Psych-K

Originator and early publications

PSYCH-K is a trademarked name. Its organisation and a 2012 research paper identify Robert M. Williams, who holds a master's degree, as the originator of the method. The paper cites his 2004 book on the method, The Missing Piece Peace in Your Life, published by Myrddin Publications in Crestone, Colorado. The organisation describes the method as having a record of success for over 30 years, which is its own statement and is not an independent dating.

What the sources do not establish

None of the sources opened for this page gives a dated account of how the method was developed, of Williams's training, or of the earlier techniques it draws on. The organisation describes the method as a blend of tools for change, some contemporary and some ancient, without naming which are which. That wording should not be read as evidence of a lineage from older traditions, and no founding year was verified from a primary source.

Name, balance and whole-brain state

The organisation writes the name with a registered-trademark symbol. A research page on its website says an earlier business version of the process was called PER-K and that the belief-change processes of the two are exactly the same. Within the method, a 'balance' is described as a process designed to create balanced communication between both hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, and the 'whole-brain state' as a special state of consciousness that activates both hemispheres simultaneously. These are the organisation's definitions and are not established descriptions of brain function.

Muscle testing and applied kinesiology

The organisation's FAQ refers to self-muscle testing techniques taught in its online workshops but does not describe how the testing is done or interpreted. Muscle testing has more than one meaning in the literature. A published commentary distinguishes the general use of manual muscle strength testing in clinical examination from the applied kinesiology chiropractic technique, which uses muscle testing for its own diagnostic procedures. The sources reviewed do not say whether PSYCH-K derives from applied kinesiology, so the two should not be treated as the same practice.

Workshops and facilitators

According to the organisation's FAQ, the in-person Basic Workshop teaches participants to apply the method to themselves and to others. Online Level 1 teaches self-application using self-muscle testing techniques, and Online Level 2 trains participants to work with others remotely by phone and video. Advanced, master facilitation, health and wellbeing, and divine integration workshops are also listed. The FAQ says Certified PSYCH-K Instructors work independently under licensing agreements.

The balance as described for research

In the 2012 research paper, a Certified PSYCH-K Facilitator used standard practices to achieve the whole-brain state with each subject, and the paper calls the intervention a PSYCH-K energy balance. The sources reviewed do not set out the steps of a session, its length, its cost or what a participant typically experiences, so those details are not described here. A reader considering a session can ask the facilitator what the contact, testing and postures involve and can decline or stop at any point.

Claims made by the organisation

The organisation says the method helps people change subconscious beliefs that affect self-esteem, relationships, job performance and physical health. Its pages describe it as an adjunct to insight-based talk therapies and as a complement to standard medical treatment for health challenges. They also state that at least 95% of consciousness operates at the subconscious level, a figure for which the sources reviewed give no support. These are promotional claims by the originator's organisation and are not findings.

Applications described in the research paper

The 2012 paper presents the method as used in academic, consulting and business coaching settings to change belief patterns that its author says limit effective thought and behaviour. It does not report any outcome in those settings. The organisation also states that it does not diagnose or treat diseases and that the method is not a substitute for professional medical treatment.

Searches and what was found

A PubMed search for PSYCH-K in titles and abstracts returned no records, and a broader PubMed query on the method name, psychological kinesiology, whole-brain integration and belief change returned nothing about the method in the first results checked. Web searches for randomised trials, pilot studies or theses on the method found none. The sources reviewed therefore include no controlled study of belief change, psychological symptoms or wellbeing after PSYCH-K, and that absence is not evidence that the method has no effect.

The brain-wave papers by the originators

The organisation's research page lists three papers dated 2011 and 2012 by Jeffrey L. Fannin and Robert Williams, using quantitative EEG (brain mapping) to study the 'whole-brain state'. One 2012 paper, in the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, reports 125 cases over 12 months at three locations. Each person had three baseline recordings, then a facilitator used the method, then a second recording was made, and the author reports a p-value of 0.010 or less on individual t-tests of before against after.

As described, the design has no comparison condition, such as a sham posture or a rest period, and measures no belief, symptom or behaviour outcome. A change in brain-wave pattern after a session would not show that a belief had changed. The paper names only the author's own centre as affiliation, and the research page does not report independent replication. The authors include the method's originator, so the work is not independent of it.

Evidence on muscle testing

A 1988 double-blind study had three applied kinesiologists assess four nutrients in 11 people. Their findings did not agree with one another or with laboratory tests, and muscle responses to supplements did not differ from responses to placebo; the authors judged the technique no more useful than random guessing for nutrient status. The sample was small and the question was nutrient status, not beliefs, so it cannot be applied directly to PSYCH-K.

A 2007 literature review of manual muscle testing reported good reliability and validity for neuromusculoskeletal examination, while a published critique argued that this did not support the unique diagnostic procedures of applied kinesiology and that the evidence does not support muscle testing for diagnosing organic disease or subclinical conditions. No source reviewed tests whether muscle testing can identify a belief.

Adverse effects and care boundaries

None of the sources reviewed reports adverse events or a safety assessment for the method, so its risks are undocumented, which is not the same as showing that it carries none. The organisation states that it is not a substitute for professional medical treatment, and that it does not diagnose or treat diseases. People with physical or mental health symptoms should not delay or replace assessment and treatment because of a belief-change session.

Training and regulation

Training is offered through the organisation's own workshop levels and instructor certification, and its instructors work under licensing agreements. No independent professional register, protected title or training standard for the method was found in the sources reviewed, and the organisation's certification has not been audited by an outside body. Anyone considering a session can ask a facilitator about their training level and what the process involves.