Energy Psychology and Cancer

Sarah Murphy, LPC, NCC • July 11, 2023

Where we are, and where we are heading

This is the first in a three-part series focused on using energy psychology tools when working with people who have been diagnosed with cancer.


Energy psychology tools may be helpful for people with cancer. And there are many people living with this disease. In 2018, the United States saw 1.7 million new cases of cancer. In 2020, 19.3 million new cancer cases were diagnosed worldwide.


Cancer is not just a physical disease: it takes a tremendous toll on patients' mental health. That's because cancer creates an existential crisis for many. People with cancer also experience an elevation in distress: depression rates in the US jump four-fold among cancer patients, with nearly a quarter of cancer patients experiencing depression. Anxiety rates among cancer patients in the US climb as well, affecting nearly a fifth of people with cancer. Many people with cancer report experiencing PTSD-like symptoms, and almost all say they experience feelings of overwhelm.


Sadly, the US healthcare system does not universally encompass mental and emotional care in cancer treatment. This has costs; not only in terms of emotional wellbeing, but perhaps in resilience and ability to heal.


Energy psychology techniques, including the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), may be uniquely positioned to fill the emotional need of cancer patients. These modalities often focus on addressing and clearing underlying emotional traumas while providing effective self-soothing routines that may help cancer patients navigate the emotions that often accompany diagnosis.


Energy Psychology and Cancer: Addressing the Body-Mind



A key to remission?

Kelly Turner studied cases of unexpected and medically unexplained remission, conducting interviews with people who had experienced these seemingly miraculous cures. She distilled the data and found seven key factors that were almost universal. You can find them in her book Radical Remission.


Among the factors identified are eliminating negative emotions and increasing positive emotions. While the sentence is easy to write, achieving the essence is not! However, energy psychology methods are famous for their ability to heal underlying traumas and the ensuing energy disruptions, which lead to distress and may contribute to disease.


The stress-inflammation-disease cycle

Researchers in the field of cardiovascular disease were perhaps the first to identify the role of stress in disease. Today, people widely recognize the role of stress in disease. Psychoneuroimmunologists have discovered some of the mechanisms by which stress leads to diseases, including cancer.


From stress to distress

Episodic stress is an important part of life, mediating injury and pathogenic assault. When cells are under attack or have been injured, a cascade of activity on the molecular level causes cells to become inflamed, holding fluid. In other cases, it is the threat of assault that causes inflammation: the hypothalamus (a region in the limbic brain) signals to the pituitary body (often called the master gland) to tell the adrenal glands to release adrenaline. We call this cycle the HPA axis.


Under normal stress conditions, this action reduces inflammation. However, this cycle changes in people experiencing chronic stress.

Researchers have found that this is at least partly because an immune system cell or cytokine called interleukin 6 (IL6) triggers inflammation in times of stress. And IL6 plays a role in cancer, as well as a host of other diseases including diabetes, autoimmune disease, obesity, depression, and anxiety.


It might not be unreasonable, then, to wonder if decreasing stress levels might assist in the healing response of those with cancer diagnoses, and to prevent cancer occurrence in the first place. Energy psychology is an excellent tool for decreasing stress.

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Are you a therapist interested in learning to use these techniques with your clients? Check out ACEP’s training catalogue. Are you a client looking for a clinician trained in these methods? Check out ACEP’s practitioner directory.


Author

Sarah Murphy, LPC, NCC, is a licensed and nationally certified professional counselor. She specializes in energy psychology, including EFT, as well as mindfulness and meditation. Sarah works with individuals seeking to find peace within themselves, people who have serious medical diagnoses, and couples who want to resolve conflict and live in harmony. Sarah is an ACEP Board member and chair of its communications committee; she has a private practice and serves as staff therapist with Unite for HER.

By Ted Blickwedel, LICSW, MSW, MEd April 9, 2025
After retiring from the military, I conducted individual and group therapy with combat veterans as a clinical social worker for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at the VET Center in Warwick, RI. In my work, I've had many experiences showing the power of energy psychology to help heal trauma . One of these amazing stories occurred during my tenure at the VA. Veteran suffers from PTSD A 70-year old Vietnam Veteran suffered for 45 years from chronic PTSD as a result of life-threatening events he endured and injuries he sustained during combat. Let's call him Joe (not his real name). His symptoms included nightmares and waking up profusely sweating every night since he returned from the war 45 years ago. Joe also had insomnia and anger issues. Conventional therapies and medication were not able to alleviate the adverse impact of his trauma. Unfortunately, Joe's experience is common among a vast number of Veterans receiving treatment for PTSD at the VA. Energy psychology resolves trauma-related symptoms In the first energy psychology session, I introduced Joe to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and explained the process and its efficacy. During the next 6 sessions, he tapped on the EFT meridian points for 2-3 rounds on each combat trauma we addressed. While he tapped, I guided him to verbally release related negative emotions. We did this until he no longer experienced any disturbance associated with these challenging events, as determined by muscle testing. The results were inspiring. At the end of six 50-minute sessions, Joe reported that his nightmares and night sweats completely stopped, and he felt more rested, peaceful, and significantly less anxious. Joe was even able to stop taking most of his anxiety and depression medication. His wife said she noticed a huge positive shift in his demeanor. Lasting results Over the next 3 years, Joe used EFT on his own to clear other developmental traumas and negative core beliefs. During this time, he only had four nightmares during one two-week period, which were triggered by watching a war movie. Afterwards, he did not have any recurrence of PTSD symptoms. Joe felt joy that he did not experience previously, and he was more emotionally open and affectionate with his wife. This heart-warming story shows the power of EFT to heal rapidly and effectively, with results that last. It's why I love using it. Going forward What a difference could be made with Veterans and their families if the VA and Department of Defense (DOD) used energy psychology techniques like these! They would be free of the devastating impact of PTSD, have better relationships and an improved quality of life. Many ACEP members have stories of hope and healing. Let’s share them! When we tell our stories, we can help inspire practitioners to adopt energy psychology methods that are powerfully grounded in effective healingwith long-lasting outcomes. Get trained and make a difference Are you a teacher or school employee? If so, get trained to bring powerful energy psychology techniques to your school by enrolling in ACEP’s free Mind Body Tools for Children training. If you are a clinician or stakeholder wanting to offer energy psychology to your community, enroll in ACEP’s free Emotional First Aid training . If you would like to get trained in using Emotional Freedom Techniques with clients, sign up for ACEP’s online training that begins with EFT Professional Skills 1 . Author Ted Blickwedel, LICSW, MSW, MEd, is an ACEP member and recipient of ACEP's 2021 Special Recognition Award. He is a retired Marine, combat veteran, former VA VET Center counselor, VA whistleblower, and author of Broken Promises: Marine Combat Veteran Turns Whistleblower Exposing Compromised Mental Health Care at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Photo by RDNE Stock Project
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