Tapping out of stress

In recent years, the field of psychology has witnessed the emergence of a fourth wave in therapy. These innovative approaches include therapies that integrate the mind and body in counselling settings and include a somatic (body-based) element. 

The therapy field appears to have shifted from focusing on "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?". Combining the fields of neuroscience/neurobiology, mindfulness, and cognitive, these fourth-wave approaches offer a multi-pronged approach to meet the needs of clients. It appears these new approaches integrate well with other methods, although they appear faster than traditional talk therapy.

While the field began with evidence-based treatments such as Eye Movement Desentization Reprocessing (EMDR), energy psychology has emerged as another modality with growing evidence. In particular, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), which combines elements of cognitive and exposure therapy with stimulation of acupuncture points, has been found to be efficacious for a range of psychological and physiological conditions, such as post-traumatic stress, trauma, pain, phobias, weight issues and anxiety/depression. The research base shows few treatment sessions are required, that treatment is effective whether delivered in person or virtually, and that symptom improvements persist over time.

Other energy psychology approaches emerging with evidence include Thought Field Therapy (a precursor to EFT that also uses acupressure stimulation), and Havening, which uses touch, eye movements, and other sensory inputs. Havening focuses on self-compassion, kindness, and self-care and, like the other approaches, is self-driven and applied.