Is the Emotion Code just placebo?
Nobody can say for certain, because the study that would answer the question, comparing real sessions with convincing sham ones, has not been done. What can be said is that there is no good evidence of any effect beyond placebo, expectation and the attention of a caring practitioner, and good reason to think those account for what people report. The method's proposed mechanism is not established by scientific evidence.
It helps to be clear about what placebo means. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health describes the placebo effect as a beneficial outcome that comes from a person's anticipation that something will help. It is a real change in how someone feels, not a trick or a sign that they were foolish. Saying a practice may work through placebo is a claim about why people feel better, not a dismissal of the fact that they do. Our page on whether the Emotion Code works goes through the research.
How can muscle testing identify a specific emotion from a specific age?
In Dr. Bradley Nelson's model, the practitioner asks a series of yes or no questions, such as which column of his chart the emotion is in and at what age it was trapped, and reads each answer from whether an arm holds firm or gives way. The claim is that the subconscious mind knows the answers and signals them through the muscle.
No study has tested muscle testing on questions like these, where neither person can check the answer. Where muscle testing has been tested against answers that can be checked, the results are poor. In a 2014 double-blind trial it picked out a vial of toxic solution from a vial of saline 53 percent of the time, about what guessing would give, and a 2008 review found no reliable evidence for its diagnostic accuracy. The one notable positive result, a 2016 Oxford study in which muscle testing distinguished spoken lies from truths about two times in three, involved people who knew whether they were lying. Our page on muscle testing has more.
Why would a magnet do anything?
Discover Healing's premise is that emotions are a form of energy and that passing a magnet along what it calls the governing meridian, three times, or ten for what it calls an inherited emotion, can release them. It compares this to a magnet erasing a credit card. There is no scientific evidence that emotions are stored as a kind of energy that magnets can affect, and research on static magnets even for pain, a much simpler question, is inconclusive according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Discover Healing's magnets page also discloses that the company is listed as a consultant for a magnet manufacturer whose products it recommends. See why the Emotion Code uses magnets.
How could a session work at a distance, or by proxy?
Discover Healing says distance work is as effective as sessions in person, and Dr. Nelson has written that energy knows no barriers of distance. There is no known physical mechanism for this and no controlled evidence for it. Even the authors of the one published study of the method, who were sympathetic to it, wrote that proxy muscle testing is the least scientifically supported part of the method. Our page on remote and proxy sessions covers the practical and consent questions.
Is the Emotion Code a business?
It is fair to ask. Discover Healing sells the book, online courses, certification programs, an ongoing practitioner education membership and sessions with its own staff practitioners. According to its FAQ, certification has no prerequisites and requires an online course plus a portfolio of practice sessions, which most students finish in six to eight weeks. Certified practitioners run their own businesses and set their own prices.
None of that proves the method does not work, and many practitioners are sincere. But it does mean that most of what is written in favor of the Emotion Code comes from people who earn money from it, which is a good reason to look for independent evidence. At present there is very little.
Why would a psychotherapist offer something like this?
Some people want a complementary or spiritual practice alongside, or instead of, clinical care, and some clinicians have trained in such practices. Laura Bass is a certified Emotion Code practitioner as well as a psychotherapist. What matters is how the two are kept apart: she treats psychotherapy and complementary work as separate pathways, the Emotion Code is not offered as treatment for any condition, and clients choose what, if anything, to include.
Does it conflict with religious faith?
That depends on the faith and the person. Discover Healing describes Dr. Nelson beginning each session by recognizing God and asking for help, and the method draws on ideas about the body's energy from several traditions. The authors of the 2021 study noted that it may go against the beliefs of some spiritual and religious groups. If this matters to you, ask the practitioner exactly what a session involves, and talk to someone you trust in your own tradition.
Common questions
Is there any peer-reviewed evidence for the Emotion Code?
Very little. One study, published in 2021 in a journal that is not indexed for MEDLINE, found that 146 people reported fewer symptoms after sessions. It had no usable comparison group, all outcomes were self-reported, and its authors said it cannot show cause and effect. No randomized controlled trial has been published, and a PubMed search in September 2026 found no indexed study naming the method.
Is a certified Emotion Code practitioner a licensed professional?
Not by virtue of that certification. Emotion Code certification is issued by Discover Healing, a private company, and Discover Healing states that no state in the United States licenses its practitioners. Some practitioners also hold a separate professional license, such as in nursing, massage or mental health, but the Emotion Code certificate itself is not a clinical qualification.
What about the testimonials on Discover Healing's website?
Testimonials are real accounts of how people felt, but they cannot show that the method caused the change. They are selected, usually by the seller, and they leave out people who noticed nothing. Discover Healing's own earnings disclaimer describes some of its practitioner testimonials as exceptional results that do not apply to the average practitioner. Treat them as stories, not evidence.
What would change a skeptic's mind?
A well-run trial. That would mean volunteers randomly assigned to a real session or a sham session that looks identical, outcomes measured by people who do not know which each person received, a plan registered in advance, and researchers without a financial stake. Independent blinded tests showing that muscle testing can find checkable answers would also matter. Neither exists yet.
I am skeptical but curious. Is it reasonable to try a session?
It can be, if you go in with clear eyes. Choose a practitioner who makes no health claims, set a budget and a limit on sessions in advance, keep any medical or mental health care you need, and notice honestly how you feel. Curiosity and skepticism can sit together. If you want to talk it over with Laura first, you are welcome to.
Will Laura mind if I ask skeptical questions?
No. Skepticism is a perfectly reasonable starting position, and questions about the evidence, the cost and what a session involves are welcome. Laura keeps the Emotion Code separate from her psychotherapy and does not present it as treatment for any condition. You can contact her before deciding anything, and deciding not to go ahead is a perfectly good outcome.