Communicating the Intangible: A Phenomenological Exploration of Energy Healing

Abstract

The field of “energy medicine” is showing high levels of growth in the West in spite of the controversial nature of “psychic” or “subtle energy.” Proponents of energy medicine contend that techniques such as Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) have been shown to be particularly efficacious in treating phobias, post traumatic stress and influencing physiological processes (e.g., Callahan 2001a). Counter-advocates (e.g., Pignotti 2007) argue that these techniques have not been tested adequately and take a-priori positions on the philosophical impossibility of energy medicine. We suggest that the indeterminate and intersubjective nature of the therapeutic process in these encounters may be best captured through phenomenological approaches which ground experience in embodiment (e.g., Shapiro 1985). Drawing on the approach Csordas (1997) has used with charismatic healers we explore the interactions between such an energy therapist and his clients, analysing the techniques used, identifying the conceptual frameworks underpinning these, and describing the pragmatic and imaginative maneuver for consistency involved in energy therapy.

Keywords:

• acupuncture points
• co-proprioception
• energy
• healing
• inter-coherence
• intersubjectivity
• phenomenology
• phenomenological research
• thought field therapy