When I began searching for a therapy and therapist to help me heal my childhood trauma, I consulted with a cognitive behavioral therapist who had written a best selling book on the subject. After three sessions with him I knew that this approach was not going to help me heal my trauma; it was too cerebral, cold, impersonal, and did not address the holding and muscular tension in my body at all. It clearly has helped many trauma victims who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and acute trauma but it was not helping me with my more chronic type trauma. The EMDR and other body tapping methods had not been created yet but having experienced them later to try to help heal some left over trauma as well as using body tapping methods with my trauma clients after I became a psychotherapist, these methods were ineffective in helping me and my clients restructure our energetic holding defenses and release the debilitating muscular tension in our bodies. The Mindfulness approach was helpful but only at a surface level. The Somatic trauma healing therapies which I explored were also helpful but failed to address the chronic muscular holding in my body. The best fit for me was Bioenergetic therapy which did address the energetic holding in my body. I did not like its medical model framework or the psycho-dynamic language and labels that were used by Bioenergetic therapist in this approach but it was very useful helping me become energetically well grounded and release the rigid muscular tension in my body; thus it helped me heal a good deal of my childhood trauma.
This type of energetic body-oriented therapy became the basis for the development of my own Energetic Trauma Healing approach which uses a client-in-charge model rather than the therapist-in-charge medical model. It is the Client-directed Energetic Therapy approach which I present in this Innovations in Healing Trauma handbook.
Is the Above Case for Client-Directed Energetic Therapy a Compelling One?
My answer to this question is, of course, a resounding YES! Why? Because:
1.The research supports it; the data on research outcomes in psychotherapy for the past forty years provides clear empirical evidence that clients, not therapists, are the most potent source in producing successful therapy outcomes.
2. Our own Outcome Survey of our former clients supports it with an average positive rating of 89.2% of clients strongly agreeing that their Energetic Therapy made a real difference in the quality of their lives.
3. My early history of making mistakes as a beginning psychotherapist using the medical model of psychotherapy supports it. This was due to, 1. the inadequate training I received from my university psychotherapy program which did not require me to do my own personal therapy before being allow to graduate with a degree, and 2. the false assumption in this program that the therapist is the one to direct the psychotherapy, not the client.
4. My own personal experience with Bioenergetic Therapy supports it. As a client, I was treated as an object rather than as part of the team; I was left completely out participating in the diagnosis of my limiting character structure by my therapists; nor was I consulted or allowed to provide them with any input about my treatment plan and interventions.
5. Our Client-directed Energetic Co-counseling supports it. Clients helping each other do their Energetic Therapy healing of trauma with a teaching coach showing them the way in the beginning stage of their co-counseling produces successful outcomes and is an economically viable alternative.
6. Milton Erickson’s successful pioneering model of doing client-directed therapy inspired generations of his students as well as his own peer psychotherapists to follow in his foot In conclusion I have to say that the case for Client-directed Energetic Therapy is very compelling!
