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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 13:25:47
Hey everyone. My therapist is into this EFT stuff, and variations of it. I read up on it, and it's the usual pseudo-science type of presentation, lots of testimonials, no real basis for the theory. It seems like people just invented it arbitrarily in the 1980s. It's sort of loosely based on the Chinese medicine stuff. On the plus side, a lot of the techniques are available for free. We did a chakra MET protocol thing. It actually did seem to make me feel light and happy. It's just so darn flaky. I'm embarrassed for her that she's into this stuff. I'm embarrassed for myself that I'm willing to follow along. Then again, at least it's something new, it was kind of fun, and a break from me sitting there talking about my problems.
Here are a couple of the websites, if anyone is curious...
http://www.theamt.com
http://www.emofree.comDoes anyone else have any experience with this kind of thing?
Posted by Dinah on May 15, 2004, at 13:42:14
In reply to Energy Field Therapy, posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 13:25:47
The EMDR therapist I went to a few times was certified in this. I remember the founder's name. She said it was amazing to see him in person. I can't recall if she tried any techniques with me. I'm almost positive she did.
No results, but then I got no results from EMDR either.
Posted by Aphrodite on May 15, 2004, at 14:13:27
In reply to Energy Field Therapy, posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 13:25:47
My therapist is into this, too. He is trained in EMDR and thought field energy techniques. I've done EMDR twice; I thought it was interesting and helpful.
As for the energy therapy, the research is indeed dubious.Apparently it's "emotional acupressure" where touching on certain meridian points while being tuned into to a particular problem facilitates healing. He even admits that there is much more science behind EMDR than EFT. In my last session, we did the energy treatment for the first time. He said that before he was trained and used it himself, he would have laughed at anyone using it. But, he says it works. We first did the "manual muscle testing" in which he said he discovered four blocks on my way to being well. He also ruled out some things that are not in my way. Next, we'll do different tapping procedures and other energy therapies to try to reverse those blocks.
He says the benefit is this: it is something you can do on your own, and it works for people like me who can understand that the way we see and think about ourselves is distorted but cannot change core feelings. The four core beliefs that are blocking me according to the energy testing and our conversations are: 1.) I feel I don't deserve to be well 2.) It's not possible for me to be well 3.) It's not safe for me to be well 4.) It's not safe for others if I am well.
When I was doing these seemingly "goofy" things, I thought, "I must really trust this guy," or "I must be so desparate that I'll try anything." I think it's a little of both.
Since I'm just getting started, I don't know what I think. It's intriguing though, so I'm trying to keep an open mind. It was interesting that my body responded to his questions in the way it did. It helped me have a little more faith in my intuition. I also think it may work for me because it can supposedly work without me having to say much, and since I get so tongue-tied, it may be the right course for me.
I'll keep you updated. I am very interested in hearing about your experiences.
Posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 16:26:51
In reply to Impeccable timing, Tabitha! » tabitha, posted by Aphrodite on May 15, 2004, at 14:13:27
> My therapist is into this, too. He is trained in EMDR and thought field energy techniques. I've done EMDR twice; I thought it was interesting and helpful.
She used to use EMDR, but lately she seems more enthusiastic about the EFT stuff. Therapists must all go to the same workshops on the weekends.
>
> As for the energy therapy, the research is indeed dubious.Apparently it's "emotional acupressure" where touching on certain meridian points while being tuned into to a particular problem facilitates healing. He even admits that there is much more science behind EMDR than EFT. In my last session, we did the energy treatment for the first time. He said that before he was trained and used it himself, he would have laughed at anyone using it. But, he says it works. We first did the "manual muscle testing" in which he said he discovered four blocks on my way to being well. He also ruled out some things that are not in my way. Next, we'll do different tapping procedures and other energy therapies to try to reverse those blocks.
I've read pretty skeptical stuff about EMDR, too. We do a little of that sometimes but I don't notice much effect from it. Face it, none of this stuff really rests on any solid research, but the ideas are sort of compelling. I do accept that emotions manifest in the body, so I'm somewhat open to the idea of bodywork type stuff as therapy. We didn't do the muscle test in my session.>
> He says the benefit is this: it is something you can do on your own, and it works for people like me who can understand that the way we see and think about ourselves is distorted but cannot change core feelings. The four core beliefs that are blocking me according to the energy testing and our conversations are: 1.) I feel I don't deserve to be well 2.) It's not possible for me to be well 3.) It's not safe for me to be well 4.) It's not safe for others if I am well.Wow, I'll bet your life would really be different if you could lose those beliefs. I worked on memories of how my mom stifled my self-expression.
>
> When I was doing these seemingly "goofy" things, I thought, "I must really trust this guy," or "I must be so desparate that I'll try anything." I think it's a little of both.
I had similar thoughts-- like "I must be really desperate to save the relationship with my therapist" or "I'm such a pitiful therapy junkie to do this" Blah blah blah, self-criticism, blah blah blah...>
> Since I'm just getting started, I don't know what I think. It's intriguing though, so I'm trying to keep an open mind. It was interesting that my body responded to his questions in the way it did. It helped me have a little more faith in my intuition. I also think it may work for me because it can supposedly work without me having to say much, and since I get so tongue-tied, it may be the right course for me.That sounds positive. I usually like talking on and on, but sometimes it feels a little dead, ya know?
>
> I'll keep you updated. I am very interested in hearing about your experiences.
>
>
>I felt different emotions for the different chakras-- sadness, anger, and some not much at all. After the whole thing I did feel lighter and happier. I'd been in a pretty depressed state, and now I'm starting to come out of it. My thinking self says I'm just happy that I got to play a little game with my therapist. Sort of like patty-cakes.
I pretty much felt the same way about yoga. Admittedly it felt good, even spiritual, but I still kind of pooh-poohed all the mystical claims that some of the instructors made. I'll see what we do next. My T doesn't usually do all her non-traditional stuff with me since I make fun of it. I kind of want to go along just to see what I'm missing. She really seemed cheerful during the session, then naturally I found a way to get hurt by that-- thinking she's tired of hearing me talk.
Posted by DaisyM on May 15, 2004, at 17:59:24
In reply to Re: Impeccable timing, Tabitha!, posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 16:26:51
Part of my son's anxiety therapy was tapping and biofeedback. He still uses everything he's learned, especially the hand tapping. I was incredibly skeptical...
So, keep an open mind and I'd love to hear how you are both doing with stuff.
As far as the desperation part, I think most of us would try anything to feel better, happy and well. So go for it!
Posted by 64bowtie on May 15, 2004, at 23:46:01
In reply to Energy Field Therapy, posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 13:25:47
Posted by shadows721 on May 16, 2004, at 4:03:41
In reply to Energy Field Therapy, posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 13:25:47
I have recently tried the ERT -Emotional Release therapy. It's with the tapping. I do it when alone and have found that it does get to issues with me. It is useful for me, because I use the affirmations with it at each acupressure spot. This goes against those deep seated unconscious negative programing. I found out about it from a massage therapist.
Oh, I have tried EMDR too. It was useful as well.
Posted by pegasus on May 16, 2004, at 14:51:23
In reply to Energy Field Therapy, posted by tabitha on May 15, 2004, at 13:25:47
I've been thinking about this type of stuff a lot lately too. Not in the therapy context, but in the context of chinese medicine and accupuncture. The way I've come to think of it is that it seems likely that there is something to these alternative methods, even if we don't know exactly how it works. In the western world we're very caught up in proving things scientifically before we'll try them. But chinese medicine, as one example, developed over thousands of years using a different paradigm. They used trial and error and theories of energy to come up with a very sophisticated system that is different than western medicine. Is trial and error necessarily worse than scientific research? I don't think so. It's just more foreign to the western way of thinking. We tend to want explanations and research before we'll trust anything. My experiences with western medicine have convinced me that even if we do understand some things in that system, there is a lot we still don't understand. (And a lot of things that doctors sound like they're so confident about that they truly know diddly about.) Some of the things that are not understood by western science might be perfectly treatable if we don't require the standard of scientific proof.
And, by the way, EMDR has been studied more thoroughly than almost any other method used in therapy today, and has shown strong and consistent results indicating that it can be effective. So I personally wouldn't say that it falls into the "potential mumbo jumbo" category. We don't know exactly why it works (although there are reasonable theories), but we certainly know *that* it works.
Speaking here as a bona fide scientist (in the western tradition) and frequent skeptic.
pegasus
Posted by Aphrodite on May 17, 2004, at 12:07:04
In reply to Re: Energy Field Therapy, posted by pegasus on May 16, 2004, at 14:51:23
I think you're absolutely right. Who cares *why* it works just as long as it does. Of course, I don't know yet if it does, but I'm willing to try.
I want to be happy . . . I want to be happy . . . I want to be happy.
And if I have to poke myself in weird places, so be it :)
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