by David Feinstein, PhD
(Innersource, 2004)
Reviewed by Michael Galvin, PhD

Psychotherapy has turned to the past for one of its newest methods. "Energy psychology" relies on the subtle but potent energy system of the human body, recognized and used by healers in ancient China, India, and Europe.

While acupuncturists have long known that energy meridians have effects on emotions (and vice-versa), Western patients have not generally seen acupuncture as a form of mental healthcare. Nor have psychotherapists, until recently, investigated the properties of the meridians for use in mental health.

Beginning in the 1970s, psychologists began using applied kinesiology (muscle testing) to rediscover the relationship between the meridians and emotions (as well as between cognition and behavior).

Interest in subtle energy and emotions has steadily grown in the last decade as clinicians have found they are often able to provide quick and lasting cures of difficulties that have sometimes persisted for many years. Controlled research supporting energy psychology has been slowly accumulating, and the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology encourages further investigation.

Now David Feinstein takes the field to a new level. He is a clinical psychologist and established author and trainer who left a successful practice to teach and write with his wife, Donna Eden—a renowned intuitive healer and author of the book Energy Medicine. Familiarity with her art has given Feinstein an understanding of the nature and functioning of the energy system described in this new book, with its integrated state-of-the-art compact disc and accompanying Self-Help Guide.

He reviews the research on subtle energy that has "caused many people to think twice about what they think." Therapists are taught the theory and practice of energy psychology through a structured but flexible and engaging series of readings and practical exercises. Students can follow and apply them on their own, but more effective will be the recommended partner study, in which therapists practice on each other to gain hands-on familiarity with the work. The lessons are creatively augmented by the CD that provides illustrative video clips, extensive teaching aids and references, and links to resources on the Internet. The disk also contains a course of advanced training, taking the interested practitioner beyond the lessons in the book. Finally, clinicians are invited to join an Internet discussion group to continue their education in the field.

Although energy psychology researchers and therapists have been showing us how to address various disorders, many people have wished for a more extensive explanation of the mechanisms. Feinstein’s book now gives clinicians a deeper understanding of why and how the procedures work, which makes learning more coherent, and facilitates continued innovations in the field.

For lay readers, the separately available Self-Help Guide provides treatments that anyone can easily apply to specific emotional problems. It also shows easy-to-learn exercises from Energy Medicine that not only enhance the treatments, but are also advised to anyone, whether interested in surmounting a particular psychological challenge or not.

This integrated learning system will be a solution for the therapist who wants to learn more about energy psychology and to try it out before committing further resources. For the therapist already familiar with energy psychology, the book and CD provide both advanced understandings of the processes of energy psychology, and a wealth of new techniques to increase their effectiveness.

Michael Galvin is a clinical psychologist and co-author of Energy Psychology and EMDR. He is on the faculties of Colorado School of Professional Psychology and the Center for Creative Leadership.