Aisling Killoran of Accomplish Change Clinic in Sandymount invited ‘NewsFour’ to come along to her studio for a session of Energy Psychology. I was volunteered and found myself heading along Sandymount Strand one hot, sunny day to a new experience.

Aisling, pictured above, is a bubbly smiling lady, who opened the door of her studio and led me into a bright room with a window that faced out into the green of her back garden.

I was feeling intensely hot and worn out from the heatwave weather and looking forward to a session of luxurious pampering and utter relaxation. This did not happen because I was to learn that energy psychology is about helping yourself with special techniques.

“Energy Psychology is a family of mind/body therapies and self help techniques,” Aisling enthusiastically explained. “Methods include working with the human energy system providing relief from mind-body distress, using meridians, acupoints, chakras and the biofield. This involves self-tapping, eye movements or holding particular points on your own body.”

Aisling has lived in Sandymount for over 35 years, is a professional certified Clinical Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist and uses Energy Psychology to facilitate change in a client’s thought, emotional and behavioural patterns. She claims that these gentle techniques are safe to use with stress, fears, panic attacks, performance anxiety, allergies, grief, sexual abuse and chronic physical illness. The method is said to help with the emotions and can be complementary to medical treatments.

To start the session, I was asked to pick an issue to work with and I suggested my strong sense of self-criticism as something I would like help with.

I copied Aisling’s lead as she demonstrated a pose in which one presses on certain acupressure points on the head with one’s hands and repeats phrases in connection with the issue being worked on.

This technique, known as TAT, can help dissipate the original trauma underlying the emotion or behaviour, thereby helping to release its grip on the person. It is held to be effective with allergies, weight problems, negative self-beliefs, trauma, chronic illness and addictions. My arms got heavy holding them up for lengthy periods, otherwise I strode purposefully on.

To give me a further view of the processes of Energy Psychology, Aisling went on to lead me through a further seven steps. In each step, one again repeats certain phrases whilst tapping certain points on the head, face and upper part of the body. At the end of the hour and a quarter I felt tired but also had a sense of being less tense and calmer than when I’d arrived.

The techniques are indeed simple and with the help of the instruction hand-out from Aisling are easy to follow. It is recommended that they be repeated on any one day for a maximum of 20 minutes.

Children are said to enjoy the process of tapping and to benefit greatly from its effects. To experience this method for yourself call Aisling at 087 1352 122 or get further information on www.accomplishchange.com. The fee is €100 for the first hour and €80 for further sessions. Sessions last approximately one hour and 3-5 sessions are recommended for best results.