COMBINING HYPNOTHERAPY WITH MERIDIAN THERAPIES

Last Updated on Monday, 11 May 2009 14:29 Written by Administrator Monday, 11 August 2008 22:14

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by: Mair Llewellyn

Introduction

In this article I, briefly, introduce myself as a therapist. Then, I describe how I became involved with a Meridian Therapy called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Later, I discuss my exploration of Meridian Therapies, including my visit to a conference in Las Vegas where I met the developers of other meridian based therapies. Finally, I share how these experiences have grown within my work and then to end this article, take a look at the future possibilities.

Hypnotherapy Practice

I became passionate about hypnosis in 1975 having used self-hypnosis for the birth of Debbie my youngest daughter with profound results. In 1980 I begun my hypnotherapy practice sharing the effectiveness of hypnosis to help many of my clients to develop or overcome problems. Since then, I have continued my work and continued to train as part of my professional and personal development. My professional development involved obtaining an honours degree in psychology and postgraduate training in psychotherapy. Although many years have passed, I am still really passionate about hypnosis as a therapeutic tool to assist development, healing and emotional well-being. Part of my continuing learning took me into meridian based therapies in 1999. In July 1999 I began combining energy therapy and hypnotherapy. This combination has naturally enhanced my already very successful full-time private practise.

Introduction to EFT

I was naturally resistant to a new (to me) therapy that made me question much of what I had already learned as a psychotherapist. Initially this sense of incompatibility threatened my generally open minded approach to this healing modality. The reason behind this was the fact that Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) [one of many energy therapies] seemed to be focusing on the negative part of what was happening within my own life and the lives of my clients. Now, I am truly grateful that something within me was open and willing to listen.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is based on Dr Callahan’s technique Thought Field Therapy (TFT). Its roots are in applied kinesiology and acupuncture. Gary Craig, the developer of EFT studied TFT with Dr Callahan and being an engineer strove to find ways to make this very effective therapy more accessible to the world as a healing tool. This development involved showing people how to tap, press or rub acupoints on their body in easily accessible places. These easily accessible places mainly on the face and hands make this therapy easy to use at anytime or in any place. The simplicity of the technique allows anyone to learn the basic procedure within minutes, and to use it on practically anything for the rest of their life. This may seem a sweeping statement - yet I have discovered this assertion to be true, in my experience, in the last two years. I have personally used it for traumas, low self-esteem, pain, fear of public speaking and more recently to avoid jetlag.

Outline of EFT

EFT is one of the simplest Meridian Therapies to learn yet it is extremely effective. The EFT formula is made up of four sections, ‘The Set Up’, ‘The Sequence’, ‘The 9 Gamut Procedure’ and ‘The Sequence’ again.

‘The Set Up’ is one of the most critical parts of EFT it is in this part, where the client and therapist agree on a phrase that is called the ‘Set up Statement’. This statement encompasses the problem to be worked on.

‘The Sequence’ part is where the therapist teaches the client to tap on the acupoints in rotation.

‘The 9 Gamut Procedure’ is intended to fine-tune the brain stimulating both left and right hemispheres.

Following ‘The 9 Gamut Procedure’, the Sequence is repeated once again.

Once the therapist has learnt the basic EFT formula, there are a many important details that need to be incorporated. In practice, the formula can be completed in 60 to 90 seconds, and the client can easily learn to do it themselves within half an hour. However, to become competent and skilful as a therapists adequate training, practice and a positive intent to heal are essential.

Uses of EFT

During the early days of learning to work with EFT using it on some of my own problems, (I was surprised to find so many!) I used it mainly for psychological needs and those of my clients. However, even though I was utilizing it mainly on psychological problems such as fears, stress, phobias, something strange became evident. Whilst working on apparently emotionally based problems my clients were reporting physical relief as well as emotional freedom. In many cases they reported the alleviation of a pain, stiffness or discomfort, which they had not even discussed with me before. This problem may have been with them for weeks months and sometimes years. The reports varied from, “It does not bother me anymore”, to, “It has just disappeared”. Frequently they had been, and still were seeking help from other sources without much relief for this physical problem. On one occasion we saw the funny side of this phenomena happening before our eyes. During an introductory afternoon on EFT one of the participants asked for help with an ongoing pain. The participant reported considerable relief from the pain, however, due to a previously arranged appointment for pain relief the client left this clinic to go directly for pain relief therapy, which she had been receiving for two years. Through her embarrassed laugh she said, “I have not felt as much relief in my shoulder for the past five years. I should be paying you for this relief, not going elsewhere!” (The introductory afternoon was a free two-hour talk session arranged for a local self help group).

In view of this, I began to use it on anything which presented itself, in combination with other therapeutic tools. Love pain, jealousy, infertility, eating disorders, fears, performance anxiety, epilepsy, tinnitus and so on. Since the beginning of my using EFT and, later, other Meridian based therapies, I have experienced success with more than a thousand clients. The level of relief varies from one client to another. The positive results from this treatment continue to surprise and amaze me.

EFT Contraindications

It is unwise to start to use EFT on any client who you may wish to use psychotherapy on! The reason for this warning is due to the effectiveness of EFT. As I am using it more and more, I frequently end up with less opportunity to use psychotherapy with my clients. From their very first encounter with EFT, my clients leave my consulting rooms with some level of relief. This relief can be enhanced between sessions enabling clients to become independent of me more rapidly than ever before. Client independence and release is something I have always passionately desired for clients who come to me for help. EFT gives that very necessary support throughout therapy and at the same time, clients can use this tool themselves with consistently positive results. Many of the Meridian based therapies can also be used successfully in telephone consultations when distance and time dictates. Commercially it is ideal for stress management one to one and in groups. The same success applies in sports enhancement, with individual help and when working with a team to improve performance.

Las Vegas

As my interest in energy psychology, and my client success rates have continued to rise I decided to go to Las Vegas to the Second Energy Psychology conference in May 2000. I wanted so much to meet Gary Craig and many other therapists who had been using Meridian Therapies for many years. At this conference, which was attended by between 400-600 therapists and laypeople, I was able to learn in more depth. This learning was very reassuring. I discovered that other therapists and clients were consistently reporting lasting changes. These improvements in peoples’ quality of life were right across the board of human experience. The confirmation of effectiveness of this treatment for conditions from major PTSD to simple anxiety was heart-warming. In Australia and Canada, psychologists and therapists are currently carrying out research into the effectiveness of these methods. At the time of the conference a large amount of money was donated for research in the USA.

Other Meridian Therapies

In the autumn of 1999 I spent sometime studying Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT) and Be Set Free Fast (BSFF) along with others. I was particular interested in Tapas Fleming’s approach, and her warmth of spirit, and in Dr Larry Nims’ genuine desire to free people of their traumas. Tapas Fleming was using acupuncture very successfully for many years. In her search to improve this she developed TAT. This discovery of energy-based therapy has enabled her to help her clients even more. Larry Nims is a very successful clinical psychologist with thirty years of experience working with clients. During the last 10 years he has been finding that energy psychology is bringing more lasting relief to his clients. In Las Vegas (where the conference was held) I was able to obtain additional training from both these people along with other specialists in the field of energy psychology. Learning advanced techniques in EFT and studying with the developers of TAT, and BSFF have understandably broadened my knowledge and enjoyment in the use of other meridian therapies as and when appropriate.

Training others

Last year, I and other therapists became some of the first trainers of Meridian Therapies in this country. Since that training, I have been involved in training caring professionals in the art, practice and delivery of Meridian Therapies. There have been courses in many parts of the UK including, London, Eastbourne, Manchester, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Hull and Dublin. Later this year we are holding additional courses in South Yorkshire, Hull and Leicestershire. We have just returned from a visit to Malaysia where we thoroughly enjoyed sharing Meridian Therapies with therapists there. We are also looking forward to hosting one or two experienced energy therapists in this country from the USA. In October we are planning to be in California updating our knowledge within this field.

Conclusion

I feel honoured to have been able to be a very small part of this incredibly rapid expansion in healing, which is happening Worldwide. Gary Craig’s spirit of giving these techniques virtually free to the World has led this field in an outpouring of love such as I have never witnessed before.

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