RE: Being Critical

[Rick Froman]

One thing I try to teach my Research Methods students, who often find contradictory conclusions when doing the lit review for their project, is to look through the methods and results of the previous research and try to find an explanation for the differing results and then make that factor the focus of your experiment. For example, maybe all of the successful outcomes are with college students and the unsuccessful outcomes are with older adults. In that case, I would suggest doing the study with different ages and make age the focus of your hypothesis. As long as there are unresolved contradictory studies, there will be doubt as to the effectiveness of the therapy.   With regard to EMDR specifically, I don’t think the knock on it is that it is ineffective but that the part of it that gives it its name (the specific eye movement patterns) isn’t really necessary for it to work. It is similar to a thought exercise I give my Research Methods class on Tap Therapy. I have included a copy of the article they read and analyze at the end of this message. I ask them to develop a method to test the claims of Tap therapy. I think such a test should be easily made for EMDR. My impression (possibly mistaken since it is based on secondary sources) is that the specifics of EMDR are not critical to the success of the therapy.   Rick Dr. Rick Froman Associate Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR  72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/faculty/rfroman.asp   Tap therapy has its devotees and critics Monday, March 12, 2001 By PETER MUCHA Special from The Philadelphia Inquirer It sounds like a psychological magic wand. A few taps and part of your mind is healed, or at least improved. Easier still, you just tap with your fingers -- no wand required. [snip] "I know that it's worked for me," says Patti Giroski, 41, of West Middlesex, Pa., outside Pittsburgh. A single session helped her overcome traumatic memories of an assault, she says. "From that point on for me, that whole situation is nothing more than a snapshot in time. The emotion that goes with it is gone. It's pretty much resolved." And Giroski speaks as a therapist herself, although not one who practices the system with patients. [snip] Here's an outline of what "Energy Tapping" (New Harbinger Publications) advises for "Fear of Tests, Public Speaking, and Meeting New People": First, rate your fear from 1 to 10. Next, while repeating an affirmation -- "I deeply accept myself, even though I am afraid my audience will not like my speech" -- you rub a spot on your chest ("the sore spot") or tap a spot toward the outside of your hand five times. Then you tap spots on the body that correspond to "meridian points," places in acupuncture where needles are inserted. For that test or speech anxiety, for example, you tap gently five times in each of three places: under an eye (in the center, on the tip of the bone); about 6 inches under an armpit; and an inch under the collarbone, near the center of the chest. After the tapping, rate yourself again. The anxiety should be much lower. If it's not a 2 or less, do the above steps again. Once your anxiety is low, finish with an "eye roll," in which you tap that back-of-the-hand spot while slowly lifting your eyes from floor to ceiling. That's it. [snip] Although Gallo's not sure how or why the method works, he suspects sound physiological reasons will be found, relating to parts of the brain being stimulated, or biochemical releases being triggered. Research supports the notion that acupuncture stimulates parts of the brain, says Lambrou, and energy therapies may have similar roots. [snip] Properly controlled research is needed, Herbert says, to know if tapping on meridian points has any effect at all. "In a nutshell, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to support the claims of these proponents of thought field therapy or its many variations," he says. Last year, a committee of the American Psychological Association expressed similar objections about lack of evidence when it ruled against approving continuing-education courses in energy therapies. "The greatest challenge to this field is that there aren't peer-reviewed studies yet, but they will be forthcoming," Pratt answers. "Just as with any emerging field, first we get the anecdotal support, then the controlled studies." � 2001 North Jersey Media Group Inc.  from The Record of Bergen County, NJ       --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]