Treating Symptoms As Real In Energy Psychology

Treating Symptoms As Real In Energy Psychology

Ed Grimshaw, NLP Trainer & Author of The Perfect Fit, Writes: "In working with clients and seeing people with a variety of issues, one thing that has changed in recent years is treating the client’s presenting problem as real. This was pioneered in the 70s by Virginia Satir (Family Therapist) then by Richard Bandler (NLP originator). They treated the literal meaning of what was said by the client as a true statement of affairs. Of course going back before then and even now with some of the current medical thinking, “the pull yourself together school of thinking” does not get anywhere, its destructive and simply invalidates the poor sufferer."

Read on for Ed's full article...

So in using energy therapies we can listen and pay attention to our clients really carefully. We treat the issue/problem as real as a broken leg or ruptured Achilles. In presenting as a therapist we can set ourselves up usefully as to how we interact with the client. Right from the off our attention should be on them, every piece of information contains the clues not just what the problem is but how it might have been formed. For example, if someone appears clumsy in coming into the clinic, they may not have a strong association with own physicality, their body and the connection to self. How do they maintain that level of separation?

I was working with an athlete who had seen her times drop over recent months.
When we traced the issue we noticed he legs literally felt heavier even though she had not put weight on. Her voice even went heavier as she explained the problem as she slumped back. So we decided to work on the heaviness. We let the heaviness flow out through her feet which interestingly improved her balance and proprioception. We then added lightness to her legs by a variety of techniques including EMO. I guess many solutions from a sports psychologist would have involved training regimes, resting, nutrition, goal setting, visualising etc.

So here are types of description of what makes issues real for each client:-

  • Physically (e.g. my back hurts)
  • Symptomatically (e.g.  sore shins)
  • Metaphorically “This feels like a nail sticking in my knee”
  • Phantom pain (e.g. pain in a removed leg)
  • Emotionally (Energetically) “ I am feeling angry that I have not got a job”
  • Psychologically (Beliefs, values, convictions) “ People just seem to walk all over me”
  • Identity (What is says or means about them) “! am a stupid idiot”
  • It is also possible that the issue can be multi-faceted; we can have an emotional, metaphorical, identity presenting problem. “I am pig sick of being stuck in this house with my daughter”


It’s useful to know what really the client is presenting. What is the level of the issue?
An identity related issue is very different to a physical one.

Pay attention to the language, gestures, expressions, breathing of course, movements, physical disposition, facial muscle tones, voice tone and tempo in explaining the problem. If you want an example of a sharp change look at Tony Blair at the press conference following the death of scientist David Kelly, he looks a different person, even if you just look into the eyes. Instead of the Tesco Slogan “Every little helps”, “Every piece of information helps”.

When we sometimes see a euphoric response post EMO session, it’s clear what’s happened. So we can calibrate the clients state incoming and then calibrate outgoing, it’s a measure of our work! The athlete can measure their times in racing, we can measure a difference post EMO!

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