treatment for these patients, but understood early on that there might be a connection between muscle tension, respiration, and mental trauma.