I went to a workshop two days ago given by a fellow who mixes positive affirmations, group dynamics, a technique of tapping acupuncture points and a variety of new age speculations. It was a mixed experience: I liked some things and didn\u2019t like other things.<\/p>\n
What I liked was that this fellow wove together some elements that I suspect are at least partially valid: Hypnotic-like suggestions, a bit of open-ended \u201cwild psychoanalysis,\u201d tapping\u201d (little bangs by fingers on supposed acupuncture points), and having the group repeat the leader-therapist\u2019s suggestions and positive affirmations. I discerned the function of the psychodramatic chorus, or its equivalent in Gestalt therapy, going around the room and the client \/ protagonist telling each person some affirmation or getting feedback. So there are group dynamic elements, and elements of what seem to me to be similar to Milton Erickson\u2019s approach to hypnotherapy.<\/p>\n
I have a strong suspicion that the technology of hypnosis is hardly utilized by people in our culture, and that we may yet learn better ways of having it become a common mode of self-talk and interpersonal relationship. I fantasize children being taught to self-heal this way, mentally and physically, from early childhood. I imagine it becoming as ordinary as brushing and flossing your teeth. (I\u2019ll talk about flossing later.)<\/p>\n
I also think it\u2019s possible that combining positive self-affirmations, combined with the self-stimulation of tapping on various acupuncture points, or some other way of \u201cgrounding\u201d the suggestions in the pre-verbal body sense, may be synergistic elements of self-hypnosis. Having others, such as in a group, repeat and affirm these affirmations may also help bypass the censoring functions of the ordinary mind. (Please note that I make no claim to any expertise at hypnosis\u2014my exposure has only been sufficient to evoke some respect and continue curiosity.)<\/p>\n
What I didn\u2019t like was the use of a lot of new age jargon, especially involving words like \u201cquantum.\u201d I think this is related to the general discourse surrounding \u201cThe Secret\u201d and \u201cWhat the [bleep] Do we Know\u201d movies. Their inner thrust of those movies and that jargon is mainly oriented to positive thinking and envisioning what you want. I suspect that some of this is healthy and valid, part of exercising that elusive activity I call \u201cfaith-ing.\u201d Part of this jargon, though, seems to me to appeal to magical thinking and the desire for short-cuts, and it also validates a neo-romantic type of discourse that confuses ideology with reason. I don\u2019t mind poetic thinking and mythmaking\u2014indeed, I actively advocated such activities\u2014but neither do I want that mode of thinking and imagining to be confused with rational types of thought, more careful and qualified types of logic, and other modalities we use when we ask, \u201cbut is this so?\u201d (Or, \u201cIn what sense is this true?\u201d)
\nBack to the \u201ctapping\u201d technique—derived from Gary Craig, in the mid 1990s, called “Emotional Freedom Technique” (Google this or, selecting one: http:\/\/www.eft-therapy.com\/
\nor http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Emotional_Freedom_Technique : EFT was created by Gary Craig in the mid 1990s, and is meant to be a simplification and improvement of Roger Callahan’s Thought Field Therapy techniques\u2014which were developed in the previous decade. ( http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thought_Field_Therapy )<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not convinced yet. How much of this requires the accurate tapping of the points and how much can be tapping near the points, or just tapping at any part that feels sensitive? How much is this due to the acupuncture points and how much the positive suggestions or placebo effect? I\u2019m open to the possibility that it\u2019s all one way, all the other, or some mixture. We shall see. (So far, my wife has been trying it and for her it seems to be working and perking her up.)<\/p>\n
Moral: There\u2019s lots of stuff happening.<\/p>\n
General Corollary: There are an estimated 1,000 approaches to alternative healing out on the market now\u2014maybe many more. Now, considering the history of medicine as a model, I\u2019m willing to consider seriously that maybe 5% of these are valid\u2014and that makes around fifty! If even half of those or less were so, they might significantly revolutionize medical care! This has happened before and it may happen again.
\nHowever, I don\u2019t think it is the proper role of mainstream medicine to take each of the 1,000 or more approaches and test it; rather, it is the responsibility of the advocates of this or that theory and method to do the research. If they cannot make a case, well, why not? What are the requirements of research to get a claimed approach supported so that it moves from hunch to hypothesis to theory to postulate, to move up the levels of evidence-based ideas?
\nIn other words: How does one keep an open mind without letting one\u2019s brains spill out over the floor?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I went to a workshop two days ago given by a fellow who mixes positive affirmations, group dynamics, a technique of tapping acupuncture points and a variety of new age speculations. It was a mixed experience: I liked some things and didn\u2019t like other things. What I liked was that this fellow wove together some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blatner.com\/adam\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}