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Energetic Approaches to Treating Chronic Pain

While chronic pain is subjective, it involves both physical and mental aspects. Energy psychology is an important addition to the treatment regime. Several EP techniques for efficiently treating pain will be discussed, demonstrated and practiced at the workshop.

This 1-Day workshop will be presented by Dr. Gallo at the 20th Energy Psychology Conference at the Walt Disney Contemporary Resort, May 3, 2018. To register, go to www.energypsychologyconference.com

© 2018 Fred P. Gallo, PhD 60 Snyder Rd, Hermitage, PA 16148

724-346-3838 fgallo@energypsych.com www.energypsych.com

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Energetic Approaches to Treating Chronic Pain

1. Overview of chronic pain including neurocircuitry, standard medical and psychological treatments, and focus on biopsychosocial, Energy Psychology, and related approaches to managing and treating chronic pain. Addresses physical and emotional factors at the core of pain, and demonstrate observing key aspects of pain sensations while using basic and complex meridian techniques (including the Midline technique), and other specialized corrections for reversal.

2. Group Practice of EP Techniques presented, along with processing.

3. Discuss and demonstrate Gallo Process, Drag-and-Drop, Waterfall Technique, and State Triad.

4. Group Practice, processing, Q & A. Closing.

EVALUATION

What are the 6 treatment points of the Midline Technique? Back of Head, Top of Head, Forehead, Under Nose, Under Bottom Lip, Center of Chest

List 6 regions/systems of the nervous system involved in pain perception: Peripheral Nerves, Dorsal Horn, Thalamus, Somatosensory Cortex, Limbic System, and Frontal Cortex

List the 4 releasing questions used in the Gallo Process: Could you let it go? Would you release it? Will you set it free? And when?

List the 3 Tonglen slogans used in the Gallo Process: Other people feel this way. May this be a path to the open heart. Let me embrace this so that others have relief.

What are the 4 phases of the Waterfall Technique? While observing pain karate chop while saying "Release" or "Stop". Image waterfalls pouring over your body. Image squeegeeing the water off your body. Transport to a vivid pleasant scene.

What are the three components of the State Triad? Auditory/Language, Visual/Focus, Kinesthetic/Physicality.

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BasicEPTreatmentforPhysicalPain

1. Focus attention on the location of the pain and rate intensity 0 to 10. 2. Treat for reversal by tapping repeatedly on the Side of Hand (SH), Back of Hand (BH), or

rubbing Sore Spot (SS) while saying three times, “I accept myself with this [pain].” 3. Tap extensively at BH until there is a significant decrease in pain, and intermittently tap

at UCB a few times, alternating back and forth between these points. 4. If there is no decrease, go back to step two and cycle through the sequence again. If there

is not a decrease after a few minutes, this is probably not an adequate treatment for this pain, or there is another reversal to correct. Switching may also be involved.

5. Next do the Brain Balancer (BB) by tapping repeatedly at BH while rotating your eyes clockwise, rotating your eyes counterclockwise, humming a tune, counting to five, and then humming again.

6. Again, rate pain intensity. When the pain is within the 0 to 2 range, go to step eight (8). Sometimes the treatment needs to be repeated several times while focusing on the pain before there is a complete or near complete relief from the pain.

7. As long as there is a decrease in the level of pain, continue with the sequence until there is little or no pain remaining. If the treatment stalls at any point, this indicates a mini reversal. Treat this by tapping SH while saying three times, “I accept myself with any remaining [pain].”

8. When the pain level is 0 to 2, do the Eye Roll (ER) to lower the pain further or to complete the treatment effects. To do this, tap on BH, hold head straight and, only with the eyes, look at the floor and then slowly raise eyes up toward the ceiling.

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EPTreatmentforComplexPhysicalPain

1. Focus attention on the location of the pain and rate intensity 0 to 10. 2. Treat for reversal by tapping repeatedly on the Side of Hand (SH), Back of Hand (BH), or

rubbing Sore Spot (SS) while saying three times, “I accept myself with this [pain].” 3. Tap about 5 times at each of these locations: Eyebrow (EB), Under Eye (UE), Under

Nose (UN), Under Bottom Lip (UBL), Under Arm (UA), Under Collarbone (UCB), Little Finger (LF), and Index Finger (IF).

4. If there is no decrease, go back to step two and cycle through the sequence again. If there is not a decrease after five minutes, this is probably not an adequate treatment for this pain or there is another reversal to correct. Switching may also be involved.

5. Next do the Brain Balancer (BB) by tapping repeatedly at BH while rotating your eyes clockwise, rotating your eyes counterclockwise, humming a tune, counting to five, and then humming again.

6. Again, rate pain intensity. When the pain is within the 0 to 2 range, go to step eight (8). Sometimes the treatment needs to be repeated several times while focusing on the pain before there is a complete or near complete relief from the pain.

7. As long as there is a decrease in the level of pain, continue with the sequence until there is little or no pain remaining. If the treatment stalls at any point, this indicates a mini reversal. Treat this by tapping SH while saying three times, “I accept myself with any remaining [pain].”

8. When the pain level is 0 to 2, do the Eye Roll (ER) to lower the pain further or to complete the treatment effects. To do this, tap on BH, hold head straight and, only with the eyes, look at the floor and then slowly raise eyes up toward the ceiling.

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Midline Technique (MLT)

1. Focus attention on the location of the pain and rate intensity 0 to 10. 2. Correct for psychological reversals. 3. Stimulate treatment points 5-10 times each and intermittently evaluate SUD

BH = Back of Head: Governing Vessel (GV) 17 TH = Top of Head: GV 20 TE = Third Eye Point: GV 24.5 UN = Under Nose: GV 26 BL = Bottom Lip: Central Vessel (CV) 24 Ch = Chest: CV 20

4. Use Brain Balancer (BB) as needed. May alternate BB between sequences of treatment points. While tapping on back of hand (BH) at Triple Warmer-3 (TW-3), subject does the following: ♦ Close eyes ♦ Open eyes ♦ Eyes clockwise while humming and counting ♦ Eyes Counterclockwise while humming and counting

5. Use eye roll (ER) stress reducer as needed. Use ER when SUD is 1-2 to further reduce stress level: ♦ Tap BH while slowly raising eyes from the floor to the ceiling, ♦ Take a deep breath, lower eyelids while eyes are raised, exhale, and stop tapping (optional).

6. Reevaluate after each step and continue process until pain intensity is 0-2. 7. May apply layering technique, stimulating points by tapping, holding, client observing therapist

tap on self, imaginary tapping, etc.

Advanced Psychological Reversal

Different Correction Points: SH, BH, UN, UBL, UCB, Ch

“I accept myself with continuing pain.”

“I accept myself with deserving the pain.”

“I accept myself with it being unsafe to let go of the pain.”

“I accept myself with a loyalty issue involved in the pain.”

“I accept myself identifying with this pain.”

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Mindfulness and Heart-Breathing

Purposeful and nonjudgmental attention to your present moment experience

Aspects

Emotions Thoughts Beliefs Traumatic events

Tonglen

Sending and Receiving on the Breath “Other people feel this way.” “Let this be a path to the open heart…healing.” “Let me have this so that others don’t have to have it.”

Releasing (Modification of Sedona Method) Could you…let it go? Would you…release it? Will you…set it free? When? Could you…just could you…let it go? Would you…release it? Will you…it’s just a choice…set it free? When?

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The Gallo Process

1. Tune in and describe pain sensations. 2. Intermittently rate pain 0-10. 3. Tap BH and state three times, “I accept myself with this [pain].” 4. Recursively describe pain in detail: location, shape, measurements, color, weight, etc.

while possibly tapping BH or holding a chord (e.g., forehead and chest). 5. State with realization: Other people feel this way. Let this be a path to the open heart (or

wellness). Let me have this so that others don’t have to have it. 6. Could you…let it go? Would you…release it? Will you…set it free? When? 7. Could you…just could you…let it go? Would you…release it? Will you…it’s just a

choice…set it free? When? 8. If progress stalls treat for psychological reversal at various levels. 9. Continue until pain is significantly reduced or relieved. 10. Determine degree to which client believes relief will continue 0-10 and perhaps install

belief by tapping BH and visualizing accordingly. 11. Teach client process.

Drag and Drop 1. Tune in and describe pain sensations.

2. Rate 0-10.

3. Assess intensity at the 9 eye positions: upper left, upper middle, upper right, lateral left, straight ahead, lateral right, lower left, middle lower, lower right.

4. Drag and drop from least intense to most intense, most intense to least intense, or any combination of locations.

5. Reevaluate and train client to do process.

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The Waterfall Technique

� Tune in issue, observe and relax into emotional sensations and rate 0-10.

� Karate Chop side of hand several times while saying, “Release!” or “Stop!”

� Close eyes, take a deep breath and exhale while imaging a waterfall, perhaps washing continuously over your entire body from head to toe.

� Now image wiping the water off from head to toe while tapping the MLT points: Back of Head, Top of Head, Forehead, Under Nose, Under Bottom Lip, and downward at Center of Chest. While tapping say, “Other people feel this way and let this be a path to the open heart.”

� Now transport yourself to a soothing scene in all its details.

� Reevaluate

� Cycle through process as needed.

� Teach client to apply self-treatment.

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STATETRIAD

Auditory/Language Visual/Focus

Kinesthetics/Physicality *Emotional States are maintained by physicality, focus, and language.

*Physicality includes facial expressions, posture, gestures, movement, and breathing.

*Focus is what attention is directed toward, such as future fears, past regrets, attention to body sensations….

*Language (audition), is where meaning is created: I am in agony, I’m not good enough, etc.

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References

Becker, R. O. and Selden, G. (1985). The body electric. New York: Morrow.

Darras, J. C., P. de Vernejoul, and P. Albarede. 1992. Nuclear medicine and acupuncture: a study on the

migration of radioactive tracers after injection at acupoints. Am. J. Acupuncture 20: 245-56.

Gallo, F. P., and H. Vincenzi. 2000. Energy Tapping: How to Rapidly Eliminate Anxiety, Depression,

Cravings, and More Using Energy Psychology. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Gallo, F. P. (Ed.). 2002. Energy Psychology in Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Source Book. New

York: W. W. Norton.

Gallo, F. P. 2005. Energy Psychology: Explorations at the Interface of Energy, Cognition, Behavior, and

Health (2nd Edition). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Gallo, F. P. 2007. Energy Tapping for Trauma: Rapid Relief from Post-Traumatic Stress Using Energy

Psychology. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Reichmanis, M., A. Marino, and R. Becker. 1975. Electrical correlates of acupuncture.

IEEE Trans Bio-Medical Engineering 22:533–35.

Stewart, W. F., J. A. Ricci, E. Chee, D. Morganstein, and R. Lipton. 2003. Lost productive time and cost

due to common pain conditions in the US workforce Journal of the American Medical

Association 290:2443-54.

Tallis, F. 2002. Hidden Minds: A History of the Unconscious. NY: Arcade Publishing.

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Diagrammatic outline of the major neural structures relevant to pain. The sequence of events

leading to pain perception begins in the transmission system with transduction (lower left), in

which a noxious stimulus produces nerve impulses in the primary afferent nociceptor. These

impulses are conducted to the spinal cord, where the primary afferent nociceptors contact the

central pain-transmission cells that relay the message to the thalamus either directly via the

spinothalamic pathway or indirectly via the reticular formation and the reticulothalamic pathway.

From the thalamus, the message is relayed to the cerebral cortex. (DRG: dorsal root ganglion.)

The pain-modulation system has inputs from the frontal association cortex and the hypothalamus

(H). The outflow is through the midbrain and medulla to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord,

where it inhibits pain-transmission cells, thereby reducing the intensity of perceived pain.

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