ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY AND THE INSTANT PHOBIA CURE New Paradigm or the Old Razzle Dazzle?

Summary: This article introduces health professionals who work with psychological issues to the emerging field of energy psychology. It provides an overview of the field, covering basic concepts and procedures. It is intended to give the reader a basis to begin evaluating this new paradigm. Research and clinical evidence bearing upon clinical efficacy are presented, and plausible neurological mechanisms are discussed. The article gives a brief history of the field, mentions various energy psychology protocols, discusses indications and contraindications for clinical applications, and demonstrates a standard clinical protocol through the presentation of four case studies. When James Reston, a New York Times reporter accompanying Henry Kissinger on a visit to Communist China in July 1971 had an acute appendicitis attack, Chinese physicians performed an emergency operation to remove Reston’s appendix. His postoperative abdominal pain was successfully treated with acupuncture, a routine procedure in many Chinese hospitals. The publicity surrounding Reston’s treatment, including a front page article in the Times, is credited with opening Western minds to the practice of acupuncture. Today the American Academy o