Background: In Brazil, one of the
most used energy therapies is the Spiritist “passe”, which
is practiced by Spiritist healers. Although experimental studies have
demonstrated the effectiveness of different energy therapies in reducing
anxiety and pain, little is known about the effect of the Spiritist
“passe” on health outcomes. Therefore, the present study
aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of “passe” energy
therapy
in reducing anxiety symptoms.
Methods/design: In this prospective, randomized controlled
trial, participants were randomly allocated into two groups: Intervention
(8 weekly Spiritist “passe” sessions, n = 23), and Control
(8 weekly sham
Spiritist “passe” sessions, n = 27). Anxiety was assessed
using the Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-trait).
Results: Of 97 individuals screened, 50 were included
in the final analysis. Decreasing STAI-trait anxiety scores were observed
in both groups throughout the study (p < 0.0001). By the end of
the study, 17% and
63% of intervention and control participants, respectively, still
met the criterion for anxiety (p = 0.001). However, anxiety reduction
was more accentuated in the Spiritist “passe” group (p
= 0.02).
Conclusion: In this small pilot study, anxiety was
more markedly reduced in participants receiving the Spiritist “passe”
than in controls, warranting larger trials.
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