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A Psychologist Explains Why People Use Auratherapy

Aura Therapy is type of healing practice that has emerged from the current, New Age wave of alternative health therapies sweeping the Western countries. It was reported that the total extrapolated cost of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) and CAM therapists in Australia for 2004 was AUD$1.8 billion. According to a survey conducted in 2004, CAMs were used by 52.2% of the population (Euromonitor, 2006). There are many factors have lead to the growth in popularity and belief, but this article will focus on the psychological mechanisms that help to maintain believers of this aura therapy.

Aura Therapy

Aura therapists believe that they are able to read and manipulate special energy fields surrounding a body called ‘auras’. Aura’s have the ability to display signs of disease before the disease appears physically on the body.   The purpose of Aura therapy is to detect and heal diseases by rebalancing ‘aura’, with CAM sometimes used in conjunction. Aura healers believe their methods have ancient roots that have been practised for centuries under different names such as Chi or Chakra, and can treat emotional or physical conditions (Rosa et al, 1998). There are several types, one of the most popular being the Therapeutic Touch (TT).
TT is a ‘distance healing’ method where practitioners believe they can detect illnesses, heal or improve many medical problems by manual manipulation of a "human energy field" (HEF) perceptible above the patient's skin (Rosa et al., 1998). The practitioner places their hands on or over an ill person or patient, and redistributes their energy or transmits his or her own energy as appropriate. This technique claims to be useful for reducing pain and anxiety, promoting relaxation, and stimulating the body's natural healing process (Bruno, 1999).

Another type is called Aurasomatherapy (Aura-Soma), which was re-discovered by a clairvoyant Vicky Hall in 1980. Users self-select out of 105 rainbow coloured bottles (called...