New Research on Energy Psychology Supports Victims of Disasters

PETALUMA, Calif. - July 15, 2022 - PRLog -- In the wake of increasing natural disasters – hurricanes, floods, forest fires – as well as human-made disasters – mass shootings, warfare, violence, sickness – the public's mental health has also been severely impacted, resulting in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in 30-60 percent of individuals who survive a disaster.

In a new paper – published by Frontiers in Psychology, the world's most widely cited interdisciplinary psychology journal – clinical psychologist Dr. David Feinstein outlines the negative effects of such disasters as well as a pathway that supports victims, namely "energy psychology." According to the paper, the technique, applied in more than 30 countries worldwide, has shown remarkable effectiveness in the treatment of trauma, based on hundreds of formal studies and reports from the field.

The most common form of energy psychology is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as acupoint tapping or simply "tapping." EFT is an evidence-based practice that combines acupressure (tapping on acupuncture points) with psychology's exposure therapy (focusing on distressing memories) and cognitive behavior therapy (reframing) to halt the stress response and clear pain and upset.

The paper notes that even for those who do not develop PTSD, there remains a high number of cases of anxiety, depression, paranoia, sleep disturbance, substance abuse, and stress-related physical illness. Says Feinstein, "We are seeing exponential increases in people who have been psychologically devastated. Yet we not only don't have the personnel to touch the mental health needs, but the available psychotherapeutic tools have been relatively limited."

Acknowledging the overwhelming numbers of people affected by catastrophic events, the paper envisions a path that would support a more effective response. According to Feinstein, the approach examined in the paper is fast and can be efficiently applied to large numbers of those suffering.

Feinstein notes examples of organizations that apply energy psychology to real-world populations, such as the Veterans Stress Solution. Founded by researcher Dawson Church in 2007, that project has treated free-of-charge over 22,000 veterans with PTSD.

With the high numbers of PTSD cases worldwide and overwhelmed health resources, Feinstein is hopeful the paper along with the Emotional Freedom Techniques continue to bring relief for the survivors of disasters.

"We have the capability to respond effectively to these heart-breaking situations, but we need to mobilize our resources if we are going to begin to address the problem on a wide scale."

• Full Paper – https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.856209/full