Suzan Thompson

As we conclude this blog series on Complementary and Alternative Modalities for counselors, we would like to share a few resources to help you explore CAM and counseling further. Below are a variety of resources we believe are great starting places. We have used many of these resources at various points on our journey.

The American Counseling Association has been supportive of complementary and alternative modalities through many means, but the primary home for CAM is found within the Association of Creativity and Counseling (ACC). ACC celebrates many forms of creativity including expressive arts, interpersonal/relational approaches, the human-animal bond, nature-based therapies, play therapy, and CAM.

Movement therapies have long been important approaches to wellness in CAM. Activities such as dance, dance movement therapy, Tai Chi, Somatic Experiencing, and Alexander technique have helped many people treat health challenges, preserve wellness, or are practiced just for the joy of the experience.

There is so much we can learn about therapies that perhaps you were never introduced to during your path toward becoming a counselor. The general theme of this blog is to bring awareness to complementary, alternative and integrative therapies. And the focus of this specific blog is on yoga and the chakras.

Biofield therapies are defined as approaches which work directly with the subtle energy field that surround the body. The subtle energy system is made up of three components: meridians, chakras, and the biofield or aura. Meridians are lines of energy that run throughout the body and they are the part of the energy system that acupuncture and Emotional Freedom Techniques work with.