Highly educated author and physician Andrew Weil, MD, said some years back that energy medicine will be the wave of the future. These techniques are in use now, and they are actually moving more into the mainstream than ever before. They can be used as an adjunct to the more standard therapies.
EMDR is one such technique. It involves stimulating right and left brain function with either light or eye movement, and it seems to help reduce intensity of traumatic memories. Many psychiatrists and psychologists and emergency medicine practitioners are using this at scenes of trauma, such as disaster sites.
Emotional Freedom Technique was originally formulated by psychologist, Roger Callahan, PhD. Many others have contributed to this since his rather accidental discovery. It is based on Chinese medicine, which has a five thousand year history, and seems to work off of the acupuncture system. A person taps on acupressure points on the body, which are thought to be located at the endpoints of certain meridians, and where it is thought that chi energy is blocked. Another possible explanation is that endorphins are released by tapping these points. The idea is to talk about an issue or an emotion while tapping on these particular points. I have been using these strategies for about three years in my own practice, and have frequently seen what appears to be permanent results after a very short intervention. Dr. David Burns, MD, a renowned, well-published psychiatrist who treats anxiety and depressive disorders, has begun to add such strategies to his toolbox.
While information on these techniques are readily available on the web and it books, it often helps to speak with a therapist trained in such techniques to get to the root cause and use the correct keywords when trying this technique.
I am certified and use these techniques almost every day in my practice, so please contact me should you like to know more.