Recent years have seen the emergence of
astonishingly effective new therapies for psychological disturbances – and although
there has been much media publicity, ‘energy psychology’ is still unknown to
many psychologists working in the mental health field. A very brief summary of the history
and development of this group of approaches is as follows. Chiropractic was combined with
principles from acupuncture, giving rise to kinesiology (1970s and 80s), an approach that
used muscle testing to reveal disturbances in the body’s energy field and states of
ill-health in particular organs of the body. A pioneering psychiatrist, John Diamond, then
began to apply kinesiology to psychological problems (since the 1980s). One of his
students, a clinical psychologist called Roger Callahan, adapted this approach, devising
sequences of acupressure tapping for particular psychological problems; he called this
‘thought field therapy’ (developed during the 1990s. A simplification of this
was developed by Callahan’s student, Gary Craig, called ‘The Emotional Freedom
Technique’ (see www.emofree.com). Over the same period a whole variety of other,
somewhat lesser known, approaches were developed. British developments can be found at www.theamt.com and www.emotrance.com. The emerging
research suggests that these methods are very effective indeed, extremely rapid, and
thoroughly gentle.
In my own practice, although I am a psychoanalyst and still do a small amount of
traditional analytic therapy, these days I mostly prefer to treat people using energy
methods, often combined with EMDR. I have concluded that therapies based purely on talk,
whether psychoanalytic or cognitive, simply do not work very well, although they may be
helpful to a degree in providing insight or in illuminating recurrent constellations of
cognition and emotion. The basic principle is that emotional experience appears to become
patterned into the body’s energy system. When the energy system is stimulated, while
the person thinks of the trauma or troubling emotion, then this patterning is released
– usually very rapidly. In purely talk-based therapies, by contrast, the patterning
in the energy system is unchanged, with the result that the affect tends just to be
shunted around the psychosomatic system and never fundamentally resolved. This does not
mean that the knowledge and expertise of traditional therapies are irrelevant, but these
become enormously more effective when combined with energy methods.
Because the field is so new, it is not easy for newcomers to orient themselves amongst the
bewildering spectrum of unfamiliar approaches, terms and concepts. A structured learning
process is often not easily found. This is where Energy Psychology Interactive, a book and
CD, is of immense value. David Feinstein is a clinical psychologist, who became aware of
these approaches through being married to Donna Eden, a well-known figure in Energy
Medicine. In consultation with 25 other leaders in the field of energy psychology,
Feinstein has written a comprehensive, clear, and sophisticated guide to theory and
practice, covering virtually all known aspects of these approaches. Thus the reader is
taken systematically through the sequence of energy checking, tests and treatments for
‘neurological disorganisation’ and ‘psychological reversals’, the
principles of meridian energy treatments, discussion of the nature of subtle energy, and
extensive reviews of relevant research. Principles of ethics, informed consent, and the
limitations of energy approaches are considered. A preliminary study is reported,
involving many double blind trials in South America, with 31,400 patients over a 14 year
period. The results showed greater and much more rapid improvements in those patients
treated with energy methods, compared to those treated with CBT. Although these kinds of
results are remarkable (but exactly what those of us who use the methods have come to
expect), the book is written in a sober, critical and thoughtful style.
One of the most interesting features of energy methods is the identification of
‘psychological reversal’, whereby a person’s energy runs contrary to the
conscious intention. In addition normal values will be reversed, so that the body
registers good as bad, and vice versa. This is similar to the psychoanalytic notion of
negative therapeutic reaction, but seems to me a more useful concept – especially
since it can be corrected quite simply. Another unusual idea is that of ‘neurological
disorganisation’, involving subtle forms of incoherence and imbalance between
different parts of the nervous system. Unless this disorganisation is corrected, using
simple exercises, the energy treatment will not work.
The main book is included on the accompanying CD, which is also packed with additional
information. The CD is interactive and contains numerous video clips showing different
exercises and therapeutic procedures, as well as a variety of charts and client-handouts.
Also available is a valuable self-help guide for use by patients. Of particular importance
is the way this package does not simplify the field, nor promote just one energy method.
It is perhaps worth noting that on the back cover of the book is an endorsement by leading
trauma researcher, Bessel van der Kolk (amongst a number of other distinguished
authorities). As well as his deep knowledge of the human energy system, Feinstein’s
background in clinical psychology is readily apparent, in his intelligent, balanced,
scientific, and responsible approach to an exciting and rapidly developing realm. |
