Techniques & Treatments
- EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
- EvTFT (Evolving Thought Field Therapy)
- TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique)
- Reiki
- Meditation
- Ayurveda
The techniques I use vary from client to client, depending on the presenting issue(s) and the client's preferences. However, the technique I currently use the most is EFT because I've found that it produces excellent results for a wide variety of problems in the least amount of time. For a brief explanation of any of the techniques listed above, click on the links or see below.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
Based on the ancient principles of acupuncture, EFT is a simple tapping procedure that gently realigns the body's energy system without the discomfort of needles. Unlike other energy healing methods, EFT incorporates an emotional element to the healing process, addressing unresolved emotional issues as a possible cause of physical disease, psychological dysfunction, and personal performance limits.Negative emotional experiences can disrupt the energy meridians that run through our bodies. The symptoms we experience due to those disruptions, such as recurring anxiety, depression, or nausea, become attached to the memory of that experience and affect the way we see the world and ourselves—until we heal the disruption. Properly applied, EFT quickly realigns the energy meridians with respect to negative memories, disconnects the physical discomfort attached to it, and quite often removes the resulting symptoms.
EFT is so simple that you can learn the basic technique in just one coaching session and then use it on your own. Or, if you prefer to learn the technique by reading the EFT Manual, you can download it for free. Excellent instructional DVDs are available as well, including many EFT treatments with clients suffering from a wide variety of emotional and physical problems.
EvTFT (Evolving Thought Field Therapy)
Like EFT, Evolving Thought Field Therapy is a form of "Energy Psychology" that is based on the principles of acupuncture. The primary EvTFT technique involves "touching and breathing" rather than tapping on the body's meridians, but the goal is the same: to heal energy disruptions that are causing negative emotions and/or ill health.EvTFT provides diagnostic techniques, methods of getting past common "belief related blocks," and a "peak performance protocol" that I often use. The peak performance protocol is especially helpful to clients who have difficulty following through on their own plans (e.g. to exercise regularly or quit smoking), or who want to reach a higher level of athletic performance.
EvTFT also provides a simplified, faster technique for overcoming neurologic disorganization than the technique recommended by EFT. The simplified technique is especially helpful to clients with learning difficulties, as it can be used just before doing homework, receiving tutoring, or taking a test in order to improve performance. Athletes often find this technique helpful as well, if they use it just before practice, games, matches, races, etc.
TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique)
The Tapas Acupressure Technique is another form of "Energy Psychology" designed, primarily, to address psychological and physical issues connected to past traumatic events. I use this technique far less often than EFT or EvTFT, but have found it to be helpful for some clients.Reiki
Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a Japanese healing technique that has become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years, along with other forms of energy treatments such as polarity therapy and acupuncture. "Rei" means universal; "Ki" means life energy (as does "Chi" in Chinese, or "Prana" in Sanskrit). Thus, a Reiki treatment is said to transmit a healing life energy through the practitioner to the client.
From a completely objective point of view, a Reiki treatment looks like a "laying on of hands" that many people associate with religious practices. However, anyone can become a Reiki practitioner, or receive a Reiki treatment, as no religious beliefs are necessary.
Modern science has only just begun to study energy treatments such as Reiki; however, a few interesting findings are available. For example, in Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, author James Oschman describes research conducted at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in which a SQUID magnetometer repeatedly detected a biomagnetic field emanating from practitioners' hands during energy treatments. This biomagnetic field was so strong that it was out of the calibrated range of the SQUID magnetometer and, therefore, the signal strength could not be quantified. However, researchers in Japan using different equipment were able to measure the fields emanating from practitioner's hands and found them to be about 1,000 times stronger than the strongest human biomagnetic fields (from the heart).
Perhaps more interesting, the pulsing biomagnetic fields discussed above pulsed with a variable frequency centered around 8-10 Hz, the same frequency range that medical electromagnetic field (PEMF) devices emit, which are used by biomedical researchers and clinicians for jump starting the healing of soft and hard tissue injuries (Energy Medicine, pp. 79-80, 178).
In using Reiki, I have found that sometimes it "works like a charm," and other times it doesn't seem to help at all. Because its effectiveness is so unpredictable, I use it far less frequently than EFT and, of course, never with clients who aren't inclined to try it. For those who know the lingo, I have received training as a "Second Degree" Reiki practitioner.
Meditation
Meditation isn't for everyone, but it can be extremely beneficial for those who are willing to do it. Hundreds of scientific studies have been conducted on its effects, and many benefits have been documented, such as: a decrease in hypertension, asthma, insomnia, stuttering, drug and alcohol abuse, and crime; improvements in physical reaction times, athletic performance, sensory-motor performance, auditory perception, intelligence, job productivity and academic performance.
I have learned many different forms of meditation (e.g. Transcendental Meditation, Primordial Sound Meditation, Breath Awareness Meditation), and I have meditated very regularly, twice a day, for over thirty years. Hence, I am a strong advocate of meditation, not only because research has shown it to be highly beneficial, but because my personal experience with it has been very positive.
IF a client is interested in meditating, I teach a couple of simple methods and let him/her choose the one that seems most appealing and pleasant. I never "push" meditation on anyone who isn't interested, or doesn't have the time to do it.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is the oldest known system of health care. It was originally developed in India and dates back about 5,000 years. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means the "science of life." It provides information about each person's inborn constitution (the "Mind/Body Type") and reveals imbalances that can often be corrected with changes in diet, physical activities, daily routines, etc.
I am not an Ayurvedic physician. My only training is from reading books and taking a one-week course given by Dr. Deepak Chopra. However, I have used Ayurveda very successfully in my own life by using a simple assessment and then taking steps to counteract the indicated imbalance.
I am most likely to suggest using Ayurveda if you are struggling with food/weight issues. Ayurveda maintains that a particular group of foods, or form of exercise, can be therapeutic for one person and harmful to another, due to differing mind/body types or current imbalances. Therefore, if a client is working to develop a healthier, happier lifestyle, it can be very helpful to use principles of Ayurveda to individualize his or her program.