Innersource, Ashland, OR, USA.
Psychotherapy (Chic). 2010 Sep;47(3):385-402. doi: 10.1037/a0021171.
Combining brief psychological exposure with the manual stimulation of acupuncture points (acupoints) in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other emotional conditions is an intervention strategy that integrates established clinical principles with methods derived from healing traditions of Eastern cultures. Two randomized controlled trials and six outcome studies using standardized pre- and posttreatment measures with military veterans, disaster survivors, and other traumatized individuals corroborate anecdotal reports and systematic clinical observation in suggesting that (a) tapping on selected acupoints, (b) during imaginal exposure, (c) quickly and permanently reduces maladaptive fear responses to traumatic memories and related cues. The approach has been controversial. This is in part because the mechanisms by which stimulating acupoints can contribute to the treatment of serious or longstanding psychological disorders have not been established. Speculating on such mechanisms, the current paper suggests that adding acupoint stimulation to brief psychological exposure is unusually effective in its speed and power because deactivating signals are sent directly to the amygdala, resulting in the rapid attenuation of threat responses to innocuous stimuli. This formulation and the preliminary evidence supporting it could, if confirmed, lead to more powerful exposure protocols for treating PTSD.
将简短的心理暴露与针灸穴位（穴位）的手动刺激相结合，用于治疗创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和其他情绪障碍，是一种将既定临床原则与源自东方文化治疗传统的方法相结合的干预策略。两项针对退伍军人、灾难幸存者和其他创伤人群的随机对照试验和六项使用标准化前后治疗措施的结果研究，为轶事报告和系统临床观察提供了佐证，表明：（a）敲击选定的穴位，（b）在想象暴露期间，（c）快速且永久地降低对创伤记忆和相关线索的适应不良的恐惧反应。该方法存在争议。部分原因是刺激穴位的机制如何有助于严重或长期心理障碍的治疗尚未确定。针对这些机制进行推测，本文认为，将穴位刺激添加到简短的心理暴露中，由于去激活信号直接发送到杏仁核，因此在速度和强度上都非常有效，从而迅速减弱对无害刺激的威胁反应。这种表述以及支持它的初步证据，如果得到证实，可能会为治疗 PTSD 带来更强大的暴露方案。
