Les pratiques de soin énergétique en France : phénoménologie et processus psychiques dans les thérapies alternatives

Abstract

Aims

In this paper, we look at energy healing, a relatively under-studied therapeutic approach in France, despite its strong influence on a wide variety of complementary and alternative therapies. This article attempts to clarify the reasons for the success of these approaches by analyzing the psychic processes inherent in them.

Method

Twenty-five therapists (energy therapists, magnetic healers, alternative therapists) were recruited to take part in several semi-directive interviews focusing on the phenomenology of energy healing. The corpus of data was analyzed using a psychoanalytical approach in order to highlight the specific features of these practices.

Results

Energy healing is a set of therapeutic practices with heterogeneous methods based on the representation of a vital energy. These practices are frequently used in contexts of “ordinary misfortune” that combine persistent somatic symptoms, psychological suffering, and critical stages in life. The practice and effectiveness of energy healing seem to be based on unconscious psychic processes. These processes encourage the emergence of non-ordinary states of consciousness that potentiate processes of psychic transformation. In some aspects, this setting could be compared to a form of mediation in which the therapist uses body and object manipulations to induce psychic effects.

Discussion

The apparently “magical” nature of these therapies polarizes the scientific and media debate around the way in which they do or do not comply with the requirements of evidence-based medicine. The model proposed in this article allows us to move away from these issues and take into account the anthropological aspects of alternative therapeutic systems.

Conclusion

The approach developed in this article extends and opens up clinical research on exceptional experiences, by showing that the study of alternative therapies, when it is not solely centered on the question of specific proof of efficacy, offers a fruitful perspective for making more explicit the processes of the caregiving relationship.