Using emotional core therapy to effectively treat those individuals suffering debilitating physical injuries requiring rehabilitation

doi:10.15406/ipmrj.2018.03.00120

eISSN: 2574-9838

International Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Journal

Review Article Volume 3 Issue 4

Using emotional core therapy to effectively treat those individuals suffering debilitating physical injuries requiring rehabilitation

Robert A Moylan

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Private Practice, North-western University, USA

Correspondence: Robert A Moylan, LCPC, Private Practice, North-Western University, Greater Chicago, USA, Tel 6307881100, Fax 6302450337

Received: June 13, 2018 | Published: July 20, 2018

Citation: Moylan RA. Using emotional core therapy to effectively treat those individuals suffering debilitating physical injuries requiring rehabilitation. Int Phys Med Rehab J. 2018;3(4):304-307. DOI: 10.15406/ipmrj.2018.03.00120

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Abstract

Today I am honored and privileged to share with the International Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Journal an important discovery from the field of psychology. We now have a psychology approach that is able to treat the root cause of those afflicted with physical ailments needing rehabilitation. Stress, in the form of physical injuries vary in the degree of frequency, intensity, and duration. From minor slips and falls to quadriplegia, human being suffers physical ailments of varying degrees. Often times, this can lead to weeks and months in rehabilitation centers. Physical pain can cause great stress on the mind. Financial stress, including hospital bills can cause further stress. Being away from family and friends can often mean less support and energy. This in turn can hamper recovery and rehabilitation efforts. Often time, individuals need pain medication to cope with the unnerving pain. Coupled with all this, loved ones also can feel debilitating stress worrying about the long term progress of those afflicted with serious physical injuries and ailments.

Now, with Emotional Core Therapy, we have a psychological process that treats the root cause of all of the above stressors. All of the above stressors have one aspect in common. The above stressors, like any psychological stress, can cause further stress on the mind and body. Why does this dynamic occur? Psychic stress is caused by the temporary arousal of one of the four true and authentic emotions. The four true emotions are joy, grief, fear, and relief. These four emotions evolve from entering and leaving relationships. Grief and fear vary in intensity from person to person. For example, a heavyweight professional boxer is likely to absorb a punch from a 250 pound man much better than an eleven year old, sixty five pound child. Perception of stress varies from person, depending on their own world view.

From the time human beings are infants till their passing, the four true emotions serve as a navigation tool for all humans. Generally speaking, we want to choose and move towards relationships that bring joy and relief. We want to disengage and leave relationships that bring rehabilitating individuals grief and fear. Herein lies the dilemma facing medical doctors and staff treating those afflicted with serious physical ailments. How do hospital and health services staff impart psychological relief and remedies to those injured and needing rehabilitation services? After all, patients enter treatment with varying degrees of psychical pain. Patients also enter treatment with varying educational levels. Indeed, as mentioned above, patients perceive physical stress differently also. Therefore, assessment and treatment go hand in hand. One cannot treat a patient successfully unless one assesses them first accurately. All these difficult decisions can be answered more easily and readily with the mastering of the Emotional Core Therapy Process. Below you will see the process used to treat the root cause of stress for those afflicted with serious long term injuries.

Keywords: behavioral psychology, empathy, catharsis, self soothing, emotional well being

Abbreviations

real nervous souls experience bodily stress racing everywhere (Acronym for 8 steps). R, relationships; N, needs; S, five senses; E, emotions; B, bodily; S, symptoms; R, releasing process; E, equilibrium balanced. every feeling soul prospers (Acronym for the four needs that can cause us stress). E, emotional; F, financial; S, spiritual; P, physical; just get for real (Acronym for the four true emotions). J, joy; G, grief; F, fear; R, relief

Introduction

The Emotional Core Therapy Process is the most effective psychology approach available worldwide to treat the true cause of psychological and relationship stress. This includes the psychological stress associated with physical injuries and trauma to the body. Emotional Core Therapy works well within the medical model as the process empowers the patient in an empathetic manner. Often times, patients need clarification on which behavioral psychology technique or medication they choose to use. Getting that information to the patient in a timely manner is critical to recovery.

A therapist trained in Emotional Core Therapy can work within the parameters of a rehabilitation facility rather well, if used properly. As mentioned, often time’s physical pain can be debilitating, thus causing undue stress on the mind. This psychological stress needs to be readily identified and treated or the possibility of exacerbating stress on the mind and body can occur. As mentioned, stress facing patients is either grief or fear. Likely, a combination of both occurs when the pain is burdensome.

Emotional Core Therapy has an eight step process. These eight steps occur in every relationship encounter an ailing person encounters in the hospital or rehabilitation center. These eight steps are listed at the bottom of this article. Principally speaking, the needs placed on patients can be excessive. Emotional Core Therapy compartmentalizes these needs into four categories. By simplifying the needs one faces, the patient has a better chance of then releasing and learning from the situational stress they encounter. The four needs are 1) Emotional 2) Financial 3) Physical 4) Spiritual. Generally speaking, physical and emotional needs can weigh quite heavily on patients. But every patient is different in the needs they encounter. An example of this is a construction worker who is in a rehabilitation center for a hip replacement and shoulder surgery. With Emotional Core Therapy, we have patients rate their pain from one to ten. So this hypothetical patient, two days removed from surgery, reports a pain level of a 8.5. Higher levels of pain can lead to toxic stress of grief and fear. An empathetic therapist can often offer some relief by identifying and relieving, as much as possible this stress.

Integral to the Emotional Core Therapy process is learning to release the four authentic emotions discussed at the beginning of this research article. Emotional Core Therapy can incorporate any psychological technique that is has demonstrated to be effective using scientific evidence. Some techniques used are verbalization or written exercises as they are often the two readily available at all times. Expressive therapies such as art or music therapy. Gestalt therapy, role playing, psychodrama, etc. The Emotional Core Therapy training video and books have a list of the more common psychological tools utilized by rehabilitation counselors and therapists in general. The Emotional Core Therapy training video is linked below.

There exists a cause and effect relationship to stress. The eight steps happen in every stressful encounter. Key to helping patients suffering physical pain is to teach them ECT in an appropriate manner in an as little time as possible. When I work with those suffering physical pain I remind them of the helpful readability of my seven Emotional Core Therapy books. Each chapter can help them process their stress. Chapters exist on grief, otherwise known as depression. Anxiety, otherwise known as fear or dread. Anger, which is a reaction to grief. Anger elevates the central nervous system, much like fear. We want as little anger and fear as possible with those suffering physical pain. Acceptance is the key. It often takes between 20, to 30 hours or more to master the ECT process. You have to accept the patient where they are emotionally and help them at each stage. Once a patient fully learns ECT, they have a psychological process they can use for almost any stress they encounter once they leave the hospital or treatment center for their injuries.

Another aspect that is very empowering for patient’s deals with the last step of the Emotional Core Therapy Chart 1. The last step has patients return to a balanced equilibrium. An easy way to remember this step is to review mindfulness or prayer techniques that most therapists are trained in to help calm a client down. Mindfulness has one stay in the here and now and focus on taking calm, deep breaths. Mindfulness is an excellent way to reset after encountering something stressful. My books and videos list many other examples. For spiritual people, Emotional Core Therapy has books for Christians and the five other major religions. All seven can be reviewed on Amazon.com. Amazon has a “Look Inside” feature so one can easily review the key aspects of ECT at no charge. The point needs to be made that Emotional Core Therapy can be tailored to those with a spiritual approach as well as those who are agnostic or atheist. Giving hope to those afflicted with serious emotional and physical pain means tapping into all of the available resources at hand. Often times, this means the temporary or long term medication management. Emotional Core Therapy treats medication management as it does any other relationship a patient chooses. The key aspect of Emotional Core Therapy is examining the needs that make up the relationship one enters into. So for in the example above, for a client coming off of major hip and shoulder surgery. Often times this means the temporary use of powerful painkillers or muscle relaxers. It is critically important to explain to the patient the short term and long term side effects. Also, the addictive tendencies of each medication needs to be clearly articulated to the patient at hand. Often times, extreme physical pain means a combination of medications for the patient. It is very important to explain clearly the synergistic effects of taking several medications. Often times there is a multiplied effect of the drug one is using. By empowering the patient by having them informed, the chances for overmedicating or accidents is lessoned. With medications, there is often a trial and error approach. So, working with the patient by keeping him informed and getting his feedback of the effectiveness of the drug is critical to proper medication management.

Chart 1 Emotional Core Therapy Flowchart.

Materials and methods

Since each person is unique in how they identify and treat relationship stress, the basic tools you need to prove effectiveness are your own personal stressful events, my Emotional Core Therapy book and training videos which are provided below for free. In addition, utilizing the available psychology techniques used to identify and treat and release stress can be accessed through the therapist working with the patient. This varies from therapist to therapist. What I try and have patients do is make a list of ten to twenty stressful events in one’s life. For example, a patient can complain of 1) sharp lower back and hip pain from a construction accident. 2) Lack of sleep related to feeling irritable and sad from his psychological and physical pain. 3) Feeling lethargic and groggy from several medications he is taking, including painkillers and muscle relaxers. 4) Financial stress from being off work. 5) Feeling stress from family members that he is interacting with, while in debilitating pain. 6) Feeling sad because he cannot do the physical things he used to naturally be able to do, including routine household chores. 7) Lack of peer group and support group interaction while being bedridden and impaired physically. 8) Concerns about long term future.

As the patient identifies all these key stresses in his life. Several important aspects to recovery occur while in treatment using Emotional Core Therapy. The patient has an eight step process that clearly examines how to identify and treat this situational stress. The patient also sees the temporary nature of stress and recognizes that there exists hope, if treated properly. Remember, Emotional Core Therapy is effective in treating long term stress where no permanent physical or psychological damage has occurred. Certainly, nearly all rehabilitation counselors recognize that those suffering permanent long term damage to their body or mind present challenges, not discussed in this research article. Isolating the problem facing this patient is integral to treatment. All stress can be reduced to the four true emotions. These are, joy, grief, fear, and relief. By flushing out these stressful events in one’s life, we have a much better chance at recovery. A key aspect in treatment is to not repeat the same behavior over again that causes one stress. Often times, I see patients, who depend on their career in construction, for example, for financial well being. Hence, they may choose to ignore pain and counseling and pursue a path of treatment which can cause further damage. For example, in the situation just described with the construction worker. If this patient continues to lift heavy objects while in treatment, he may exacerbate the physical pain he is experiencing. Compassion and empathy are key traits of an emotional core therapy approach as people need ample time to relearn positive self soothing techniques, such as bending and lifting properly. Also, perhaps, lifting less weight and for shorter periods of time.

Results

The Emotional Core Therapy model is the only psychological approach currently available worldwide that has never been disproven. Since each person varies in body type, emotional development, and range of injury, you will always have varied outcomes when testing the process. What does not change are the eight steps. They happen no matter what the stress is that the patient faces. For this reason, all staff of a rehabilitation center (including doctors and nurses, need to become familiar with the ECT process. Learning ECT is much easier than it looks. All one has to do is list 10-20 stressful events in one’s life. List those stressful events down on a sheet of paper. Then try and process them through your behavioral psychology approach you are currently using. Then do the same with Emotional Core Therapy. It is fascinating to see for oneself that all stress evolves from one of four true emotions. (joy, grief, fear, and relief). Once you master the process, you will begin to start seeing better results and better relationships with your clients and patients.

Although many people have utilized parts or all of the ECT process successfully to identify and treat stress, these results only provide circumstantial proof of effectiveness. For direct scientific proof, one needs to utilize the eight step process oneself. See guidelines on scientific evidence below along with the journal review on how to proceed. The entire manuscript of Emotional Core Therapy and the rules of scientific evidence are in the Valley International Journal article below. Scientific evidence can be done with the naked eye. In the case of psychology approaches, this is the most optimum way of demonstrating effectiveness. Each patient is unique in the experiences and relationships they choose that cause them stress. Further, each patient perceives stress differently. Further, each patient takes on additional relationship stress while in treatment. Those factors being considered, no single measurement can ever exist to measure the cause and effect relationship of stress and attribute a behavioral psychology model such as Emotional Core Therapy as the deciding and concluding factor in the successful treatment of a particular injury. Further, psychic and physical pain often times improves over time. All a behavioral psychology model such as Emotional Core Therapy can do is empower patients to make sound decisions that will have minimal impact of stress on their body and mind. This is the goal of all healers and therapists. Yet, only Emotional Core Therapy does this effectively by providing a behavioral psychology model that treats the root cause of stress each and every time you use it.

All we can do is empower patients to make healthy choices about the relationships they are entering into. For the construction worker above, we hope that he follows the treatment protocol of examining each relationship to ensure it brings him joy, not fear or grief. This often takes time. Sometimes weeks and months. The benefits are readily seen once the patient is fully aware of the Emotional Core Therapy process. It also takes time to be fully informed about the relationships in his external environment that cause him stress. For example, lifting a 75 pound workbench in an improper lifting motion can be harmful to a critically injured patient. Taking medications that can cause addictions and that have severe side effects can also be harmful.

One aspect of Emotional Core Therapy never changes throughout this process. There exist eight steps to the cause and effect relationship with stress. All of the stress this construction worker faces can be identified and processed though these eight steps. Since all other behavioral psychology approaches redirect one’s emotions from how they truly feel, why would one use them if you have a proper method to use such as Emotional Core Therapy? For a complete understanding of Emotional Core Therapy, please visit the attached journal articles on Emotional Core Therapy which address other aspects of the ECT Process not discussed here.^1–12

Conclusion

All able bodied human beings suffer physical pain and discomfort from time to time. Every effort needs to be taken to ensure they receive the most effective treatment for their physical pain. This includes treating the added psychological stress they add when trying to cope with extreme physical pain and discomfort. The Eight Step Emotional Core Therapy video and book provide the most encompassing process to treat stress at this time. Efforts going forward need to be taken to expand the ECT process to include the many various ways to release stress and meditate properly.