SAD, which is seasonal affective disorder, is one of the disorders that research has indicated shows this characteristic brain pattern of energy distribution.

One of the independent therapy professionals who works in my office suite, energy therapist Dale Peterson, read about this research and decided to use it therapeutically.  Applying energy therapy techniques that take five minutes or less, he began switching energy from the right to the left pre-frontal lobe of his depressed clients. 

The results have been impressive.  Clients typically feel an immediate emotional shift.  They report feeling calmer, more positive, more relaxed.

For Dale's energy-shifting technique to work, he first prepares the client by training their arm to be responsive to muscle kinesiology assessment techniques.  He also uses Emotion Code interventions to remove psychological reversal if that is present, a necessary pre-curser to effective treatment.   All together the full procedure typically can be accomplished well within one treatment hour. 

This technique of shifting brain energy from the right to the left prefrontal lobe has not been subjected to large scale clinical studies with double blinds and other standard medical and psychological research procedures.  Dale is not set up to be able to conduct these kinds of experiments.  At the same time, it seems to me that a quirkey but quick procedure with no apparent negative side effects that looks to have a close to 100% success rate merits reporting and exploring.

When regard to the high success rate, Dale generally performs this one technique as part of a more comprehensive treatment. This technique alone does give some degree of immediate relief.

For the results to completely remove the depression and also for them to be lasting rather than transient, however, Dale usually needs to add several further and sometimes equally mystifying interventions.  These might include removal of trapped negative emotions, unblocking of persistent negative feelings, strengthening of positive elements such as ability to experience forgiveness, removal of allergies that may have factored into the depression, and other interventions, the sum total of which can be highly effective.

Dale also has found that, by contrast with most of his procedures, shifting energy from the right to the left side of the brain in most cases has needed to be repeated several times over a period of weeks before it fully holds.  One treatment gives immediate relief; several treatments seem necessary for lasting relief.

To a traditional therapist like myself, most of Dale's energy therapy procedures simultaneously make total psychological sense and make no "scientific" sense whatsoever.  However, I have watched Dale do these interventions for over a year.  His office is just down a short hallway from mine.  In addition, we often work as a team with clients, especially when we are working with couples, as there are some situations for which my more traditional techniques are appropriate and others where his work best.  Seeing Dale's energy therapy techniques time and time again enable clients to emerge out of serious depressive states into happier and healthier functioning, I feel compelled to write about them.

Most weird of all, I've watched Dale do these techniques via Skype with clients who do not live in Denver.  Again, the results have been quite remarkable.

Intrigued?  You can read more about these methods at additional postings on my PT blog and on my clinical website.  The following links should be particularly informative.  Fasten your seatbelt for a ride into the forefront of innovative psychotherapy treatments! 

Click here, Click here and here for three more PT postings on Dale's energy therapy techniques.

Click here for more information about Dale Peterson's clinical work.

Susan Heitler, Ph.D., a Denver clinical psychologist, is the author of mutliple publications including From Conflict to Resolution and The Power of Two.  A graduate of Harvard and NYU, Dr. Heitler's latest project is the marriage education website PowerOfTwoMarriage.