Practicing Energy Healing Legally and Ethically with Midge Murphy JD PhD and Linda Kreter
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Welcome to Wise Health for Women Radio with Linda Prater. Women are pressed daily to give more, learn more, and be more, often at the expense of mind, body, or spirit. Each week with intriguing guests and topics, we'll bring you fresh ways to view your limited time, encouraging a shift to new, healthier perspectives. Wise Health for Women Radio, helping women thrive. And now here's your host, Linda Prater.

Good morning and welcome to Wise Health for Women Radio. I'm Linda Crater and I'm so glad that you have joined us this morning. We are going to be talking about energy healing today and specifically energy healing in integrity. In other words, what are the guidelines around what is the way to practice energy healing if you are a practitioner and you as a client need to be able to practice energy healing?

need to know as well because there are so many people who, I'll use this example, the world is full of people who call themselves coaches. And that's fine because in many states there are no requirements for that. It's not a licensure thing. It's not a clinical thing. But in energy healing, you can segue over into multidisciplinary areas and

And we're going to have on today Midge Murphy, who is the first attorney who is also qualified in integrity and in legal principles for people who want to do this the right way. And I think we know the world's full of people who are doing things the wrong way.

So let's listen to what Midge has to say about offering your gifts legally and ethically and how to know when you need to raise your hand as either a client or to refer to other practitioners when you've gone outside your scope of practice.

So, Midge, welcome to our program. Thank you, Linda. It's an honor to be here. Appreciate the opportunity. You're so welcome. I'm fascinated by this because energy healing is not new. Energy healing has been around some of these other things are called Reiki, for example, massage therapy, tapping or EFT. I work with veterans.

And they learn a lot of EFT techniques, EMDR, all of these sorts of things. And there are violations all the time of what I read in your book. And so I think this is really pertinent to know what are the limitations, where we need to step up boundaries. And especially if there are, I hate to use this word, but it's true, judgmental practitioners, those with preconceived notions or narratives that

And that can really harm someone. So we're here to do no harm, to offer the gifts. And you're here as our expert. So my first question to you is, it's very interesting with the diversity of practices, everything from massage therapy to EFT tapping, to working with adults, to working with children, informed consent therapy.

How do people know, not just what are the laws in their state, but how do people know what feels right or comfortable to them? Well, I think we can take the perspective from the general public if they're looking and wanting to work with an energy healing practitioner. And you're right, Linda, it's a very diverse field. But I think what's really important is let's get a sense of where do energy healing practitioners belong.

fit into the current legal and regulatory framework that governs healthcare professionals because that's what we're really talking about. I like the distinction you made with coaches in that it's a completely unregulated field and we know that energy healing practitioners by and large do involve the healthcare services of the clients that they're working with so there's a little bit of a difference and coaches do use some of these techniques as well but I really want to focus and let the audience know that

Where we fit is we're completely unregulated. There are no regulations that

govern how energy healing practitioners practice, except there are some exceptions. And the one exception is there are several states and it's gaining momentum requiring energy healing practitioners that do any kind of hands-on work. So that's therapy touch, healing touch, Reiki. There's a number of different modalities must be licensed as massage therapists in order to practice. That's the only exception right now.

So if you look at what we're looking at is we're looking at the entire field of complementary and alternative medicine. Yes. And where energy healing practitioners face or energy healing methods fit is in that large umbrella of what I would call CAM. And I like the consensus term that Michael Cohen wrote in his book, Future Medicine, which is to me, he's a leading academic on this subject, is that

complementary and alternative medicine means anything that's out of bio-western medicine. So it's even more diverse than just the energy healing field. And so what we need to understand at this point is that the government is definitely moving forward to wanting to start to regulate energy healing practitioners because of the ethical and legal violations that are occurring and people are complaining and people are getting hurt. So I think it's important to know that

Why is licensure maybe something that is needed or some kind of regulation? And why can states do that? And we have to go back to the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which allows states to pass laws and regulations that protect the safety and welfare of their citizens. And that's where you get the Medical Practice Act, nursing, psychotherapy.

therapist, all of the licensed healthcare services and professionals, that all stems from that particular right under the 10th Amendment to pass laws. And so I think what's important is like some energy healing practitioners don't want to have any kind of regulation, but the regulatory value of having some kind of regulation is the safety and protection of the citizens. And I can get behind that 100%. Mm-hmm.

I think you're absolutely correct in that, well, first of all, I'm going to make a judgmental statement. The government likes to enter into everything these days. So it does not surprise me that they would be entering into this. In this case, I think it's important that we do have regulations about these things. But I also question, how does it get enforced?

I've had a very bad experience with a licensed psychotherapist and there was no recourse.

So how do you enforce these things? Well, you know, you have resources from a legal standpoint. If you were harmed, you can file a complaint against the therapist with their board. All of the boards have the ability to do that. And you can talk to a lawyer depending on the situation. I did all of that. Yeah. Not my area of expertise. Yeah, no, no, no. I'm not asking you to do that, but it, it is. My point is that regulations are great, but it's,

Is there also in these states, since this is relatively new, governing boards, panels, you know, more like the Med Chi board for medical professionals, where they would actually take this on and it would be important because there's so many practitioners of these types of things. Everything you mentioned, one of the, I mean,

In my veterans world, CAM therapies involved, you know, equine therapy, music therapy, drum circles, you know, all those kinds of things. And they're seldom licensed. Right. Well, I think there is movement towards...

bringing together all the top stakeholders in the field of energy healing methods, which includes there's a number of schools. Obviously, there's a number of private organizations that are certifying energy healing practitioners. And that's really the first step to bringing energy.

to bringing this whole field into a more professional delivery system. And so I think from a consumer standpoint, some of the things you want to look for is you want to ask is how long have you been doing this method or what is it? They need to be able to explain the theoretical basis of what they're offering for you. You want to know if they're certified. And I certainly think that's a notch up if you know that they're certified by a reputable manufacturer.

Training organization, and they're few and far between. I have to tell you, most of them have had no training whatsoever in ethics and legal issues, and that's where I come in. This is my path. Okay. Is to educate the field about the importance of the ethical and legal considerations that you need to be trained in and understand in order to work.

Okay.

And I have a PhD in energy medicine, and I'm an energy healing practitioner myself. So I am a bridge between the worlds of energy healing and legal issues, ethical issues, regulatory issues, and the whole process of having a business. And I think what's happened is there's a lot of – this is not – I'm trying to think of the right word, but –

Most people want to do energy healing, they think, because they had a great experience with something and they want to heal people. It's like, well, that's nice, but that doesn't make you an ethical practitioner or have the ability to actually work with someone because they do bring in their own agendas and what you call the judgmentalism that they can bring in. And so there's a lot of work that needs to be done internally with yourself as a practitioner. So you are a clear channel and you're not...

projecting your stuff onto a client. Because when you're working with a subtle energy system of another human being, it's so easy for things to get really gnarly. That entanglement, quantum entanglement is not good at times. And there's going to be a lot of harm. And that's one of the myths that's out there. They say, oh, these are all, these are safe practices and harmless. And that's a complete and utter myth. And so I think that's why

Everyone's starting to wake up and if we move forward and we want to start to integrate these energy healing methods into more mainstream healthcare, we have to be able to do that with practitioners that have been trained in the legal issues and have ethical practices and understand the nature of a therapeutic relationship and how to work with someone in a healthcare setting.

Well, I agree with all of that, and I simply wish that it were throughout the medical system enterprise-wide.

I happen to know that it's not, which is why at this point in America, we have choice. You know, if we don't care for a physician, we can change to another. If we don't have a good fit with a psychologist, we can make a choice to move on. I think it is very interesting that telehealth has introduced something brand new to this, especially during the pandemic.

A lot of telemental health was going on. And even some of these energy healing modalities could continue depending on what they were. If they were not hands-on, if it was more instructional, like teaching someone to tap, the EFT, for example. How do you find dealing with the online world?

remote healing modalities. How do your ethics and legalities work with, I guess, if somebody's in two states? It's the same thing. It doesn't matter whether or not you're working with someone in front of you or you're working with someone across state lines.

So, for instance, I am a therapeutic touch practitioner. I've been initiated as a Reiki master and I'm certified in Matrix Energetics. I do a lot of shamanic work. I can do that at a distance. I don't need energy is non-local. And so you don't need to be in person with someone to do energy healing. And so what's important to also realize is

is that you're not only subject to the laws and regulations of the state in which you practice, you are also subject to the laws and regulations of the state in which your client resides. And so that's why it's kind of a wild, wild west right now in terms of there's just, as you say, there are people out there that just throw up a shingle and say, I'm an energy healer, and off they go. And so that's what is sort of stirring up things in terms of

This is getting out of hand. And the government's been looking at this now for over 20 years. This started in the Clinton administration saying we really need to start to look at this. And there's been a push on the federal level and the state level. And certainly some states, especially Massachusetts right now, is actively trying to pass a law that would require energy healing practitioners to be licensed.

The law is not written very well. And so, you know, they're going through a committee and all that. But the bottom line is this is where we're headed. And so there are some national organizations we're starting to talk about coming together. How can we create something that's viable? And the states could look at us and say, yes, this organization is

has a set of standards. We know anyone that is certified by this organization has been thoroughly trained in the ethics and legal issues. That's where my book and exam come in. And to offer that to the field, because that's what the states are wanting. They're wanting us to start to gather our own resources and to come together so that

we have a stake in how we are going to be regulated. And my experience has been in talking to a few lawyers that are in on the kind of in the trenches right now with all of this is that, and they've done this work. That's not my area of expertise is that it's not like the States are out to get you. They just want to the safety and protection of their citizens. And so they want to work with us. They don't want to shut us down, but they want to make sure that we're in compliance with the law and the major thing,

issue risk that unlicensed energy healing practitioners have is being faced with the crime of practicing medicine or psychotherapy without a license. Right. So basically, you're talking about adding scaffolding to give some boundaries, to give some structure to the practice so that it is more of a standard of care. Would that be accurate? Yes. That's a great statement, Linda. Yes. I did one today. I can now...

Just hop off. Thank you for that. But it makes sense to me. It truly does. And I have to ask, things are going all on apps these days. And the only thing you have to do is hit the informed consent thing if you're doing it. So I'll give you an example. Tapping, there are many EFT apps. And there are many...

I don't know, music therapy apps that say they're going to tap into the vibrational oral needs of a client. Those aren't regulated at all, are they? Other than they do indeed give you an informed consent that you must agree to before you go.

Yeah, I don't even like to call it an informed consent because that's indicating you're offering some kind of licensed healthcare services. Good point. The nuances of the words I use and how I train and teach my clients to use words like you never do a treatment if you're unlicensed. You don't ever have a patient. You have clients. You do sessions. And so with these apps, it's really about more of an app user agreement where...

Yes.

When you're doing the binaural beats and how you can sync the brain and all that kind of stuff. It's fascinating. And of course, there have been some major companies that have been doing this for a long time. And I'm sure they have good risk management policies in place in that, you know, they make sure that what they're offering is as safe as possible and that, you know, people have to.

you know, assume the liability and release the liability and assume the risks of using this product. And that's really the best that we can do at this point in time in terms of protecting people that want to access those kinds of tools. And you really have to focus on saying this is not to treat anything. This is like, that's a good point. This is just, this is a self-care tool. This is a self-help tool to help calm the mind,

balance the energies, maybe balance the brain waves and things so you're calm and you're in a more balanced state. And we know the body seeks homeostasis. The body knows how to heal itself. And so all of these modalities are not to treat any specific disease or injury. It's like allowing the body to restore itself so it's in a place where it can do self-healing. Allopathic medicine does not have all the answers. No kidding. Yeah.

Sorry to state the obvious there, but it doesn't. And if you also look at training of medical professionals, of which some are in my family, there are gaps in that training. It's a very linear process, standard of care, et cetera. And we learned, especially during the high anxiety days of the pandemic, that

that there wasn't a focus on wholeness or wellness. Energy healing can do a wonderful job of filling in some of those areas. You mentioned on page 41 that in EFT you may be looking to help someone with their anxiety and how that may require a referral to a licensed medical professional because that's in the DSM-5. Right.

Yet, I know that a lot of people would say that their complaint is, well, I can't sleep because my mind won't turn off. Is that different? Yes. It's a very slippery slope. And where EFT practitioners in particular, and I work with all the top training organizations and with ASAP, with the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology, is that

that what happens with EFT is a very powerful tool if you're a licensed psychotherapist. It can really help with DSM-5 disorders, anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, phobias. We know that there's a lot of good studies now that indicate that. But if you're not a licensed psychotherapist, you don't go there because it's illegal to go there. I was going to say most clinicians know not

to clinicians being the licensed professionals not they don't but they can be working in concert with these energy practitioners correct yeah i mean there's you can team up and that's a great a great way to do it is to have a team approach um because if someone is doing tapping um

and they're not licensed, maybe they can, it calms the mind. That's what we know. The tapping does calm the whole nervous system. And when you're in that more calm state, then the therapeutic interventions can be more effective. That's what people have found. So you can work in tandem. But I think with respect to those EFT tapping practitioners that are not licensed, and I work with a lot of them, and I actually have a course on ethics and legal issues specifically for tapping, a course and exam, is that, you know,

You can help people that have some limiting beliefs. They want to accomplish something. They want to feel more authentic. They want to be more balanced. They want to have better relationships. Who doesn't want all that? Yeah. And so they can really be helpful as an unlicensed EFT tapping practitioners to set goals and to really help people move through those maybe negative, challenging, limiting beliefs that are holding them back. Right.

from being the full person they want to be. That's fine, but as soon as you start to angle over into deep anxiety or depression or really some psychological disorders,

that's when you need to refer. That's the ethical and legal thing that you need to do if you're not licensed and also to have a referral network available to you. That's part of your job as a non-licensed practitioner to say, if I encounter someone that I know is outside of my scope of practice, how can I help them? How can I help take care of them? And then you need a referral source for them. So, and I talk about that in the book a lot about how do you set up your practice so that ultimately you are taking the highest level of care of the people who come and seek your help.

Well, it all makes sense. I want to ask you about this. I have her book in front of me, by the way, and I've read it and I've circled it and I've underlined things. So I'm curious about certain things. A number of states have passed health care freedom legislation. And so that's allowing non-licensed alternative healing arts practitioners to offer their services without the threat of being charged. And these are called safe harbor laws. And

It makes sense because most people who are in the healing arts are really there to help. And yet, as you say, we have to build the scaffolding around it to give it some structure. But talk a little bit about that, the safe harbor laws and why they're essential so that we can make choices as clients, customers, seekers of healing. And I know healing is a hot button word, so we'll come to that next. That's on page 101. Yeah.

I'm glad you brought up that topic, Linda, because health care freedom laws are based on the core ethical principle of autonomy, the client's right to choose. And that right is pretty much taken away based on our current medical and psychological system and how those services are delivered to the public.

So there are only 11 states that actually have health care freedom laws. Let's talk a little bit about California. They're all slightly different. But the basic thing is what you said. As long as you're in compliance with the law,

and you meet all of the requirements of the law, then you can offer your energy healing services to the public without the threat of being charged with practicing medicine without a license, not psychology. So it's very simple. What I have found doing this for the last 15 years and working with hundreds of practitioners and helping them manage the risk of having a practice is that they're not in compliance with the law. They're not even aware of it.

And so it's like, really people? It's like, okay, so you have to have a special kind of client agreement and disclosure statement. Okay.

That has to include certain elements like your background in training. You have to state you're not licensed by the state of California as a healing arts practitioner. You have to disclose the theoretical basis of the methods that you offer. You have to list and show your credentials and training in the methods that you're offering some other things. And so I work a lot with those folks to make sure that they have a fully in compliance approach.

Client agreement and disclosure statement so that they are fully protected by the law. So the thing is, just because the law is there doesn't mean, oh, it's a free for all or I'm fine. You have to be in compliance. And that's that next step that people are not quite getting. And then the other piece too is that, um,

They're not in compliance, and then they think it's kind of a free-for-all and like, well, I can do this, I can do that, and they're all different. And so New Mexico's law is interesting in that it also protects you from not being able – being charged with practicing veterinary medicine without a license and or psychotherapy. It's a little bit broader in its scope.

But that makes sense because some of these chem therapies work for animals too. Yeah, I do a lot of energy work with animals. That's one of my main focuses. And so, but the other thing that's important to understand is that these safe harbor laws, they are not a license to practice. It's not a license. Okay. That's really, really critical. It's an opportunity to be in compliance so that you're not charged with a crime. Always a good thing to do. Yeah.

Let's segue over to that word healer because you go on at length about the words are very important and they connote different things that are very important to your customers, your clients. And by using the word healer, you want to be sure you're avoiding, quote, practicing medicine without a license. Now, that seems obvious to me. But what about people that fall into the, quote, life coach business?

Well, I would like to really, first of all, talk about this title of healer. Please. First of all, there is case law that goes back to the early 1900s where people were charged with a crime of practicing medicine without a license if they called themselves a healer. Okay.

So absolutely never call yourself a healer. From my opinion and my level of expertise, it gets you in trouble. It means you're practicing medicine without a license. Now there's a second component, and that's the ethical component. And I feel really strongly about this. And that is...

I am not the healer. The only true healer is the client. Right. And so for me to take on that banner, Oh, I'm the all knowing healer. I'm the healer. I'm doing this and I'm done is a falsehood. And it's an ethical violation of the archetype of the healer. And that's, and that's my opinion. So when clients and I'm one of them, because I, I have done some energy healing work as a client, I, I,

I can say I go to this person because for me, he or she is a healer.

That's perfectly fine. I'm not. I think it is. You tell me if it is or isn't. I certainly don't push that person out as something that they're not because that's up for them to do. But there are people in my view, in my experience, who actually have such gifts of healing. And there isn't another word that I know of to describe it.

And I've had this 25-year experience of knowing two specific healers in my world who I can go back to whenever I need them. And I would be lost without them. I wouldn't have made it through a number of traumatic incidences without them. Right.

I love hearing that, and I think that's your own personal experience with them. I think that's perfectly fine. I mean, I call myself an energy healing practitioner. Okay. That's a safe title because we're really talking about how it's all a matter of perception. I'm about risk management. How are you being perceived by the legal system, regulatory system, the Federal Trade Commission rules and regulations, etc.?

All of the things that you need to be aware of if you're offering a business to the public and a healthcare business to the public. So in terms of how you personalize the relationship with the person that you're helping with, if you want to call them the healer, then that's perfectly fine. It's not a violation. They are not calling themselves healers. Right, exactly. Not at all. Yeah.

But I mean it. I do believe that there are people with unbelievable gifts and

As your book says, the joy of offering your gifts legally and ethically because not everybody has this. Not everybody can set boundaries to protect the integrity of the other person as well as to be able to practice their energy healing modalities. I mean, we have all had probably an experience where we were not treated well. I'm not saying legally or unethically. I'm simply saying well.

We were influenced by someone else not setting appropriate boundaries. Very well. Yes, that happens all the time.

And not because it's intentional, because they don't know any better. And that's why my book and exam is really about educating the field. And when you are in that space of being a really solid ethical and you understand the legal issues, it is a very freeing experience. What's been happening in the past, it's shifting slightly, and that's why I'm doing these interviews, is that in the past, the whole field would go, I can't think of this.

It's legal stuff. That is too scary. No, I'm not going to scary. Right. On any day that ends in a Y. Oh yeah, exactly. So it's like, okay, we got to put our big girl panties on here and say, this is happening. We need to be aware. And this is how we are in service to the people we want to take care of and we want to serve. And so you can't just stick your head in the sand and say, I don't want to know about the legal stuff. It's too scary. You really, if you're going to have a viable business, you're going to be successful and to be of service. And,

This is absolutely essential to be trained in these issues. You know, I think, and I have asked my practitioners about this, it takes a lot of energy to be an energy healer. And I once said to one of them, you know, how often do you receive this? And they said, each day. Each day. Because they get so depleted. This is a person who works in a very...

very intense field. And it's pretty interesting. I'm not one of her harder cases. I'm pretty simple. But those who do work with those who are severely ill or who have belief systems that are

what's the word I'm looking for, are self-limiting, as you originally said. Those are really important. So one of the things I was asking that for, because we know massage therapists are required to get a massage themselves from time to time, because I personally believe that there is practitioner burnout, and that's when things go wrong. Oh, sure. Oh, absolutely. Yep.

Is that accurate? Oh, totally. Yes. Okay. I want to make sure our guests know where to find out more information about you. I will put your book and a link to it in our show notes.

but is there a website or a URL we should offer to our listeners so that they can go find out more about what you do? Oh, absolutely. It's very simple. It's mitchmurphy.com. That's my website. And the book is available on Amazon, the print book. You can go to Amazon for the book. On my website is the PDF version. If you want that version, it's only available on my website. And the exam based on the book

It is only available on my website. And I think what's important about that is I encourage all energy healing practitioners to take the exam because it's a professional credential that indicates that you've had some training and level of competency and ethics and legal issues in the practice of energy healing methods. And so it's an offering that I have to build the field up, and that's available on my website as well. And I also have an affiliate program for training organizations.

So they can earn revenue if they have their students going through certification, read the book and take the exam. They get their ethics legal training.

The organization earns a commission on every exam that's purchased by one of their students. And then I get to offer this training to them and it lifts up and professionalizes. It lifts up the profession with greater reach. Yes, exactly. Absolutely. Well, I am so pleased to have talked with you today, Mitch. It has been very, very helpful because when I first heard of what you were doing, I'm like, wait a minute, how does all this work?

But what you've said today makes great sense. And instead of an intrusion, it's actually an addition to the credentialing, to the standards of care that people are looking for, because I don't think regular medicine, Western medicine can answer everything. And so having complementary and alternative therapies helps.

is such an addition to things. It often allows you to go back to the allopathic, the Western medicine, and have greater success because you have taken care of some of these other issues that you have with the energy healing. I mean, I find that with my veterans all the time. If they work with equine therapy or service dogs or something, they're more apt to go get therapy for their PTSD.

And so when you add all of this together, you know, it's it it is a team effort in many ways, but it's also something to keep an open mind on, because if we've learned nothing in the last five years, especially during the pandemic, is that no one has all the answers.

So take a look at what's going on. Stop laughing. Take a look at what is out there. You've got the last word. What would you like to add that I may have missed? I think you summed it up beautifully. I think it's really, this is about in service to

to really enhancing how people take care of their health and well-being. And we're moving out of that, as you said, the Western paradigm and into a more holistic way of helping people have thriving, balanced, and authentic lives. And this is where energy healing methods can be of service to that goal and to be in service to the society in general. Because our health is everything. And if we don't have it, then there's lots of issues and problems. Yeah.

Well, it's been a pleasure to talk with you today. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom. Your website is Midge, M-I-D-G-E, Murphy, M-U-R-P-H-Y.com, MidgeMurphy.com. Her PDF version of her book is on the website. And I can tell you, it's an easy read and it informs you both as the customer and as a practitioner. So I highly recommend it.

And I'll put all this in the show notes. Mitch, thanks again. Thank you, Linda. I really appreciate the opportunity to be with you this morning. It was a joy. Have a great rest of the day. Everyone will be back next week with a new show and more guests. Thank you for tuning in today. You can find more shows at wisehealthforwomenradio.com.