Playing in the Matrix – the new energy psychology
We are living in a quick-fix, app driven social media society today. Clients are getting more au fait with therapy in its various models & techniques. Privately funded long term counselling may become a thing of the past, out of the financial reach of many. Most funded counselling is short term, 3 sessions which limits the deeper work. In the last 10 years or so, it seems to me that counsellors are looking to new trends to match this evolving therapeutic world. This is in the context of clients desiring a more short-term solution focused approach for coping with problems like anxiety management, calling for more psycho-education, emotional resilience skills and not forgetting the focus of popular psychology law of attraction – talking therapy is evolving & transforming.
(this article was written for Counselling Today NZAC September 2017 for counselling professionals)
Last February, three Northland counsellors travelled down to Auckland to attend the 4 day Matrix Reimprinting Course, what did we expect? Perhaps a trip on the light fantastic, or a readiness to expand our minds, transform our attitudes & beliefs? Or perhaps add more skills to our therapeutic tool boxes. We were not disappointed. It was all of the above. Take a deep breath.
WHAT ARE THE NEW ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY TECHNIQUES?
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as ‘tapping’, comes from the meridian energy therapy range. East meets West, with gentle tapping on key acupuncture points around the head, upper body & hands gradually reduces the emotional subjective experience down to neutrality around an event. It is holistic in nature as it links the body’s somatic experience with emotional energy & the mind. Created by Gary Craig in the 1990’s, it has become a first-aid skill for releasing anxiety & other emotional states, for trauma through to activating strengths. Sports people can now be seen tapping on themselves for motivation, focus & calmness. On a personal note – I actually found EFT extremely useful in reducing my high anxiety on long swing bridges over high gorges on the Heaphy track South Island!
EFT is now growing into a professional body of supervised practitioners (AAMET) see AAMET.
EFT has also just been recognised as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the American Veterans Association following on from the acceptance of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma resolution. see article here
For counsellors, EFT may be viewed as a useful self-help tool for clients to be able to utilise between sessions. It is especially helpful for triggered anxious states. Some criticisms of EFT highlight the repetitive nature of the sequencing where numerous reframes & aspects of an issue are included in a tapping round. Additionally, some clients may experience re-traumatisation by the exposure to the trauma event.
ENTER the next ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY PLATFORM – MATRIX REIMPRINTING
No it’s not a new movie. Simply put, Matrix Reimprinting is a technique that connects clients with their past memories, usually traumas, know as ECHOs (energetic consciousness holograms). It accesses the core beliefs or life decision made at that time and elegantly enables the client to transform that historical part of themselves with a positive opposing resolution which resources the client in the here & now. For example, a young child experiencing violence between his or her parents, may internalise fear, negative self-beliefs & a core belief that the world is unsafe. These traumatising memories are split off from the conscious mind, because they are so painful, into an energetic ECHO. Unfortunately, these unconscious ECHOs become the driving force for present day reactions & irrational thoughts.
Matrix Reimprinting works by freezing the memory & de-traumatising the young child back then, then appropriate resourcing can be created. This all takes place in a relaxed NLP trance like state using visualisation, accessing conscious & unconscious memories with all the associated misperceptions, limiting beliefs & feelings. The new created picture is reimprinted into the physical body via sensory awareness – visual, auditory, olfactory & kinesthetic cues, then through the heart centre into the electro-magnetic energy field & beyond into the universal field of awareness (matrix).
BACKGROUND OF MATRIX
Developed in Britain about 10 years ago by founder Karl Dawson, Matrix Reimprinting has seen a rapid growth in interest as an energy psychology technique with practitioners around the globe, tapping on feelings & reimprinting traumatic emotional time-capsules. ‘Matrix’ is a neat term for our subconscious experiences linked to the collective unconscious or universal field of awareness. By reimprinting the new picture we can transform the old memory & bring in new learning into the neuro-pathways & cellular body before transmitting out into the universal field of awareness. A traumatic event is programmed into the subconscious & is running live in the background, getting triggered by current events. Will power alone may not change these programmes and beliefs, as this works on a conscious level only. That’s why it is often argued that cognitive & behavioural changes alone using the conscious mind are not sufficient. Matrix Reimprinting can be seen as a bridge between the two minds. All layers or fields of the Matrix interconnect with each other. You have your personal matrix which holds all the information about you, this then stretches out into the family, the cultural and the universal matrix. This could be particularly important in assisting with ancestral trauma.
We cannot change what has happened in a client’s life, a memory is a memory, but Matrix Reimprinting can alter the emotional experience lodged in the psyche, in a positive empowering way through identifying the core belief or life decision made at that time & resolving it by creatively changing the picture, resourcing that younger person back then, even pre-verbal, pre-birth stages – which is creative play in the matrix! It is a lovely mix of working with the client now & the client back then, de-traumatising, associating & disassociating from the trauma memories.
Why do belief systems and our past traumas matter? See Bruce Lipton, Biology of Belief – the first 6 years of life (even pre-birth) we are an open emotional receptor of experiences which become imprinted in the emotional brain & run our automatic often unconscious feelings & reactions throughout life. Bio-science now proves that our subconscious mind is 95% more powerful than the conscious mind.
Or is it all just a placebo effect with clients hope that they will get better can help them get better anyway.
GOOD FOR COUNSELLING THERAPY?
I personally see this modality from an integrative perspective – mind altering NLP trance states, Jungian creativity, emotional healing, body memory releasing & changing outmoded beliefs. Is it the current trend for the future? We are potentially remapping the past to create a positive future. For me, this therapy adds to the therapeutic alliance, the development of trust & healthy boundaries to counterbalance adverse childhood experiences which emerge in present day crisis & does not detract from our core counselling values. However, it may be too directional or practitioner-led for some rather than mainly client-centred & client driven. If the technique can move a client closer towards self-acceptance, understanding & forgiveness, then it may be worth serious consideration.
Disclaimer – the views expressed in this article may not reflect the official stance of EFT or Matrix Reimprinting.
For a comprehensive overview of energy psychology see article here
Pamela Harland sees clients for counselling therapy & quantum energy healing sessions in person at Warkworth or online by zoom as part of her private counselling practice. She is also a mentor-supervisor for counsellors & other practitioner coaches using energy psychology techniques . Contact Pamela here
Pamela’s background – over 20 years therapeutic experience as a counsellor with NZAC & BACP working holistically with the transpersonal model EFT & more recently trained in Matrix Reimprinting. A trainer & supervisor of counsellors over many years Pamela holds a post-grad certificate in supervision & a post- grad diploma in education (adults).
ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY TECHNIQUES TRAINING
EFT/Matrix Reimprinting training for potential professional development opportunities https://eftmracourses.com/eftmra-academy/