Remember the toy puzzle where you stick a finger into each end of a straw tube and the harder you try to pull your fingers out, the more firmly they become embedded? That is how a psychological reversal feels—your efforts produce the opposite of the result you intend.

This dynamic is familiar to most people who make plans for personal change, which they affirm and reaffirm but never quite achieve (the flaw in the "New Year’s resolution" approach to personal development). It is as if the conscious mind has one agenda but an opposing agenda, outside of its awareness, wins. Because we wind up doing the reverse of what we intended, the phenomenon is called a psychological reversal. You were introduced to psychological reversals in the "Basic Basics" module. They will be examined here in some depth.

When a client formulates a goal that activates a psychological reversal, the treatment’s effectiveness will be compromised until the psychological reversal has been resolved. All effective therapies address this dynamic in one way or another. Energy psychology focuses on their energetic as well as psychological roots, yielding an intervention strategy that neutralizes most psychological reversals quite rapidly.

At the core of both cognitive dissonance and of a psychological reversal is an internal  contradiction.

The presence of a psychological reversal does not mean the client is unmotivated, simply that other factors are interfering with the conscious intention. Once a psychological reversal has been identified, some clients may need additional explanation and reassurance that it does not mean they do not really want to get over their problem or that deep down they want to fail. Since the term psychological reversal can itself be intimidating or seem pathologizing, some clinicians avoid the phrase, referring simply to inner conflicts about the treatment goals.

Psychological reversals have been described as a form of self-sabotage, but they actually reflect a much broader, and potentially adaptive, process.

Psychological reversals may be adaptive because the psyche contains a greater intelligence than only the elements with which a person identifies. A person wants to change in a healthy direction and the psychological reversal gets in the way. But what if a person wants to change in an unhealthy direction, as seen, for instance, with excessive ambition? Many well-intentioned aspirations cost a person dearly, and a psychological reversal is a natural mechanism for restoring balance.

If excessive ambition is countered by a psychological reversal, neglected aspects of the personality can flourish, as when a highly driven corporate executive, for reasons he cannot explain and perhaps amidst inner echoes of self-recrimination, allows himself to engage in a truly relaxing, time-consuming creative but "unproductive" hobby.

On the other hand, psychological reversals can keep a person addictively trapped in behavior patterns that are costly and destructive, as when another highly driven executive consciously resolves to bring more balance and relaxation into her life but her behavior is to repeatedly push herself to the edge of physical breakdown.

Speculation about the physiological dynamics of psychological reversals has focused on the differences between the way the left and right cerebral hemispheres organize information as well as differences between cerebral cortex and back brain activity. The psychological dynamic is clear: a conscious intention is in conflict with motivation that is outside of the person’s awareness.

While this can be problematic, it is also part of normal development.

In a comprehensive research program at Northwestern University, psychologist Dan P. McAdams showed that optimal psychological maturation requires the progressive  reconciliation of opposing qualities within one’s inner nature and within one’s life structure.

A primary mechanism by which this occurs is in the resolution of conflicts between psychological schemas (relatively autonomous constellations of information and emotion) with which a person identifies and those that are outside of consciousness.

McAdams’ research suggests that through this process wherein opposing qualities are reconciled, the psychological schemas that organize experience become more  comprehensive and better integrated as a person matures.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCHEMAS are both frameworks for understanding and designs for action. One cognitive structure may be primarily concerned with insuring safety, while another is oriented toward cultivating fulfilling interpersonal relationships. A person may be fully identified with some of these explanatory and motivational schemas, while others operate preconsciously (the schemas are known at some level but are not available for articulation). Such independent, yet interrelated, psychological schema can either be in harmony with one another or in conflict. Their conflict is at the root of a psychological reversal.

Yes, but, psychological reversals exist not only at the cognitive and emotional level, they also operate within the person’s energy system. The cognitive conflict is compounded by a disruption in your body's energy system whenever you bring your goal to mind. Pursuing a conscious intention that is in conflict with an underlying psychological reversal can cause, or reflect, a disruption in the meridian system, which in turn interferes with the person’s thinking and functioning.

On the other hand, when an action you take is in line with a psychological schema that is energetically more deeply embedded than your conscious intention, your energies might return to a more optimal flow, making you feel better and operate more effectively. This is, of course, baffling to the conscious mind, and it is part of the reason that certain addictive or compulsive habits that make little sense in terms of obvious rewards and punishment are still so difficult to break.

Based on an understanding of both the cognitive and energy dimensions of psychological reversals, energy-oriented clinicians have developed some deceptively simple yet apparently effective interventions for working with them. While talk, introspection, and analysis can address the dynamics that are at play, they do not easily counter the energetic structures that maintain the pattern. Energy methods intervene at precisely that level.

Clinical reports from a spectrum of energy-oriented practitioners strongly suggest that when psychological reversals undermine well-formulated treatment goals, they can be corrected relatively easily and quickly using a straightforward combination of cognitive and energetic techniques.

You have already been introduced to a simple procedure which will correct for some of the most basic psychological reversals that tend to interfere with treatment.

You were shown a simple method for working with psychological reversals in the EFT set-up affirmation (Basic Basics module). The two parts to the set-up affirmation are the  affirmation and an energy intervention that involves stimulating specific points on the body .

THE AFFIRMATION includes a few words that are "filled in," based on the target problem. The form of the affirmation is as follows:

The blank is filled in with a brief description of the problem being addressed. For example:

This is, of course, only a partial list, keyed to the earlier examples. Virtually any psychological or behavioral problem or goal can be inserted into this format.

The affirmation is best stated out loud and with feeling and emphasis. It does not matter whether or not you believe it to be a true statement, it is a self-suggestion that becomes more true in the process of saying it and stimulating specific energy points. While the phrase "I deeply love and accept myself" may seem like an overly simple and pat self-affirmation, it may, as discussed below, actually penetrate to the heart of the psychological reversal.

Various alternative wordings are possible within this general format, acknowledging the problem and creating an affirmation of self-acceptance despite the existence of the problem. The format shown here, however, is easy to memorize and has been used widely with good reports. Alternatives might include "I deserve to feel good," "I know that God loves me," or "I know deep down that I am a good and worthy person." Choose an affirming phrase that resonates for you. An alternative to the phrase, "I deeply love and accept myself," when working with children, might be along the lines of "I know I’m a great kid deep inside."

As described in the Basic Basics module and reviewed here, other formats have also been used. A popular one, psychologist Patricia Carrington’s "Choices method," emphasizes choice rather than self-acceptance, e.g., "Even though I have neglected my body, I choose to know that I deserve to have the time for regular, enjoyable exercise," or "Even though I still focus on my son’s shortcomings, I choose to know that I deeply and completely accept him." The strategy is to stimulate energy points that help pair a statement about a negative situation with a positive cognition. This reprograms the thought about the negative situation to become an anchor or trigger for a positive choice.

Writing to her colleagues the day after 9-11 on how to help people deal with the psychological aftermath of the attack, Dr. Carrington suggested using phrasings such as "Even though I am stunned and bewildered by this terrible happening, I choose to learn something absolutely essential for my own life from this event" or "Even though . . . , I choose to be a still point amidst all the chaos" or "I choose to have this dreadful event open my heart" or "I choose to sense the Divine intent for a greater good in all this."

An ENERGY INTERVENTION is the second part of the set-up affirmation. As you will be learning throughout this program, the body’s energy system can be affected by rubbing, tapping, stretching, holding, or tracing specific points or areas on the surface of the body.

The effectiveness of the set-up affirmation can be increased substantially by rubbing either or both of two points, called the "sore spots."

Located in the upper left and right portions of the chest, you can find them by pressing in on various points until you find one or more that are sore. This is the area you will rub while stating the affirmation 3 times. You may want to rub an area on each side simultaneously. :

The "sore spots" are neurolymphatic points where toxins tend to accumulate, thus blocking the flow of the body’s energies. Soreness is felt as clusters of toxins are broken apart by rubbing the points, dispersing them for elimination and opening a flow of energy to the heart, chest cavity, and entire body. You may want to rub both sides simultaneously.

Rubbing the sore spot should not cause more than a little discomfort. If it does, lighten your pressure a bit. Also, if you've had an operation in that area of the chest or if there is any medical reason that you shouldn't be probing in that specific area, switch to the other side.

By continuing with this module, you will learn to distinguish among four types of psychological reversal that tend to interfere with treatment. You will learn how to resolve each using relatively simple methods that combine cognitive and energetic techniques.

You are, however, again at a choice point about whether to go into greater depth within this module or jump to the next module. This is the last such choice point. The subsequent modules should be studied in their entirety in the order they are presented. Developing skills in energy checking, correcting neurological disorganization, and resolving psychological  reversals, however, can be more meaningful once you see how they fit into the overall treatment approach.

If you jump to the next module at this point, you will already have a good idea of what is meant by the term psychological reversal, and you will already know a simple generic correction procedure. The program will make it evident when you need a more advanced understanding and you may return to this module at those times. Either way will work.

While all psychological reversals interfere with a person’s capacity to achieve a desired goal, there are two basic types:

1. Global PRs are linked to the desire to be happy or fulfilled. All other treatment goals can be undermined if they are operating.

"I want to be happy" (conscious desire) vs. "I don’t want to be happy" (agenda that is outside of awareness and often enmeshed with one’s self-concept and early programming)

2. Specific-context PRs are linked to the desire to solve a specific problem or reach a specific goal. When that problem or goal is the focus of the therapy, treatment will be compromised.

"I want to quit smoking" (desire with which the person identifies) vs. "I don’t want to quit smoking" (desire with which the person does not identify).

Global PRs are involved with large thematic issues, such as esteem, self-concept, core attitudes, and basic lifestyle choices that globally impact many aspects of the person’s life. Specific-context PRS are specific to a more concrete problem or goal that might be the immediate focus in psychotherapy. Both global and specific-context PRs appear in two variations.

Most of the psychological reversals you will work with during treatment sessions are specific to the problem being focused upon (specific-context PRs).

GLOBAL PRs, on the other hand, operate more generally, subsuming specific issues and impacting many aspects of the person’s life.

SPECIFIC-CONTEXT PSYCHOLOGICAL REVERSALS appear within a given type of situation. They are of particular concern when the situation is related to a treatment goal because they involve a conflict regarding the desire to reach the goal or solve the designated problem.

Once the treatment goal or target problem has been specified, the presence of a specific-context PR can be confirmed, or ruled out, by energy checking a statement such as: "I want  to get over this problem."

If the indicator muscle loses firmness, a reversal exists; if it stays firm, a reversal is not operating.

A specific-context psychological reversal is operating if an indicator muscle loses firmness with the following types of statements:

I want to get over this problem.

I want to get over [specifically describe the problem, e.g. "my anxiety around powerful men"].

I want to be able [describe specific goal, e.g., "to create more time for spiritual development."].

A specific-context PR is also indicated if the muscle stays firm with the following sorts of statements:

"I want to keep this problem."

"I want to keep [specifically describe the problem]."

"I don’t want to get over this problem."

"I don’t want to be able to [describe specific goal]."

Criteria-related PRs might operate only in a narrow area of the person’s life (criteria-related  specific-context PR) or might have a more widespread impact (criteria-related global PR).

Statements that will, based on an energy check show whether criteria-related psychological reversals are operating include:

INTERVENING PSYCHOLOGICAL REVERSALS, by definition, appear only after treatment is underway. This type of PR is distinguished by when it emerges. Where a PR about the presenting problem or treatment goal detected at the outset of treatment is called a specific-context PR, an intervening PR appears after gains have been made in the treatment. The energy techniques that had been working no longer result in subjective improvement or in positive energy shifts as revealed by energy tests. It is as if an invisible barrier has been hit. Progress may cease or there may be a resurgence of the problem, as if the treatment is bouncing off the barrier.

An intervening psychological reversal is operating if an indicator muscle loses strength during statements that emphasize the idea of completely overcoming the problem:

I want to get completely over this problem [or specify problem, e.g., my obsession for cars I can't afford].

I want to completely reach my goal [or specify goal, e.g., master this program].

The statement can also be worded in the opposite way. If an intervening PR is present, the muscle will stay firm during statements such as:

I want to keep some of this problem [or, some of my obsession for cars I can't afford].

I do not want to completely reach my goal [or, completely master this topic]

The appearance of an intervening PR can be discouraging to both the client and the practitioner, and it might be caused by a variety of factors.

that do not conform to the person’s intentions.

Interventions for resolving a psychological reversal have both cognitive and energy components.

While the cognitive dimension of the intervention strategy has many varieties, these variations tend to share a common format.

In working with a psychological reversal, an affirmation or self-suggestion along the lines of "I deeply love and accept myself" is paired with an acknowledgement of the problem that has been targeted for change.

This reframes the issue from a polarized conflict, where only one side can win, into a negotiation where the issues of concern to both sides can be considered. The reasons for the conflict may or may not come to light. Perhaps the fear of authority traces to a specific incident of humiliation, a pattern of abuse, or an unresolved issue with a parent. The heart has its reasons which reason does not know. Whatever the etiology of the conflict about the stated goal, the side with which the person is not consciously identified can move out of a defensive posture when it is acknowledged and accepted.

The reframe seems to address another key issue involving psychological interventions for emotional, cognitive, or behavioral change. Every human culture shapes the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and behavior of its young through a system of reinforcements and punishments. Parental and social injunctions then become internalized.

Many of these reinforcements and punishments target the child’s self-esteem. When these injunctions are violated, self-negating internalized statements follow, from the toddler’s "Bad Robbie, spilled the milk. Bad. Bad!!!" to all variations of adult guilt and self-recrimination.

When, as an adult, you target something about yourself for change, this mechanism of self-judgment and self-negation tends to become engaged. You have the idea "I want to exercise more regularly," and your self-esteem is held ransom when you do not carry out the desired behavior (or bring about a desired internal change).

The correction for such a psychological reversal, as we’ve seen, includes a statement in the form of "Even if I" or "Even though I" (followed by a description of a mental state or behavior targeted for change—for example, "Even if I never exercise regularly" or "Even if I’ll always  be afraid of people in authority"), "I deeply love and accept myself." A statement of this nature, made with focus and intent tends, we can speculate, to circumvent the entire self-negating sequence.

While this in itself shifts the energy system, the effectiveness of this cognitive technique is substantially enhanced when it is paired with an intervention that energetically supports the affirmation (i.e., pairing the self-affirming cognitive statement with an energy intervention that simultaneously optimizes the flow of the meridian energies).

The basic energy principle to understand when faced with a psychological reversal is that when a conflict between a consciously held intention for change and an unconsciously held intention to resist change is activated, there will be a corresponding conflict in the meridian energies.

The psychological issues involved in a PR may involve any of the rich and varied dimensions of the psyche. Within the energy system, however, the issue is simple: mobilize the body’s energies to resist a consciously initiated change or to support that change. In a psychological reversal, the conscious intention is to initiate change while the body’s energies, driven by inner conflict, are mobilizing to resist it.

Such internal conflict is not unusual. Initiating change, even constructive change, is fundamentally disruptive to the homeostasis of the body’s energy system.

Established codes of behavior, patterns of emotion, and habits of thought are hard-won compromises among many competing agendas and possibilities. The body’s energies constellate themselves to support and maintain these established solutions.

When the conscious mind says, "I want to make a change," the energy system charged with maintaining established patterns is immediately engaged.

TRIPLE WARMER controls the activation of the immune response, the fight-or-flight response, and the body’s habitual responses to stress or threat.

Its primary concern is survival. When triple warmer goes on alert, its "authority" supercedes most other energy systems in the body.

When you decide to initiate change, triple warmer is instantly activated and poised to resist any changes you intend to initiate. After all, the status quo has worked until now. You have  survived!

Triple warmer is not concerned with your happiness, sense of meaning, or fulfillment— only your survival. It is oriented to fight change, and it can mobilize the meridians and other energy systems to maintain established patterns of thought and behavior.

It may sound as if triple warmer is being personified here, but few reading these words have not been impressed by the "intelligence" of the immune system or elegance of the fight-or-flight response, both governed by triple warmer. All you really need to know if you are not familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine is that triple warmer is the energy system that governs the adrenals and the amygdala. When threatened, triple warmer can take control of your mood, combat your will, even extinguish your memory about what you were resolved to do. It is a powerful though largely unrecognized force within the body’s energy system

The energy system is aligned with established patterns. Desired changes, however worthy, are unfamiliar and jarring, and triple warmer is instantly activated to protect the existing energetic alignment.

The basic approach to working with a psychological reversal involves an affirmation or self-suggestion paired with the stimulation of an energy point.

1. Begin with "Even if" or "Even though."
    

2. Describe or acknowledge the target problem or the goal that is to be achieved.
    

3. End with words similar to "I deeply love and accept myself," "I fully love and accept myself," etc.

The self-suggestion also uses qualifiers and syntax that mirror the format of the statement used to energy check for the psychological reversal being addressed.

"Even if I don’t want to be happy, I deeply love and accept myself."

A self-suggestion worded for a SPECIFIC-CONTEXT PR:

"Even if I am the one at work who keeps getting confused, I deeply love and accept myself." (This differs from a global PR in its focus on a specific issue.)

For INTERVENING PRS, the self-suggestion will include the words "still" or "some" or "somewhat":

"Even if I am still the one in the group who keeps getting confused, I deeply love and accept myself."

For CRITERIA-RELATED PRs, the self-suggestion includes a description of the criteria:

"Even if it is my role to be the one in the group who gets confused [or "Even if it is not safe not to be confused," or "Even if I deserve to be confused," etc.], I deeply love and accept myself."

Self-suggestions designed to address criteria-related PRs may focus on a global issue or a specific context.

CRITERIA-RELATED GLOBAL PR: "Even if I deserve to be unhappy, I deeply love and  accept myself."

For an INTERVENING GLOBAL PR, insert "still" and/or "somewhat": "Even if I still deserve to be somewhat unhappy . . . ."

CRITERIA-RELATED SPECIFIC-CONTEXT PR: "Even if I deserve to be intimidated  around powerful men, I deeply love and accept myself."

For an INTERVENING SPECIFIC-CONTEXT PR, insert "still" and/or "somewhat": "Even if I still deserve to be intimidated around powerful men, I deeply love and accept myself."

For other criteria, substitute "I deserve to be" with:

it’s still not safe if I were no longer . . .

it’s still not safe for others if I were no longer . . .

it’s still not possible for me to no longer be . . .

I still won’t allow myself to no longer be . . .

I still won’t do what’s necessary to no longer be . . .

it still won’t be good for me to no longer be . . .

it still won’t be good for others for me to no longer be . . .

I still would be deprived if I were no longer . . .

I still would lose an essential aspect of who I am if I were no longer . . .

This of course appears formulistic when you are first learning it. The "formulas" are simply devices to keep your intuition alert to the presence of psychological reversals, which can be decisive obstacles to a successful treatment outcome.

In practice, it is not necessary to track whether you are checking, for instance, for a specific-context or an intervening psychological reversal. If the check is performed prior to other energy interventions, you are not checking for an intervening PR. If the check is performed after treatment that had been progressing becomes stalled, you are. Being able to label the distinctions is most important in coming to understand the nature of PRs in their various forms.

Once you have this understanding, your focus while working with PRs will be on the intricate dance between you, your client’s conscious intention, and your client’s unconscious dynamics in relationship to that intention. Rely on your intuition while keeping the formulas in your back pocket.

For example, an 85-year-old man, whose mind has remained very sharp, is nonetheless increasingly unable to think of common words. This experience, which happens several times each week, has become the cause of considerable anxiety and concern about declining mental abilities. Assurances from others that he is "just fine" make him feel worse and his own attempts at self-assurance also make him more anxious and deeply convinced that senility is setting in. The affirmation "Even though I sometimes cannot remember the  correct word, I know my mind is still strong and clear," combined with the stimulation of an energy point, rapidly shifts the constellation so that he is able to keep the occasional mental lapses in perspective and appreciate the preponderance of ways in which his mind is still robust. The second phrase could be "I deeply love and accept myself," but the phrase "I  know my mind is still strong and clear" speaks more directly to the issue. You do not have to be limited by the formulas. A sophisticated and less "canned" approach to formulating an affirmation that addresses a psychological reversal is the "Choices Method."

Still, having the wording for energy checks of the most common PRs in your back pocket can be quite handy. Prior to the energy interventions you will learn in subsequent modules, you might routinely energy check for a number of likely psychological reversals, using statements such as:

Your intuition might suggest other criteria, such as:

"I will lose my identity if I get over this problem," "I will allow myself to get over this problem," "Others do not deserve to have me get over this problem," etc.

If treatment stalls, you can check for a variety of intervening psychological reversals by simply inserting the word "completely":

"I want to be completely over this problem."

Of course it is not just a matter of mechanically applying the formulas. The client’s history and the relationship of the client’s life context to the treatment goals remain in your mind as you stay alert for psychological reversals. Once you have internalized the principles, you will be able to easily devise protocols individualized for the situation. Nonetheless, practitioners who are new to energy psychology frequently express surprise at how easily and how often the simple formulas alone result in the detection and demonstrable resolution of psychological reversals.

With the limitations of over-reliance on formulas duly emphasized (it should also be noted that not all energy-based psychotherapists address psychological reversals in the explicit manner outlined in this module), the basic approach to working with a psychological reversal is:

1. Identify the presence and type of psychological reversal via an energy check.
    

2. Formulate an "Even if [. . .], I deeply love and accept myself" self-statement worded for the type of PR that has been identified.
    

3. Use an energy intervention that can help overcome a PR while stating the self-suggestion, with focus and intention, several times.

Any of these techniques is likely to be effective. Many of their actions are identical—they all pair a self-suggestion that embraces both sides of the reversal with an energetic boost—but each also has special strengths.

The procedure might, for instance, stimulate the electrical connections among all the meridians and between the front and back portions of the brain (the hook-up), metabolize contradictory information (spleen tap), work with the fight-or-flight response (the gamut  point), resolve psychological reversals related to stress, grief, or pride (the sore spots), or support choices about what information to incorporate (small intestine meridian, one of the karate chop points).

The simplest approach is to apply one of the methods and then do another energy check of the statement that identified the psychological reversal. If it has not been corrected, try another energy treatment while repeating the same affirmation (also, consider that the affirmation may need to be adjusted). Whether a particular energy technique is going to be effective in a specific instance varies from one case to the next, but any of the five techniques will work most of the time.

Begin with the psychological reversals you and your partner identified during Practice Session 1. Formulate the affirmations and experiment with the above energy interventions for resolving each of your partner’s PRs. Then instruct your partner on how to carry out the procedure for you. Enlist several other people to check for psychological reversals and correct any you identify.

With the completion of this module, you have been introduced to several of the fundamentals of energy psychology. In the following module, you will see how skills in energy checking, detecting and correcting for neurological disorganization, and identifying and resolving psychological reversals come together in the opening phases of treatment.