Helping a patient recover from mental illness without drugs
Alice Lee, MD, is a holistic psychiatrist who uses energy psychology to help patients recover from mental illness without drugs. At the 25th ACEP International Energy Psychology Conference, she shared a detailed case report of a patient who was weaned from six different psychotropic medications as she healed from her bipolar disorder diagnosis. It’s a fascinating story and one we thought you should know!
Background
The patient was 60 years old when she began treatment with Alice. Before her mental health problems arose, she had had a successful, albeit stressful career. In 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she successfully treated with conventional and holistic methods. In 2017, her daughter became ill. The combined stress of her job and her daughter’s illness became too much.
She began intensive therapy with a conventional clinician, whom she saw for six months with little relief. Finally, she decided to try an antidepressant. Weeks later, she attempted suicide by overdosing on the new medications.
For almost two years, she cycled in and out of inpatient hospitalizations and residential treatment programs. She ended up taking six medications: two antidepressants, a beta blocker for anxiety, an antipsychotic, an anticonvulsant, and a benzodiazepine.
A holistic approach: recover from mental illness without drugs
After nearly three years of standard psychiatric treatment, the patient sought a holistic approach, and found Alice Lee. Alice uses energy psychology and CBET, criteria-based energy testing, to guide her treatment approach. CBET uses applied kinesiology or muscle testing to gather true-false statements. Alice uses the thumb-and-index finger method of testing. Because muscle testing is sensitive to energy, it was important for Alice to remain neutral during her work.
Diagnosis
The patient had been diagnosed with a number of disorders and had landed with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder with psychotic features. However, she had never experienced a manic episode. Alice switched the diagnosis to panic disorder. This gentler diagnosis itself may have helped initiate the healing.
Prognosis
The patient and Alice worked together for a year. At the end of treatment, the patient was doing well. Two years later, she continues to do well. Her prognosis, Alice reports, is excellent.
Treatment
Alice used the
Infinite Intention Technique, a type of energy psychology. CBET guided the work. The patient also used various supplements, psychotherapy, and tapered off her medications.
Recovery pattern
At the outset of the holistic psychiatric treatment, the patient and doctor worked together to support and begin healing without changing medications. In the next phase they began gradually reducing medications, guided by CBET. The patient regularly experienced a slight uptick of medication side effects about two days before a follow-up session. After the medications were decreased, the symptoms would subside.
Outcomes
After a year of collaboration and gradual withdrawal from the medications, along with adherence to the supplement and self-care regimen, the patient had successfully stopped all medication. She reported better energy and maintained her positive energy and wellbeing for more than six months of follow-up.
A new direction?
Patients and clients are increasingly seeking alternatives to standard pharmaceutical interventions for their mental health issues. They want to recover from mental illness without drugs. There are good reasons for this: the cost, side effects, problems with withdrawal, and of course, the inability of pills to resolve the underlying causes of these problems. Energy psychology is a growing field of cutting-edge interventions that help people heal. As more people learn about the problems of standardized care and the potential energy psychology, more people will receive the kind of help that really helps.
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Author
Sarah Murphy, LPC, NCC, is a licensed and nationally certified professional counselor. She specializes in energy psychology, including EFT, as well as mindfulness and meditation. Sarah works with people who have cancer or other serious medical diagnoses, individuals seeking to find peace within themselves, and couples who want to resolve conflict and live in harmony. Sarah is an ACEP Board member and chair of its communications committee; she has a private practice and serves as a counseling provider for Unite for HER
