Rubenfeld synergy method (RSM)-

Is a trademark for a primarily emotional counseling method that combines talk and light touch “to put the body, mind, emotions and spirit in conversation with each other”.   RSM was created by Ilana Rubenfeld about 1968 after suffering shoulder pain, working with an Alexander therapist and Moshe Feldenkrais, and worked with Fritz and Laura Perls the psychotherapists behind Gestalt therapy. She combined all she had learned to create RSM.  Early on, she called her method “Gestalt Synergy” (Sante Ment Que 1980;5(1)-92-103).  In 1977 she opened a RSM professional training program.   RSM therapists call themselves “Synergists”.  The clients lie fully clothed on a bodywork table or sit in a chair, and the “synergists” use guiding talk and gentle touch to “help clients become more aware of their bodies, emotions, and stories”, “helping clients to stay with and explore sensations and emotions”.  The “synergists” listens and reflects what the clients are saying, moving the clients into “new understanding”, and the sensations become information that is used in the sessions.  It appears the major use of the RSM technique is for emotional trauma. There are only 51 “synergists” listed for the entire US on the rubenfeldsynergy.com website.  Their website has a section the “science behind RSM” that is populated only with non-scientific statements by synergists about the method.  There are no published scientific papers on the RSM in the National Library of Medicine database.  Without the science to support its use, it is recommended to avoid therapies that have no medical or scientific validation.