A forthcoming paper in one of the flagship clinical journals of the American Psychological Association ends:

Conclusion

PTSD [[post-traumatic stress disorder -- more than 300,000 returning veterans suffer with it plus untold numbers of domestic survivors of automobile accidents, violent crime, and other forms of trauma]] is a debilitating condition that has proven resistant to most forms of psychotherapy (Johnson, Fontana, Lubin, Corn, & Rosenheck, 2004). Exposure techniques have had the greatest success in treating the disorder, yet conventional forms of psychological exposure typically fail to benefit a substantial portion of those who utilize them and sometimes cause retraumatization. Although CBT combined with psychological exposure is still considered the treatment of choice for PTSD (Bryant et al., 2008), “half of patients do not respond” (p. 555). In addition, as noted by Cahill, Foa, Hembree, Marshall, and Nacash (2006), “Despite all the evidence for the efficacy of exposure therapy and other CBT programs, few therapists are trained in these treatments and few patients receive them” (p. 597). Reasons for this presumably include the fact that prolonged, intense exposure is a disquieting and often arduous process which holds only mixed promise for problem resolution (Gaffney, 2009). Problems with conventional treatment approaches are reflected in a recent finding that of 49,425 veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars with newly diagnosed PTSD, less than one in ten who sought care from facilities run by the Department of Veterans Affairs actually completed the treatment as recommended (Seal et al., 2010).

 

Preliminary evidence suggests that by combining acupoint stimulation with brief psychological exposure [[the essential technique used in Energy Psychology]], PTSD symptoms and underlying neurological patterns may be targeted with unusual speed, power, and lasting effects while minimizing the likelihood of retraumatization. In the Church, Hawk, et al. (2010) study, 49 of 50 participants—all of whom had scored above the PTSD cut-off on a standardized measure before treatment—completed the 6-session protocol, with 86% scoring below the PTSD cut-off following the treatment. The treatment targeted traumatic memories or maladaptive stimulus-response pairings, one at a time, using brief imaginal exposure while simultaneously stimulating acupoints. The acupoint stimulation is believed to send deactivating signals to the amygdala and other brain structures, rapidly reducing hyperarousal and extinguishing threat responses to innocuous triggers. If clinical reports and early research evidence are confirmed, the combination of brief psychological exposure and acupoint stimulation may enhance the ability of psychotherapists to treat PTSD more rapidly and effectively.

Read the entire paper, which includes the references cited here.