Energy psychology refers to therapies which use physical interventions to manage electrical signals or energy fields, with practitioners believing this approach can assist people more quickly in healing from traumatic experiences than talking therapies alone.
Energy psychology protocols such as the acupoint tapping technique have proven helpful for treating trauma caused by natural disasters and other tragedies. Studies indicate it can decrease arousal levels as well as symptoms.
How It Works
Human energy systems are believed to provide us with a strong connection between mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. If these energies become weakened or disrupted, people can experience anxiety, depression, pain or other symptoms that lead them down a downward spiral of symptoms like anxiety, depression or pain. Practitioners of energy psychology use non-Western techniques such as mindfulness practices or cognitive reframing techniques in order to restore these energies back into equilibrium – also called “healing”.
Thought Field Therapy (TFT), tapping, and Bioenergetic Analysis are among the many modalities of energy therapy psychology available to clients today, with each method stimulating certain energy points on the body (acupoints) while addressing specific emotions or beliefs to release blocked memories and heal disturbances in human energy systems.
Energy therapy sessions involve clients focusing on an idea, feeling or belief while the therapist gently taps various acupressure points on the body to send electrical impulses back to their brain and encourage natural healing processes. This may help balance cortisol levels while encouraging natural healing processes to take place.
Energy psychologists believe that all thoughts and emotions have positive or negative frequencies that can have profound impacts on one’s immune system and organs. Their theory states that when emotions become powerful enough, they leave their mark on our acupressure points like radio waves do to cells; when light emotions like peace or love emerge instead, however.
Though research on these modalities remains limited, many have reported them as effective at relieving anxiety and other symptoms. When combined with other psychotherapeutic approaches such as exposure therapy or acupoint tapping therapy, trauma victims can work through their traumatic experiences without experiencing further retraumatization or distress.
Some therapists are using energy psychology techniques in their trauma therapy with veterans exposed to natural disasters, mass shootings or other traumatic events. Members of the ACEP Humanitarian Committee provide training sessions for veterans using tapping techniques as part of disaster relief efforts.
Benefits
Energy therapy psychology involves various mind-body techniques designed to influence human bio-energy systems known as meridians, chakras and biofield. Practitioners believe these energy fields play an integral part in maintaining emotional and physical well-being, and when their balance becomes disrupted or out of whack it may manifest as symptoms such as anxiety and depression; energy therapy practices help restore equilibrium to these energies in order to alleviate them – thus alleviating symptoms associated with imbalanced energies.
Body tapping is one of the most widely practiced forms of energy therapy, stimulating similar points to those targeted by acupuncture (meridian points) using fingertips to tap these points. Practitioners believe these movements send signals directly to the brain that help regulate emotions.
Energy therapy that employs cognitive somatic techniques aims at treating the root causes of psychological and physical ailments. In particular, it works to decrease limbic hyperarousal often caused by trauma-based memories or fears.
Energy therapy practices have proven successful in treating conditions like PTSD and anxiety in numerous trials. Furthermore, they tend to be cost-effective alternatives compared to many other forms of therapy and safe for most individuals.
Individuals who have endured trauma are at greater risk for long-term psychological conditions like depression and anxiety, so fast yet effective help must be available in order to overcome them. Energy therapy techniques provide such aid, by decreasing limbic hyperarousal levels in individuals so that they may find relief from their difficulties more rapidly.
These energy healing methods may be employed alone or as part of a wider clinical treatment program, as well as being taught to others for use as self-help strategies.
Disaster relief teams increasingly utilize acupoint tapping techniques to assist survivors of both natural and manmade disasters. Their workers have provided immediate relief while simultaneously equipping local residents for long-term recovery. Some teams even provided training on this technique for mental health professionals and other leaders within their communities.
Techniques
Energy psychology holds that our thoughts and emotions can impact on the electrical and energetic fields in our body like sound waves or radio frequencies, leading to changes in electricity and energy fields that ultimately determine healing from mental health conditions as well as physical ailments. Proponents of this approach suggest this link between functioning human energy fields and overall healing rates is directly correlated.
Practitioners combine modern psychological interventions with stimulation of energy systems within the human body. This may involve using acupressure techniques such as “body tapping,” or electrically stimulating certain acupuncture points that stimulate chakras to send signals back to the brain that regulate cortisol levels, balance sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and release stored emotions.
Energy therapy practices encompass various methodologies, but most are founded upon the idea that there are meridians which house our body’s life force (chi, ki, prana or energy). These interconnect and pass through various organs in the body – including adrenal glands – with stimulating these meridians being believed to reduce anxiety or fear triggers when exposed.
Acupuncturists have long employed meridien point stimulation as an effective treatment for stress, pain and other ailments. Some energy psychology approaches utilize stimulation of these acupoints while recalling or thinking back over upsetting or traumatic events; those suffering from spider phobia are encouraged to imagine or participate in fearful scenarios while performing body tapping techniques.
Thought Field Therapy and Tapas Acupressure Technique were pioneering pioneers of energy psychology approaches used for treating stress, anxiety, and phobias. Practitioners of these approaches believe that over time their repeated use can transform an individual’s emotional and cognitive response to trauma into healthier responses resulting in stronger resilience and wellbeing.
Side Effects
Energy psychology seeks to aid people dealing with trauma, anxiety and other mental health concerns by combining exposure therapy, an established Western method for treatment, with techniques designed to restore balance in human energy systems. Practitioners of energy psychology believe that trauma creates hyperarousal which leads to feelings of dread or jumpiness as well as increased muscle tension, decreased tolerance for pain tolerance and difficulties sleeping – this means combining energy psychology meridian point stimulation techniques with exposure therapy exposure may create new and healthier responses for clients who experience these emotions.
Energy psychology therapies such as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Thought Field Therapy (TFT) combine contemporary psychological interventions with stimulating acupuncture points called “acupoints.” Acupoints are electrochemically sensitive areas located on parts of your body’s acupuncture meridians; when stimulated while thinking of specific concerns or desired states, energy psychologists believe electrical signals travel back to your brain that normalize cortisol levels while simultaneously balancing out your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
EFT sessions involve helping clients rate how much a specific thought or memory is bothering them on a scale from 1-10, then tapping a series of acupoints while repeating a mantra that has been customized specifically to address those thoughts and feelings that are upsetting them. EFT has been used successfully by psychologists and other professionals treating depression, anxiety, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Energy psychology may not yet be fully understood, but practitioners believe that all thoughts and emotions contain frequencies which have the same ability to alter our physical functioning as sound waves or radio frequencies do. Negative energies like fear, anger, guilt and shame are thought to threaten immune function while positive ones like joy, love and peace can promote wellness. Practitioners of energy psychology also use acupuncture points for treating chronic illness symptoms like fibromyalgia or insomnia.
