What is the "Energy Model of Therapeutic Change"?

The Energy Model of Therapeutic Change is a mode of therapy that I developed back in the early 1990's as a final project for my Master's in Psychology.  Originally, I called it the "Total Life Management Therapeutic Model of Change".  The premise was that most people come to therapy because of three things:  Anxiety, Depression, and Relationship issues.  But the further along we got working together, the more evident it was that these were mere manifestations of symptoms from other things going on in their lives, much of which could be dealt with quite simply.

Comparing current and long-held therapy approaches of delving into a persons past and dissecting it to find a source of their current trauma, it was evident that this only seemed to keep them in therapy much longer - sometimes years - while they are still toiling and spinning just to find peace in their present.  There was a lot these people could do in the moment to alleviate their stress and anxiety that would give them the upper edge on dealing with the past if it was still needed.  There were several whom, once they applied simple approaches no longer felt the need to continue to dig up past events that no longer held power over them because the symptoms they sought help for were gone.

Think of a woman I once knew.  When she experienced any type of
physical symptom, she would immediately find an alleged culprit.  For example, she got a rash on her arms and chest and decided it had to be from a person grinding coffee outside our office door.  It later turned out she was allergic to a new laundry detergent.  But for a year, no one was allowed to ground coffee beans in our office because she was convinced the chemicals used to process the beans was going air-born and causing her rash.  My opinion is that this often happens in long-term therapy.  A culprit is identified, which causes relief and comfort to have an answer, but it does nothing to relieve the presenting issues and often never brings a sense of well-being and fulfillment because they still have the imbalances in their key-life areas that caused the symptoms to begin with.   Many current models of therapy encourage clients to wear their issues like a badge of honor and identity, which keeps therapists employed and people wallowing in their alleged mental illnesses.

Basically, the Energy Model of Change divides our lives into nine of what I call key-life areas.  An imbalance in one of these areas will inevitably spill into another.  Here is an example.  Sally, a former client, was a divorced single mom of three with a compassionate heart and a 'care taker' personality began dating a man named Ron, whom she had met at church and was unemployed and still in the process of recovery from opiate addiction.  But she felt she could save him and that love should supersede all practical common sense.  Soon she was pregnant with number four and married him.

Within months, he had relapsed and created a great deal of stress in the home to the point where she and her children walked on eggshells trying to keep him from being agitated and accepting guilt of causing his every misstep.  Her health began to decline and she became unable to work and had to go one disability.  This created years of financial struggle and health issues that could have and should have been avoided in the first place, had she had a tool to weigh the pros and cons of this relationship on what I call the 'energy scale'.   Worse, people who previously stepped up to help her financially were not about to throw their money into her self-created bottomless pit.  Therefore, his being in her life was blocking the energy of blessings from others.   No amount of delving into her past could help if she wasn't changing her actions in the present! To tell clients they can't control their symptoms  until they find out the 'why' of their choices only makes them sicker.  Rather they should understand the toll their choices make, how they affect their current state of well-being, and be offered tools to make healthy decisions in all key-life areas in the here and now.

Everything in our lives either feed or bleed us.  And a bleed in one seemingly unrelated key-life area will cause a bleed and imbalance in all the others.  Using this model of change, one can quickly identify the feeds and bleeds in each area ( "What do I need more of and what do I need to eliminate?").  Once we identify and deal with the quick bleeds, the next step is to go through each area to create long-term solutions for wellness.  The client is shown how to use this as a life-long ongoing approach to maintain health and ward off unnecessary trouble and stress.  Because they have laid the foundation for optimal mental and physical health, they will find that many of their presenting issues were resolved inadvertently, and even past traumas may no longer be a factor in their present well-being. The truth is, most people are truly in no condition to go delving into past traumas in search of a culprit until they address some basic things in their life that will give them the stamina to do so.  It basically means that whatever issues they still want to address through therapy will be easier to deal with because they have eliminated many of the things that cause the stress symptoms and those things from the past that still ail them become much clearer because their path to wellness has been cleared!

 I start my clients on some very basic things that they can do immediately to relieve symptoms that will give them greater leverage while cleaning out past stuck and negative energy, as well as the foundation to deal with unforeseen stressors that are beyond their control.

For more information about the "Energy Model Of Therapeutic Change" program, please go to our program.  I would love to help you streamline your energy to achieve your 'best-self' life!