Sophrology is a dynamic relaxation method developed by neuropsychiatrist Alfonso Caycedo from 1960 to 2001 and includes physical and mental exercises to promote health and well-being.
35–42)[1][2][3] Although it is considered a pseudoscience in some circles, sophrology has been called "a method, a practice and a philosophy" that uses the mind-body connection to increase awareness and conscious living, with the aim of enabling individuals to create more balance and harmony in themselves and in the world around them.
40–41)[1][3][6] Since 2007, leading French cancer center Institute Curie has offered patients in the Outpatient Medical Oncology unit the opportunity to attend individual sophrology sessions to "help cancer patients manage the distress caused by the disease and its treatment, including anxiety, nausea, fatigue, insomnia, and body-image disruptions.
[1][2][14] Professor Alfonso Caycedo (1932–2017) a neuropsychiatrist (doctor, psychiatrist, and neurologist) of Spanish Basque origin was born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1932 and studied medicine in Spain.
He then set out to find a way of healing depressed and traumatized clients by leading them to an improved quality of life with the least possible use of drugs and psychiatric treatments.
(p. 38)[1][7] During his absence, Caycedo asked Doctors Raymond Abrezol and Armand Dumont to take charge and continue the dissemination of sophrology.
[17] In 1968, on his return from his travels in India and Japan, Caycedo settled in Barcelona, Spain, where he started expanding sophrology and created the first three levels of what he called Dynamic Relaxation.
[18] In Switzerland, Raymond Abrezol[19] (1931–2010), a Swiss doctor and dentist, discovered sophrology and brought it to the attention of the general public.
Athletes that included specifically designed sophrology exercises as part of their preparation included Bernhard Russi, Roland Collombin, Walter Tresch, Werner Mattle, Lise Marie Morerod and Marie-Therese Nadig (skiers); Walther Steiner and Hans Schmid (ski jumpers); Fritz Chervet (boxer), Dill Bundi (cyclist), Silvio Giobelina (bobsledder), and Pierre Fehlmann (navigator).
Although initially used only in medicine,[27][28] Abrezol's success with athletes opened doors for Sophrology to be taught in many areas of life from sports to education, the arts, well-being in the corporate world, and in other disciplines.
In 2019, a randomized controlled trial in Spain was carried out to determine the effects of sophrology’s dynamic relaxation techniques on anxiety and mood in primary care patients.
Authors added that sophrology training might be a choice for those patients with medium or high anxiety levels, suffering from important psychopharmacological side effects or intolerance but also for those patients at medium risk for anxiety disorders, interested in developing healthy psycho-physical habits, personal resources and coping strategies.