The body’s energy is the key to short term and long term vitality and well- being. Energy Medicine is the art and science of teaching people how to work with their energy field to improve emotional, physical and spiritual health. While Eastern cultures have been practicing energy medicine for 5,000 years, subtle energy fields are currently being detected, studied, analyzed and utilized by Western Medicine. In energy medicine, energy is the medicine for the patient receiving the healing through the re-balancing of the energy that has become or weakened for numerous reasons.

Energy Medicine is having an impact on health and psychology practitioners as a complementary approach to medical care while promoting self care and self help in the arena where health care costs are rising and individuals are taking more responsibility for prevention and treatment for themselves. It can address and clear the sources of emotional imbalances and distress, it can reduce the effects of chronic pain and illness, and improve focus concentration in sports and recreation. Most importantly, no particular belief system is necessary in order to benefit from Energetic healing.

The theory is very simple. The body’s energies can become blocked during undue stress, muscular constriction, traumas or interference from environmental toxins or poor food habits. To maintain good health the body needs its energies to have space to move, specifically in harmonious patterns with the physical structure that needs support.

Energy Psychology can help emotional issues that may or may not involve our relationships in life. Notice how people are seen holding their hand over a part of their body that has been hurt . This is a natural attempt to send additional energy from the hand to the injured part rather than hold the pain in. Similarly,when there is emotional pain caused by relationship hurts or mental anguish, the use of “Emotional Acupressure” can be used to neutralize the “disruptions” in the body’s electrical energetic system. This stops the chemical chain reaction freeing the mind-body from emotional discomfort just as in the above example, the hand sends additional energy to the injured site.

There are certain meridian acupoints where acupuncturists can insert needles in the body’s meridians. These can be gently tapped or pressed by one’s own hand to cause receptors under the skin to convert the pressure to an electrical impulse that is transmitted to the brain. This is similar to a key tapped on a computer to electrically signal a trigger in the program. Our thoughts are always creating patterns of electrical energy that release chemicals in the body that are felt as emotions. If these thoughts create distress, disruption in the energy field results and when the disruption is removed, the distress stops. This has the effect of stimulating the person’s natural relaxation response thus reestablishing comfort with the source of the emotional stressor, whether it be an old injury or a traumatic memory. Happily, each year hundreds of mental health practitioners are using and teaching these methods to their clients with tremendous success. This frees people rather quickly from long held emotions such as fear which has negatively impacted their lives and relationships. The idea is to access the source of the emotions and non traumatically remove the emotions at the same time. This places the tools in the person’s own hands allowing them to heal at whatever pace they choose. Sometimes dramatic shifts occur within minutes and the long term effects are seen as the emotional freedom leads to greater joy, well being and presence in daily life.

Mary Lee Zetter, LCSW-C Arundel Mind Body Institute