How Energy Healers Can Explain Energy Healing to New Clients

✏️Editor’s Note:
How do you explain energy healing to a client who has never experienced it before?

How can you help them understand what’s happening in a session without creating unrealistic expectations?

For many energy healers, one of the biggest challenges isn’t the work itself, but communicating what that work means in a way clients can understand while keeping clear professional boundaries.

In the article below from Energy Magazine, Julie Bartrum explores practical ways to help clients move from simply feeling energy to understanding it – while maintaining safe practices and professional integrity.

When I heard the theme of this issue, The Energetic System: Decoding Energy Anatomy, I had a bit of a ‘brain event’ with thoughts scattering everywhere. There’s so much to think about and decipher!

I found a dozen definitions in a few minutes – including this great explanation from Damien Archambeau (BCTMB), CFO of TruMantra Education Group, an instructor from the Academy of Lymphatic Studies:

“Energetic anatomy refers to studying the dynamic flow of energy within the body and the various anatomical structures that facilitate this flow. Every living organism has an energy field extending beyond the physical body, known as the "biofield" or "auric body." Energetic anatomy aims to understand the many layers of the biofield and how they impact our physical, emotional, and spiritual health.”

And from Donna Eden:

“Energy is the unseen force that animates all life. In Energy Medicine, this vital current forms the dynamic infrastructure of the body. The state of these energies determines much about your health, resilience, and overall well-being.”

It became clear to me that many frameworks map energy anatomy; chakras, meridians, nadis, and auric fields. But with such a wealth – and diversity – of information out there, I started to wonder, where do we start when explaining these complex concepts to our clients – especially those new to energy healing?

How do we do this in ways they can understand and embrace?

And – are there any risks in the process – to our clients or our practice?

How to Introduce New Clients to Energy Healing

We all grew up hearing things like “listen to what your body is telling you,” “it hurts for a reason,” or “listen to your heart.” Most people today accept the science that everything is made up of energy. So, when you start to talk to clients who are new to energy healing, the combination of their experience and these basic facts make acceptance easier and faster.

And don’t we ‘feel’ the difference in energy when we enter a doctor’s office versus a cocktail party? We all know about ‘the energy in the room’ and likely experienced it, even if we can’t explain it. But how does this affect ‘healing?’

As our revered Barbara Brennan said, “The whole universe appears as a dynamic web of inseparable energy patterns…Thus, we are not separated parts of a whole. We are a whole.”

💡 If you work with clients online, How to Help New Clients Feel Confident About Remote Healing Sessions offers practical ways to set expectations and build trust from the very first session.

Managing Client Expectations in Energy Healing

Most clients come to us with something they want ‘fixed.’ They don’t know how, and in fact, this is where many misunderstandings start, because they have in their minds that somehow a practitioner can cure or heal something through energy medicine.

We manage these false expectations by explaining our scope of practice and discussing informed consent, often talking about boundaries so that our clients don’t mistake us for doctors or therapists. That’s important, and it’s a critical safe practice for practitioners.

However, we want our clients to understand that boundaries aren’t barriers. And emotions are energy.

💡 Clear boundaries protect both you and your clients, and Have You Crossed the Line? Scope of Practice for Energy Healers explains how to stay within your professional role.

Understanding Emotional Release in Sessions

When you begin to engage your clients’ energy, emotions are often the first – and most important – gateway to deeper healing.

Licensed therapists will often describe the first session with a client as a ‘trauma dump’ or more gently as the ‘emotional release.’

Practitioners must walk a much finer line. In a way, an emotional release during a session is an opportunity for the client to gain a much greater understanding of their own energy ‘anatomy.’

Practitioners know they need to offer a safe, non-judgmental environment so clients are open to energy healing, and that means gaining trust and listening. As clients share their emotional release, the master practitioner notes that this is an important time to educate them that the release is a part of energy healing, since that emotion (and energy) can’t be released, or ‘cleansed’, until it’s expressed and let go.

Believe me, this was an epiphany to me when I was new to energy healing! I knew I was ‘getting something out,’ but I had no concept that I was clearing energy.

If clients try to move toward asking for advice or diagnosis, practitioners maintain boundaries by asking questions such as: What does your heart tell you, or How do you feel when talking about this?

Asking questions that help clients discover how they feel (and what their energy is reflecting) keeps you away from the risk of liability by sounding like a healthcare provider. In addition, you avoid diminishing what they feel by filling sound space with a quip about a similar experience, such as: I know someone who went through that, and…

This is an important safe practice pause. It’s in these early stages that misunderstandings begin to formulate.

If you don’t set the boundaries or let them express their emotions, they may be hurt or confused, which often leads to claims, because they weren’t getting what they thought they signed up for.

If you allow them to think you are like a licensed medical therapist or healthcare provider, even family members may overhear things they misunderstand and accuse you of falsely practicing medicine. This can, and does, happen!

Regardless, the information they share - even if it’s an emotional or trauma ‘dump’- gives you loads of energetic information they might not share through an intake form.

While it can sometimes be uncomfortable, and you want them to be safe, it’s okay to let them know there’s no barrier to releasing emotions (and energy); just boundaries to keep everyone – and your practice – safe.

💡 Supporting clients through emotional and energetic shifts requires care and clear boundaries, and Supporting the Whole Person: Safe Practice Tools for Emotional and Energy Healing explores how practitioners can do both responsibly.

"Where focus goes, energy flows," – Caroline Myss

Explaining Energy Anatomy

As clients experience early sessions and begin to understand energy healing, introducing explanations of the relationships between what they can see and feel, and what they don’t see, but still feel, will further their understanding of energetic anatomy.

“Learn to trust what you cannot see far more than what you can see.” – Caroline Myss

Almost everyone has heard of the concept of a phantom limb. According to Dr. Eric Leskowitz, “Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a poorly understood form of chronic pain in which patients perceive pain sensations that seem to come from a limb that has been amputated. PLP was first recognized in the 1600s by French surgeon Ambroise Paré as a common sequela of blunderbuss wounds.”¹

Again, as a novice to energy medicine, I remember making my first connection to the idea of corresponding energy and anatomy through the example of phantom limb pain. I think all clients can make this connection as they begin to understand how energy fields are related to the body.

“I can tell you that anything that happens in the physical body will happen in the patterns of the energy fields first.”  – Barbara Brennan

Probably the area of biggest risk when introducing clients to energy healing is trying to prove something. It’s very tempting to say things like no more pain or the cancer is gone – but making any claim that is not scientifically backed up with the paperwork is a claim that medical boards can use to shut you down.

Even if we are 100% sure in our beliefs, don’t put yourself or your practice at risk.

💡 Skepticism is common when clients first encounter energy healing, and Is Energy Healing Real? When a Client Doesn't Believe in Energy Healing explores how practitioners can respond.

Clients’ Emotional Energy and Past Experiences

Introducing the idea of a client’s energy having a past is another big step for most clients new to energy medicine.  People ‘get’ that they are a product of their experiences and can get stuck in a rut; but understanding that energy has history produced a deer-in-the-headlights moment, even for me.

If most clients new to energy healing are like me, energy was just something that happened. Once expended, it was over.

The idea that energy patterns hang around and can be stuck or blocked was completely shocking to me and harder to grasp. Yet, I’ve had experiences that replay over and over in my mind or dreams, and they continue to cause anxiety or regret. Once I made that connection, the idea of energy ‘having history’ and ‘being stuck’ made perfect sense.

As you enlighten your clients through the early stages of energy awareness, they can begin to connect these concepts, and they will become more consciously and subconsciously open and present for their healing sessions.

From a safe practice standpoint, it’s far better to allow clients to progress their belief in energy medicine through their experiences. The reality is, you don’t need to make claims or be something you’re not, because your client has already chosen to work with you. They want what you offer and they already believe in you.

What’s Next: The Basics of Energy Healing Safely

Most practitioners have clients at all stages of acceptance and success with energy medicine and holistic healing.  Having patience and remembering to ‘start over’ with the newbies really advances our industry. It also maintains solid risk management for your practice as these basics are important for everyone to get started and stay on the right, ethical, and safe path for sessions with clients.

Once these basic ideas have been introduced, practitioners tell me they see not only tremendous progress with healing, but also the client’s acceptance and desire to learn more about the complex intricacies of the energetic systems.

Your patience and ability to remember that all your clients were once new to energy healing at some point means they will look to you for their enlightenment at all levels of their energy education.

Be brilliant at these basics! Explain boundaries, scope of practice, and informed consent. Don’t make claims or try to prove anything. Keep your insurance up to date.

Give the incredible gift of love, light, and energy healing not only through your modalities, but by sharing ways to understand energetic systems and how they affect those who need us most.

"Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy." – Sai Baba

✏️Editor’s Note:
Helping clients understand energy healing often begins with simple conversations. As this article shows, guiding someone from feeling energy to understanding it requires patience, clear explanations, and professional boundaries.

When clients know what energy healing is (and isn’t) they’re less likely to develop unrealistic mindsets that can lead to confusion or complaints.

If you want to continue strengthening the safety and professionalism of your sessions, you may consider checking out our free downloadable guide: The 3 Biggest Mistakes Energy Healers Make and How to Avoid Them. This guide highlights common missteps that can create unnecessary risk for practitioners and offers insights in how to avoid them.

We at EMPA are honored to support practitioners with resources, education, and protection designed specifically for energy and holistic professionals—so you can continue helping clients learn about energy healing with compassion and wisdom.

This article was originally published in the September/October 2025 issue of Energy Magazine. As part of the ongoing EMPA column by Julie Bartrum and Katherine Krupka, these articles aim to support energy healers with common challenges and encourage clarity and confidence within their practice.

Sources

 ¹ Phantom Limb Pain: An Energy/Trauma Model – Eric Leskowitz, MD 

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, medical, or insurance advice. Laws and coverage vary by state and policy. For legal questions, consult a qualified attorney. For insurance questions, refer to your policy language or provider.