Therapists’ Observations in Reduction of Unpleasant Emotions Following Advanced Integrative Therapy Interventions

Abstract

Objective: To assess the potential clinical efficacy of a novel model of energy psychology intervention, Advanced Integrative Therapy (AIT), this pilot study assessed clinician perceptions of AIT through a cross-sectional survey. Methods: A 17-item web-based questionnaire was administered to AIT therapists in November of 2021. The survey included clinician demographics and the clinician-observed response to AIT treatment based upon changes in reported Subjective Units of Distress (SUD), the associated emotion, and somatic sensation (when present). Results: A total of 76 complete responses were analyzed. The sample respondents were predominantly female (81.6%) and non-Hispanic white (68%). Over 80% of the respondents reported using AIT with their clients within the past six months and a significant proportion of participants self-assessed their AIT skills as of proficient or expert level. As reported by the therapists, 77% of the sessions described were used to clear patterns of negative events rather than a single event. Over 75% of events were identified as being either since childhood or otherwise chronic in nature. The average pre-AIT intervention SUD score was reported as 8.3±2.7 out of 10, which in 92% of cases, dropped to either 0 or 1 following a single session of AIT. Conclusions: Although this pilot study was limited to clinician responses in assessment of the ability of AIT to reduce the negative emotions related to past traumatic events, the initial observations were supportive of the potential clinical utility of this energy psychology technique. The findings suggest that additional client-based assessments and randomized clinical trials with known therapies as a control are warranted to continue the systematic observation of AIT. Keywords: energy psychology, Advanced Integrative Therapy, Emotional Freedom Technique, Thought Field Therapy