It must have looked like they were testing for telepathy. One self-described healer and their patient, sitting face to face, were each wearing what I would describe as a rugby helmet covered in electrodes, the tangle of cables coming off of the skull cap looking like a cyberpunk ponytail.
This strange experiment was published in 2016. The goal? To see if the central claim of a method called ThetaHealing庐 could be confirmed by looking at real-time brain activity.
The describes it as a 鈥渕editation training technique鈥� that uses a 鈥渟piritual philosophy鈥� to improve and evolve the 鈥渕ind, body and spirit鈥�. The site is painted in rainbow colours and promises testimonials, seminars, and listings of certified 鈥淭hetaHealers庐鈥�. (That registered trademark symbol keeps reminding us that the preceding words stand for a product.)
The 鈥渢heta鈥� in 鈥淭hetaHealing庐鈥� refers to a type of brain wave resulting in a 鈥渟tate of very deep relaxation鈥�,. It is the tell-tale sign of the subconscious, we read, and accessing it increases your chances for instant healing. Healing from what? That鈥檚 where the testimonials come in, so that the people behind the technique cannot be held legally responsible for making exaggerated health claims. A describes a teleported tooth, a miraculous recovery from hepatitis C, and many cases of cancer simply vanishing. (What鈥檚 with the teleported tooth? It wasn鈥檛 growing in the right place, but a theta prayer took care of that, allegedly.)
Can theta waves really do all that?
The data on theta
We estimate that our brain is made up of 86 billion cells called neurons, and they communicate with each other using electricity. You can think of this prickly chatter as generating waves that can be detected when scientists put electrodes on our scalp. Some of these waves look very compressed, while others are slow and elongated. Because of these differences, scientists classify these brainwaves in ranges, and one such range is called 鈥渢heta鈥�.
Theta waves are seen when rodents explore their surroundings. They are also detected during REM sleep, when eyes move and memories are stored long term. But we are not rodents, and the theta waves detected in humans may be unrelated to those seen in rats. In fact, there seem to be two types of theta waves generated by the human brain. One comes from the hippocampus, which plays a major role in consolidating our memories. The other emanates from our neocortex, involved in the kind of higher-order functions we humans engage in.
Research is ongoing to figure out exactly what these two types of theta waves reveal, but these studies are difficult to carry out. To pick up on the signals coming from the hippocampus, deeply buried inside the brain, scientists have to rely on patients who had electrodes implanted inside their brain to figure out the source of their epilepsy. For the neocortex theta waves, however, electrodes on the surface of the head are fine. And that takes us back to our initial experiment.
Wrong way
The healer-patient pair with the rugby helmets and the cyberpunk ponytails? They were hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the theta waves emanating from their neocortex during a session of ThetaHealing庐. Ten pairs were tested, with a mean experience of three years in ThetaHealing庐. The healer would access their meditative state (or is it MeditativeState庐?) alongside their patient, and the researchers would document what was picked up by the EEG before and during the so-called healing. Did the ThetaHealing庐 increase theta activity, as claimed by its practitioners?
No. It did the exact opposite. Theta activity overall went down.
Critics of the of ThetaHealing庐 will point out that the sample size was small, which is true, but if the procedure did indeed result in an increase in theta activity, it should have been detected. Certainly, getting the opposite result is a sign that there鈥檚 something wrong here. But as it turns out, there鈥檚 a lot more wrong with ThetaHealing庐. A whole lot.
Cash is all in the mind, as are your ovaries
Vianna Stibal, who created ThetaHealing庐, claims she cured herself of the cancer she had in her thigh bone using her trademark-registered method of healing. Except that her ex-husband that she 鈥渨as not definitely told that she had cancer.鈥� In fact, her medical records had biopsy results that indicated 鈥渁 suspicion of cancer, but were not diagnostic.鈥� It鈥檚 easy to heal yourself of a condition when you never had it in the first place.
This court document exists, by the way, because someone successfully sued her for fraud, breach of contract, and punitive damages. The reason? Stibal was offering a doctoral degree in ThetaHealing庐, and the person who would eventually sue her enrolled, only to question the validity of their degree later on.
Courses in ThetaHealing庐 are still available. A few days ago, the Montreal chapter of ThetaHealing庐 was offering a to teach you, among other things, that 鈥渕oney is just an illusion.鈥� But don鈥檛 go believing that until you鈥檝e paid them 250 Canadian dollars for the course, on top of 500 American dollars 鈥減ayable directly to the teacher.鈥�
A piece on ThetaHealing庐 referred to it as 鈥渇aith healing鈥�, the idea that prayer to a divine presence can shoo away illness. At a meeting in the United Kingdom, Vianna Stibal claimed it was possible for ThetaHealing庐 to grow back an ovary and an amputated leg. And we thought that Jilly Juice lady was wacky for suggesting as much on Dr. Phil鈥�.
Healing philosophies like Stibal鈥檚 are often appealing because of the scientific-looking weapon they wield. For some, that sword is the Law of Attraction, a claim that merely wishing for something hard enough will attract it into our existence. For others, it鈥檚 quantum mechanics, which superficially looks like weird things happen in the universe and anything is possible. Yet others have grabbed hold of the newly forged sword of epigenetics. With epigenetics, our environment helps regulate our genes, which seems to mean that what we choose to surround ourselves with could, in theory, deliver us from our genetic destiny.
ThetaHealing庐 combines these three blades into one superweapon but it remains a double-edged sword, and that鈥檚 a big problem in the world of alternative medicine. When an intervention promises self-empowerment, it can also be used to blame the victim. That course on wealth consciousness alludes to releasing worries, empowering you with successful habits, and gaining a better understanding of quantum physics to 鈥渒now with certainty you are creating your reality.鈥� But if you are in full control of your life and illness strikes, who鈥檚 to blame?
Our local ThetaHealer庐 also offers a that focuses on 鈥渁ctivating the 12 strands of DNA within each participant.鈥� I have a Master鈥檚 degree in molecular biology. I have extracted, amplified, and sequenced DNA I don鈥檛 know how many times, in research, clinical, and forensic contexts. I can tell you with as much certainty that our DNA is not separated into 12 strands within us.
But I guess if you believe faith healing can regrow limbs, even when your theta waves are decreasing when they should be increasing, anything is possible.
Take-home message:
- ThetaHealing庐 is a philosophy according to which a healer and a patient tap into a type of brainwave to allow divine energy to heal them.
- Its founder was successfully sued for fraud over a degree she was offering in ThetaHealing庐 and she has said she thinks her healing method can regrow limbs and organs.
- The only study of ThetaHealing庐 published in the scientific literature did not show that experienced ThetaHealers庐 increased their theta activity, but actually that this activity went down.
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