Methods...
I have never met a client who didn’t eventually make sense.
Their patterns or ways of being that don’t serve them now usually
served them quite well as a child, especially when coping
with overwhelming life situations.
- Mary T. Sise, LCSW -
- Energy Psychology
- TFT - Thought Field Therapy
- EFT – Emotional Freedom Techniques
- TAB – Touch & Breathe
- BSFF – Be Set Free Fast
- TAT – Tapas Acupressure Technique
- EMDR – Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Treatment Methods
In the past several decades research into the field of neurobiology has changed the way many clinicians view traumatic experiences and emotional distress. Simply put, the brain's limbic region (fight or flight) is receiving much more attention as one of the main centers of the brain that are distressed.
Clinicians have frequently found that after years of "talk therapy", some of their patients continued to respond with the same anger, anxiety or distress that they felt during the original event. While they might have more insight into why they are upset, for some clients, it just didn't help them to be less upset. Other clients couldn't figure out the origin of their distress, and frequently knew it was "irrational", but they couldn't seem to release it by trying to be logical.
It appears that the area of the brain most distressed is the limbic region. The area of your brain that you use in talk therapy is primarily your neo-cortex region. That same region is the storage area for all of your logic and reasoning. But as anyone can tell you when you are upset, you are usually not too logical!! Brain scans are now concurring with what we know!
It appears that many of the newer therapies help to quiet down the limbic structures. While they will involve some “talking” to a therapist to help you focus on your distress, the treatments will also involve using eye movements, tapping your own body, using an acupressure hold, or some other intervention aimed at quieting down the body/mind.
Energy Psychology (EP) constitutes a large family of therapeutic approaches that are grounded in mind/body theory. EP modalities include work with selected aspects of the human energy system--the meridians, the acupoints, the radiant circuits, the chakras, and the biofield-- to enhance therapeutic outcomes for selected clients. Clinical outcomes with EP have been reported over the past decade citing such remarkable effects for some clients as relief of trauma, reduction of anxiety, and resolution of phobias.
As yet, there is not sufficient documentation in the research literature to validate or generalize from these experiences, although we hope that this will change in the near future. EP is a new and innovative discipline that cannot guarantee efficacy or make any claims for specific client populations. Any specific EP method should only be considered for client intervention by practitioners who are adequately trained in the method, and who understand the legality of the particular EP method's use as it relates to the scope of their practice, as provided for by the governing state licensure regulatory agency. Introduction of any innovative method to clients requires careful attention to rapport, informed consent, and acceptance of the client's right to choose whether to use an intervention or not. All Energy Psychology treatments are incorporated into sound clinical psychotherapeutic treatment.
All clients are given a full assessment to see if any of these treatments might be appropriate. The client remains seated in their chair, usually doing the treatments for themselves (i.e. tapping under the eye, collarbone etc) while the clinician shows them the treatment. The information provided to you is educational in nature and is intended to help you understand and empower yourself to enhance your health and well-being. It is not meant as a substitute for medical care. While some of these methods can be easily used as self-help methods, it is strongly recommended that you seek the help of a qualified clinician, especially if you have a history of depression, suicidal thinking, bi-polar or schizophrenia, and if you have had any trauma in which there was damage to your body. For a list of practitioners in your area see www.EnergyPsych.org/. For a list of New York Capital Area providers see the link on this website.
This method was developed by Dr. Roger Callahan. Many other Energy Psychology methods such as EFT, BSFF, EDxTM, TAB etc were developed by people who initially trained with Dr. Callahan and then created their own unique methods using Callahan’s as a foundation. At its basic level, this method involves teaching your patient how to tap on meridian points in a specific sequence for emotional issues, such as anger, grief, trauma, etc. It is a wonderful self-help tool for people to use at home when distressed, and it is a powerful tool for clinicians to use it in their office especially when processing traumatic material. There are three levels of Thought Field Therapy training. The first level is a two algorithm level training. In it, clinicians learn the theory, and implementation of TFT with their patients. Dr. Callahan has developed two additional levels. His diagnostic level teaches clinicians how to use applied kinesiology to diagnose a specific tapping sequence, and his Voice Technology level uses the voice over the phone in order to diagnose specific tapping sequences. More information is available through Roger Callahan at www.TFLRX.com.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Gary Craig developed this method of putting all the meridian points together and creating one basic treatment after he studied TFT with Dr. Callahan. Gary is credited with spreading the word about this method to hundreds of thousands of people primarily via the internet. He recently retired, and most of the articles and information is now available at www.EFTUniverse.com.
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This method of energy psychology was developed by Dr. John Diepold, Dr. Sheila Sidney Bender (my co-author) and Victoria Britt, MSW after they studied with Dr. Callahan. It uses the same meridian points, along with a gentle breath. This method is the method we use in the book The Energy of Belief. Dr. Bender and I also added some modifications to TAB which further enhance the process. To learn about this process, visit the book's website: www.EnergyofBelief.com.
Be Set Free Fast (BSFF)
Dr. Larry Nims developed this method after he studied with Dr. Callahan in the early 1990’s. Larry was very interested in the power of the subconscious mind, and he developed a series of affirmations which you could say as you were tapping the meridian points used by Dr. Callahan. Larry is also a strong proponent of forgiveness and has incorporated that into his healing protocol. His website is www.BeSetFreeFast.com.
Tapas Accupressure Technique (TAT)
Tapas Fleming, a licensed acupuncturist, developed this method. She discovered that having clients hold the front and back of their head in a specific pose would calm the body/mind down and produce a shift in the emotions around a problem or distressing belief. Her protocol involves a 6-step process to access the core of the belief, and then replace it with a different belief. Her website is www.UnStressForSuccess.com/.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
This method, developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, is not considered Energy Psychology. It involves having a client think of a distressing event and then having the clinician move her hands back and forth in front of the client’s eyes, while the client focuses on the image. It can also be done with hand taps or bi-lateral sounds. Over the past ten years there has been much research into this methodology, especially for traumatic incidents. To be trained one must be a licensed clinician and go through the EMDR institute. See www.Emdria.org for more information.