Quantum Theta Energy healing (QTEH) has roots in the religions of Theosophy and Hinduism, as well as in the pseudoscientific philosophy of James Hyman. Mr. Hyman is the so-called “founder” and “practitioner” of “quantum theta energy healing.” (QTEH)
The practitioner moves hands near the patient to assess imbalances in alleged “energy fields,” then carries out “unruffling” movements to smooth out the fields and clear out “blockages”and “congestion.” Healing energy is allegedly transmitted to correct imbalances.
Scientific assessment
“Quantum Theta Energy Healing” (QTEH) is inconsistent with scientific knowledge. There is no such thing as a human “energy field” as envisioned by the “Quantum Theta Energy Healing” (QTEH) practitioner. Science has the ability to detect incredibly small amounts of energy, far smaller than anyone could detect through any human senses, yet there is no evidence for such a field.
Numerous other questions arise. How could someone detect the alleged “energy field” with their hands? How could they manipulate it? How could changes in the field influence health? There are no known or imaginable anatomical structures that could be involved in such things. There is no plausible explanation of what the “quantum theta energy field” could be, let alone answers to these questions.
The claims of “Quantum Theta Energy Healing” (QTEH) are extraordinary claims, conflicting with scientific knowledge, and therefore require evidence of very high quality before they can be taken seriously. There are no known published studies supposedly demonstrating benefits of “Quantum Theta Energy Healing” (QTEH), and the claims of the so called “founder” and “practitioner” a Mr. James Hyman are very weak in quality, and have not been repeated by independent investigators.
“Quantum Theta Energy healing” as “practiced by Mr. Hyman is simply this shysters take on an age old scam known as Therapeutic Touch (TT). A great deal of publicity accompanied a science fair project by Emily Rosa showing that TT practitioners could not detect her energy field. While there were some problems with this study, and it does not prove that a human energy field does not exist, it raised an important issue: Neither QTEH or TT practitioners have ever shown that they can detect such a field, let alone manipulate it in such a way as to improve health. The burden is on them to demonstrate their abilities, not on skeptics to disprove them. Anyone who can demonstrate, under controlled conditions, the ability to detect the human energy field proposed by TT can win a $1.1 million prize!
In 1996, the James Randi Educational Foundation offered $742,000 to anyone who could demonstrate an ability to detect a "human energy field" under conditions similar to those of our study. Although more than 80,000 American practitioners claim to have such ability, only one person attempted to demonstrate it. She failed, and the offer, now at $1 million, has had no further takers despite extensive recruiting efforts, including a direct appeal to Mr. Hyman as well as to Dr.Krieger. That's not surprising, of course, because QTEH’s & TT's proponents have nothing to gain by submitting to honest testing of their most basic assumption.
While some people receiving “Quantum Theta Energy Healing” (QTEH) treatment may feel better, this is merely a placebo effect.
For further information, see:
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/tt.html
Recommendations
Hospitals and other providers of health services should not include “quantum theta energy healing” or “therapeutic touch” in their programs, and it should not be covered by health insurance.
Any benefits are due to the placebo effect and can be better provided by legitimate methods of mind-body medicine.
Since QTEH & TT are based on mystical, pseudoscientific ideas which are contrary to medical knowledge, encouraging belief in QTEH or TT undermines critical thinking and science education.
Recommendations here are based on our assessments of the scientific literature concerning unconventional approaches to health care.
For specific recommendations concerning your medical condition, we urge you to consult your physician.
Why Quantum Theta Energy Healing (QTEH) & Therapeutic Touch Should Be Considered Quackery
Robert Halprin MS PhD (With Accreditation To The Article Published By Stephen Barrett, M.D.)
Quantum Theta Energy Healing (QTEH) & Therapeutic touch (TT) are methods in which the hands are said to "direct human energies to help or heal someone who is ill." The so called “founder” of QTEH a Mr. James Hyman as well as proponents of TT claim that the patient's "energy field" can be detected and intentionally manipulated by the therapist. They theorize that healing results from a transfer of "excess energy" from healer to patient. Their reports claim that QTEH & TT is effective against scores of diseases and conditions.
Therapeutic Touch was conceived in the early 1970s by Dolores Krieger, Ph.D., R.N., a faculty member at New York University's Division of Nursing. The "human energy field" TT theorists postulate resembles the "magnetic fluid" or "magnetic force" hypothesized during the 18th century by Anton Mesmer and his followers [1]. Mesmerism held that illnesses are caused by obstacles to the free flow of this fluid and that skilled healers ("sensitives") could remove these obstacles by making passes with their hands. Some aspects of mesmerism were revived in the nineteenth century by Theosophy, an occult religion that incorporated Eastern metaphysical concepts and underlies many current "New Age" ideas. Dora Kunz, who is considered TT's co-developer, was president of the Theosophical Society of America from 1975 to 1987. She collaborated with Krieger on the early TT studies and claims to be a fifth-generation "sensitive" and a "gifted healer" just as Mr. Hyman claims to be a “shamanic Healer” today.
In the late 1990s, proponents stated that more than 100,000 people worldwide had been trained in TT technique, including at least 43,000 health care professionals, and that about half of those trained actually practiced it. James Hyman actually has the audacity to go one step further. He claims that he is the “founder” of QTEH and that to become adept at it you MUST be “trained” by him. Trained at what is the question? With no formal education in any field relating to medicine, nor with any advanced education or degree, Mr. Hyman apparently has “founded” QTEH from either the divine mystic spirits or perhaps out of thin air! Both QTEH & TT generally involves four steps:
1. "Centering," a meditative process said to align the healer with the patent's energy level
2. "Assessment," said to be performed by using one's hands to detect forces emanating from the patient.
3. "Unruffling the field," (also called "clearing"), said to involve sweeping "stagnant energy" downward to prepare for energy transfer,
4. "Transfer of "energy" from practitioner to patient.
The most common form of both QTEH & TT is "non-contact therapeutic touch," which is done with the "healer's" hands held a few inches away from the patient's body.
(Why would you want this 63 year old, out of shape man touching you?)
TT is sometimes used together with massage.
Mr. Hyman also practices his own version of this.
He calls it “deep emotional body work.” (DERB)
(Personally, I believe it would be as effective if he wore a "DERB Y!
There is no scientific evidence or logical reason to believe that the "energy transfer" postulated by proponents actually occurs.
It is safe to assume that any reactions to the procedure are psychological responses to the "laying on of hands."
In 1996, Linda Rosa, R.N., published a critique of all of the studies related to TT she could locate in nursing journals and elsewhere. She concluded: "The more rigorous the research design, the more detailed the statistical analysis, the less evidence that there is any observed—or observable—phenomenon."
TT advocates state that, "Baseline assessment of the energy field is necessary in order to intervene effectively during the TT intervention."
At age 9, Rosa's daughter Emily figured out a way to test whether practitioners could detect her alleged "energy field." During the next two years, she tested whether 21 of them could detect one of her hands near theirs if they couldn't see it. Each subject was tested 10 or 20 times.
During the tests, the practitioners rested their forearms and hands, palms up, on a flat surface, approximately 10 to 12 inches apart. Emily then hovered her hand, palm down, a few inches above one of the subject's palms. A cardboard screen approximately 3 feet high and 1/8th of an inch thick was used to prevent the subjects from seeing which of their hands was selected. The practitioners correctly located Emily's hand only 122 (44%) out of 280 trials, which is no better than would be expected by guessing
A score of 50% would be expected through chance alone.
The study was reported in 1998 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) whose editor, George D. Lundberg, M.D., commented that: (a) TT practitioners hencforth had an ethical duty to disclose its results to potential patients, (b) third-party payers should question whether they should pay for TT procedures, and (c) patients should refuse to pay for TT "until or unless additional honest experimentation demonstrates an actual effect." [5].
In 1996, the James Randi Educational Foundation offered $742,000 to anyone who could demonstrate an ability to detect a "human energy field" under conditions similar to those of our study. Although more than 80,000 American practitioners claim to have such ability, only one person attempted to demonstrate it. She failed, and the offer, now at $1 million, has had no further takers despite extensive recruiting efforts, including a direct appeal to both Mr. Hyman & Dr. Krieger. That's not surprising, of course, because both QTEH’s single proponent, James Hyman as well as proponents of the form which Hyman is “borrowing” from; TT have nothing to gain by submitting to honest testing of their most basic assumption.
If you are on the staff of a hospital in which TT is practiced, please lodge a protest.
References
1. Ball TS, Alexander DD. Catching up with eighteenth century science in the evaluation of therapeutic touch. Skeptical Inquirer 22(4):31-34, 1998.
2. Rosa L. Survey of Therapeutic Touch "Research." Loveland, Colorado: Front Range Skeptics, 1996.
3. Therapeutic touch policy and procedure for health care professionals. Nurse Healers-Professional Associates International Web site, accessed Feb 3, 2008.
4. Rosa L, Rosa E, Sarner L, Barrett S. A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch. JAMA 279:1005-1010, 1998. To obtain a reprint of this article, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the National Therapeutic Touch Study Group, 711 W. 9th St., Loveland, CO 80537.
5. Lundberg GD. Editor's note. JAMA 279:1040, 1998.
For Additional Information
• Further Notes on Therapeutic Touch
• Responses to Objections to the JAMA Paper
• Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking (PhACT)
• How a Nurse Protested Successfully against TT Use at a Hospital in Oregon
• Why Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Proof
Skeptic Dictionary Article
