*****
While I would describe this book as "phenomenal" for those unfamiliar with but simply curious about energy psychology, it is also chock full of in-depth information that would be helpful to experienced EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) practitioners. I should say that I myself am an experienced EFT practitioner; I have been waiting for something like this book. Past EFT books have not been as well-written, or else have been sensationalized, with descriptions of one-minute wonders and miracle cures; with EFT, such things do happen all the time, but they are atypical. EFT is a wonderful modality, an incredibly useful tool that can be used by virtually anyone after ten minutes or so of instruction; likewise, it can be used elegantly, creatively, and artistically after years of experience in the hands of a studied and credentialed EFT practitioner.
What makes "The Promise of Energy Psychology" work is its credibility. Much of it is written by David Feinstein, a seasoned psychologist, in a professional, non-hyperbolic way, describing the process of EFT and energy psychology. This is, in my opinion, the best writing done to date about EFT. The forward is written by Candace Pert, who is well-respected in the scientific community. That said, this is NOT a scholarly tome, but an accessible, well-written manual for those who want to understand this emerging paradigm for emotional healing that has become wildly popular in the last ten years.
Other parts of the book was written by Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, and Donna Eden, the author of the classic book on energy medicine and Dr. Feinstein's wife. These parts also conform to the same high standards and great utility as the rest of the book. Those readers who have familiarity with either Gary Craig's admirable work in developing and establishing EFT as a viable tool for personal change or with Donna Eden's extensive work in the energy medicine field will not be disappointed with this book. The book is pretty much split into two parts, with the first half focusing on EFT and the second half focusing on energy medicine.
Use Amazon's "Search inside this book" feature to explore the book more; I am grateful that the authors enabled this feature. I am certain that if you are interested at all in this area (EFT, energy psychology, energy medicine), you'll be pleased with the book. If you have downloaded EFT's free manual from their web site, but really wanted something more in-depth, scientific, credible, and less self-promoting, you will also love this book.
My favorite aspect of the book is the logical and understandable explanations for WHY EFT works. It's true that very little scientific research has been done on this technique, but the speculative informed explanations by the authors are so helpful. I am more of the type of person who likes to understand WHY I'm using a technique that is perceived by others as so... "out there"...or well..."weird", and this book gives me intelligent explanations for how and why it works!
Buy this book if you want to know more about EFT than is available on EFT's web site (www.emofree.com) or in the free manual downloadable from there. Buy it if you are a psychotherapeutic professional and absolutely require information that is not sensationalized or hyperbolic or self-promoting. Buy it if you want to learn to do EFT on your own. Buy it if you are interested at all in energy medicine, or if you're an alternative health care practitioner. Especially buy it if you are a psychotherapeutic professional (especially someone familiar with EMDR) and want to know about effective emerging tools. If you don't buy it, you'll wish you did, as you'll be hearing more and more about energy work in the future and then will want to remember "that book" that discussed these tools in a non-New-Agey, reasonable, intelligent fashion.
*****
