Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP)
28 Garrett Ave. Suite 100
Bryn Mawr, PA. 19010 USA
ACEP Main Phone: 619-861-2237
ACEP EFT Questions: 484-380-2448
Skype: leslie.acep
Fax: 484-418-1019
Robert Schwarz, PsyD, DCEP, Executive Director
Email: acep_ed@energypsych.org
Leslie Primavera, Office Manager/Certification Coordinator
Phone: 619-861-2237
Email: admin@energypsych.org
Cynthia Joba, Director, Outreach & Communications
Email: cjoba@energypsych.org
Susan Carney, Admin Assistant/CE Coordinator
Phone: 484-380-2448
Email: Scarney@energypsych.org
(by Sarah Murphy, LPC) Do you incorporate spiritual principles in your therapy practice? Have you moved to teletherapy and wonder if your clients are getting good results? Are you interested in learning about new ways to assess clients’ progress?
If you answered “yes” you have something in common with longtime ACEP member, psychologist, and author Phil Friedman, PhD. In this blog, I’ll discuss his case study that demonstrated a couple’s progress over the course of therapy using interesting data obtained by HIPAA-compliant digital tracking tools. Read on to learn more!
Like most therapists, study author Phil Friedman1 moved to a tele-therapy delivery model in March of 2020. Phil is a long-time scholar-practitioner and ACEP member. He has been tracking his clients’ progress using paper-pencil assessments for decades. As an assessment afficionado and longtime spiritual student, he has developed a series of psychometric scales to assist with tracking his clients’ progress, including measures of spirituality.
When Phil switched to tele-therapy, he searched for a way to deliver these assessments online. He began using customizable digital tracking tools designed for mental health professionals, Pragmatic Tracker and, to a lesser extent, Blueprint. Both tools were easy for the clients to use, and both generate color-coded, easy-to-read graphs that visually demonstrate client progress. According to the assessments and termination essays, the couple felt increasingly positive about their relationship during the course of therapy and found therapy very helpful. They reported that the energy psychology tapping exercises; the psychological uplifter,2 an energy psychology tool developed by Friedman; and Friedman’s book TheForgiveness Solution were the most beneficial in therapy.
This case study documented the progress of a couple who sought therapy to recover from the wife’s infidelity. The clients attended regular weekly therapy sessions, filling out assessments on the morning of therapy. They reported that the assessments took about 10-15 minutes to complete.
In addition to standard depression and anxiety scales, Phil added his psychometric scales to the assessment trackers. These tools, the Friedman Scales, are available for free for non-commercial use and are encouraged for research and clinical use. The Friedman Life Balance Scale assesses reflection, understanding of self and others, and self-compassion; it includes a spirituality subscale. The Friedman Spiritual Awakening Scale assesses spiritual awakening, including oneness, spirituality, higher power, inclusion, perfection, and compassion.
The couple experienced an overall positive trend on all measures during therapy. The husband began in greater distress about the state of the marriage; the wife began in greater distress generally. Overall, the wife made greater changes than the husband with one exception (the marital measure):
The present study demonstrates that couples therapy delivered online is effective. The tracking tools were effective, simple to use, and generated easy-to-read graphs carting clients’ progress; the couple improved on every measure. Additionally, the couple reported that using energy psychology as well as the researcher’s book The Forgiveness Solution helped them heal from their marital issues. The Forgiveness Solution incorporates, and the Friedman Scales assess, spirituality in therapy.
The full article is available free of charge in the August 24, 2021 issue of the International Journal of Healing and Caring.
Want to learn more about the research on energy psychology? Explore energypsych.org/research. Do you have a case study of your own in mind? We would love to hear from you.
Sarah Murphy is a licensed professional counselor with more than 15 years of clinical experience. She is Communications Committee Chair for ACEP and staff therapist for Unite for HER. She specializes in using energy psychology, mindfulness, and hypnotherapy in working with cancer patients. Learn more at https://transformative-therapy.com.
1 Philip H. Friedman, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and Director of the Foundation for Well-Being in Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Forgiveness Solution and Creating Well Being in addition to the Friedman Assessment Scales on Well-Being, Beliefs, Quality of Life, Affect, Life Balance, Spiritual Awakening and the Mini-5 Factor Personality Scale. Phil is an adjunct professor on the faculty of Sophia University (formerly the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology). He is the founder of Integrative Forgiveness Psychotherapy (IFP), the Positive Pressure Point Techniques (PPPT), the Practice Based Evidence Approach (PBEA) and the Digital Assessment and Tracking Approach (DATA) to assessment and change. www.philipfriedman.com and www.forgivenesssolution.com.
2 The Psychological Uplifter was developed by Friedman and is outlined on p. 69 of The Forgiveness Solution. To do the Psychological Uplifter, rub the sore point (neurolymphatic point) while repeating the reminder phrase: “Even though I have some of this problem or negative emotion (e.g., fear, anxiety, hurt, anger, depression, sadness, guilt, shame, low self-esteem, work, marital, relationship and family problems, etc.), I accept myself deeply and profoundly and I am a good, competent and magnificent person”. Repeat three times. Then, while continuing to rub the sore point, say “I love myself unconditionally despite my problems, challenges and limitations” three times; then, continuing to rub the sore point, say “I am entitled to miracles” three times.
Your financial support will help ACEP expand the use of energy psychology.
The result? More healing.
Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology. All rights reserved.
Created by Olive + Ash.
Managed by Olive Street Design.