Clinical Studies of Biofield Therapies: Summary, Methodological Challenges, and Recommendations.
Author: Jain S1, Hammerschlag R2, Mills P3, Cohen L4, Krieger R5, Vieten C6, Lutgendorf S7.
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego; and Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California San Diego; and Consciousness and Healing Initiative, San Diego (Dr Jain). 2Consciousness and Healing Initiative, San Diego; and The Institute for Integrative Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Hammerschlag). 3Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego; and Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California San Diego; and Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego (Dr Mills). 4The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (Dr Cohen). 5Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California (Dr Krieger). 6Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California; and California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco (Dr Vieten). 7Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California; and Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Urology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa, Iowa City (Dr Lutgendorf).
Conference/Journal: Glob Adv Health Med.
Date published: 2015 Nov
Other:
Volume ID: 4 , Issue ID: Suppl , Pages: 58-66 , Special Notes: doi: 10.7453/gahmj.2015.034.suppl. , Word Count: 145
Biofield therapies are noninvasive therapies in which the practitioner explicitly works with a client's biofield (interacting fields of energy and information that surround living systems) to stimulate healing responses in patients. While the practice of biofield therapies has existed in Eastern and Western cultures for thousands of years, empirical research on the effectiveness of biofield therapies is still relatively nascent. In this article, we provide a summary of the state of the evidence for biofield therapies for a number of different clinical conditions. We note specific methodological issues for research in biofield therapies that need to be addressed (including practitioner-based, outcomes-based, and research design considerations), as well as provide a list of suggested next steps for biofield researchers to consider.
KEYWORDS:
Biofield; Reiki; biofield therapies; clinical trials; energy medicine; hands-on healing; healing; healing touch; integrative medicine; therapeutic touch
PMID: 26665043 [PubMed] PMCID: PMC4654788 Free PMC Article
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