Efficacy Studies in Energy Psychology

The following is excerpted from Energy Psychology Interactive:

The World Health Organization lists over 50 conditions—including psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia—for which acupuncture is believed to be an effective treatment. Early empirical studies within energy psychology build upon substantial peer-reviewed efficacy research of acupuncture in beginning to establish that the manual (non-needle) self-stimulation of acupuncture points (combined with energy psychology’s use of cognitive and imagery methods) is effective in treating a range of psychological conditions. Also striking, and perhaps unique among new clinical innovations, is that the number of clinical cases documenting unusually rapid and powerful outcomes is extremely large, with reports coming in from hundreds of therapists (many of the 600 professional members of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology have each documented at least a few) who represent the full spectrum of backgrounds and theoretical orientations.

For instance, 105 victims of ethnic violence in Kosovo, after receiving energy psychology treatments from an international team over a period of several months (TFT or “Thought Field Therapy” was the primary modality), reported complete recovery from the post-traumatic emotional effects of 247 of the 249 memories of torture, rape, and witnessing the massacre of loved ones they had identified. Although such anecdotal reports are scientifically equivocal, their impact on the local community was profound, with the equivalent of the Surgeon General of Kosovo, Dr. Skkelzen Syla, stating in a letter of appreciation:

Many well-funded relief organizations have treated the posttraumatic stress here in Kosova. Some of our people had limited improvement but Kosova had no major change or real hope until . . . we referred our most difficult patients to [the international treatment team]. The success from TFT was 100% for every patient, and they are still smiling until this day [i.e., on follow-up, each was free of relapse].

Beyond such anecdotal accounts, systematic research has been corroborating the clinical reports.

An early study examined whether the reported outcomes after stimulating acupressure points (acupoints) are simply a placebo effect. Published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (2003, 59:943-966), the subjects were seeking help for strong irrational fears of insects or small animals, including rats, mice, spiders, and roaches. Single-session treatments using acupoint stimulation were compared with sessions using a relaxation technique that incorporated diaphragmatic breathing. Significantly greater improvement was found, based on standardized phobia scales and other measures, in the group that received the acupoint treatment. On follow-ups, 6 to 9 months later, the improvements held. A study conducted at Queens College in New York to see if these findings could be replicated produced markedly similar results.

With preliminary evidence suggesting that the stimulation of acupoints is more effective than relaxation training in a single-session treatment of a phobia, a next logical question is whether it matters which points are tapped. Is there something about simply tapping the body that has a curative effect, or are there actually curative properties associated with the points that were identified by the ancient Chinese physicians? A preliminary investigation of this question suggested that in treating 49 people with height phobias, those who stimulated the traditional points showed significantly more improvement than those who stimulated “placebo” points. In a subsequent study, published in the medical journal Anesthesia & Analgesia, treatments that involved stimulating acupoints were applied by the paramedic team after a minor injury and compared with treatments that stimulated areas of the skin that do not contain acupoints. Again, the treatments that used the traditional points were more effective, resulting in a significantly greater reduction of anxiety, pain, and elevated heart rate.

Existing research also sheds light on the mechanisms involved in stimulating acupoints. A 1998 study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, used functional MRI measurements. It found that an acupuncture treatment in a toe affected blood activity in the brain, though no nerve, vascular, or other physical connections are known to exist. Another study, coming out of Harvard Medical School, also based on functional MRI readings, demonstrated that “acupuncture needle manipulation modulates the activity of the limbic system and subcortical structures.” Stimulating specific points on the skin changed brain activity and, significantly, deactivated areas of the brain that are involved with the experience of fear and pain.

Brain scan images tell the story visually. One series shows a patient’s progression over 12 treatment sessions, conducted during a 4-week period. The treatment involved tapping electrochemically sensitive areas of the skin while bringing to mind anxiety-provoking images. The patient was being treated for generalized anxiety disorder, and the progression shown in the scans is both striking and typical (click here to view).

The first large-scale preliminary clinical trial of energy psychology is reported in some detail in Energy Psychology Interactive and summarized here.

Some 29,000 patients from 11 allied treatment centers in South America whose psychiatric treatment included energy interventions were followed during a 14-year period. In addition to the general impressions that the methods were effective, a variety of randomized, controlled pilot studies were conducted. The principal investigator was Joaquín Andrade, M.D.

In the largest of the controlled studies, conducted over a 5-½-year period, approximately 5,000 patients diagnosed at intake with an anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to an experimental group (imagery and self-statements paired with the manual stimulation of selected acupuncture points) or a control group (Cognitive Behavior Therapy/medication) using standard randomization tables and, later, computerized software. Ratings were given by independent clinicians who interviewed each patient at the close of therapy, at 1 month, at 3 months, at 6 months, and at 12 months. The raters made a determination of complete remission of symptoms, partial remission of symptoms, or no clinical response. The raters did not know if the patient received CBT/medication or energy interventions. They knew only the initial diagnosis, the symptoms, and the severity, as judged by the intake staff. At the close of therapy:

Outcome Comparisons with 5,000 Anxiety Patients at Close of Therapy

At one-year follow-up, the patients receiving acupoint treatments were less prone to relapse or partial relapse than those receiving CBT/medication, as indicated by the independent raters’ assessments and corroborated by brain imaging and neurotransmitter profiles from a sampling of the patients. In a related pilot study by the same team, the length of treatment was substantially shorter with energy therapy and related methods than with CBT/medication:

Length of Treatment Comparisons within a Sampling of 190 Anxiety Patients

Another question that will particularly concern those not trained in acupuncture is whether tapping the acupoints is as effective as the traditional method of placing needles in them. A third sub-study, while very small, had a surprising outcome, suggesting that tapping the points in the treatment of anxiety disorders may actually be more effective than inserting needles into them:

Tapping vs. Acupuncture—Comparisons in the Treatment of 78 Anxiety Patients

If subsequent research corroborates these early findings, it will be a notable development since CBT/medication is currently the established standard of care for anxiety disorders and the greater effectiveness of the energy approach suggested by this study would be highly significant. The preliminary nature of these findings must, however, be emphasized. The study was initially envisioned as an exploratory in-house assessment of a new method and was not designed with publication in mind. Not all the variables that need to be controlled in robust research were tracked, not all criteria were defined with rigorous precision, the record-keeping was relatively informal, and source data were not always maintained. Nonetheless, the sub-studies did use randomized samples, control groups, and “blind” assessment, and the clinical outcomes were striking.

One of the research team’s most intriguing observations was that, in a sample of patients, the team found that the superior responses attained with the acupoint treatments compared with the CBT/medication treatments were corroborated by electrical and biochemical measures. Brain mapping revealed that subjects whose acupuncture points were stimulated tended to be distinguished by a general pattern of wave normalization throughout the brain which, interestingly, not only persisted at 12-month follow-up, but became more pronounced. An associated pattern was found in neurotransmitter profiles. With generalized anxiety disorder, for example, acupoint stimulation was followed by norepinephrine levels going down to normal reference values and low serotonin going up. Parallel electrical and biochemical patterns were less pronounced in the CBT/medication group. While these reports are as preliminary as they are provocative, if subsequent research supports them, key mechanisms explaining the surprising effectiveness of energy-based treatment approaches will have been identified.

Click here for a sampling of the brain scan images

Click here for Andrades and Feinstein’s full report – N=29000