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From Spiritfold, Australian Spiritual Alliance: https://spiritfold.com.au/Access_Bars

Access Bars

From Spiritfold
A note on this page. Serious concerns about child safety have been raised publicly about Access Consciousness, the organisation behind Access Bars. Spiritfold does not comment on those concerns here. This page describes the practice only, from published sources.

Access Bars is a hands-on practice in which a practitioner lightly touches 32 points on a person's head, which the practice calls "bars".[1][2] It is the first class and the foundation of Access Consciousness, an organisation founded in the United States that now offers classes and sessions in many countries.[3][4][5] Scholars place it among the energy-healing practices of the New Age movement.[6][2]

Description

The bars

Access Consciousness describes the bars as 32 points on the head which, when gently touched, release the thoughts, ideas, beliefs, emotions and considerations that it says stop a person from creating the life they would like.[1] In the practice's own account, each point relates to an area of life. Lists published from the organisation's material include money, control, creativity, communication, the body, joy, sadness, and peace and calm.[7][8] Touching the points is called "running the bars".[8]

A session

The person receiving a session lies on a treatment table or sits in a reclining chair. The practitioner rests the pads of their fingers on the points in turn, holding each for some time. A journalist who received a session in Buenos Aires in 2026 described the contact as light and sustained, rather than massage or pressure.[9][7] Access Consciousness says that every session is different and that there is no right or wrong way to receive one.[10]

A session usually lasts 60 to 90 minutes, according to a 2011 post on the organisation's blog, although it says shorter sessions are also given.[11] The published studies used single sessions of 90 minutes (2017) and weekly sessions of 60 minutes (2023).[12][13] The organisation teaches Access Bars as an in-person, hands-on process and says it does not work at a distance.[4]

Training and licensing

Access Bars is taught in a one-day class. Access Consciousness says more than 500,000 people in over 100 countries have taken it.[10] The organisation's "10 Keys to Freedom", a set of principles for living, are taught in its classes from this first class onwards.[3]

Teaching the practice is licensed. An Access Bars Facilitator is licensed to teach the Access Bars class, give private sessions, and host group sessions where people exchange sessions.[14] To become one, the organisation's help centre says a person attends three Access Bars classes, each with a different facilitator, and then applies online.[15] Facilitators take part in regular, ongoing training with the organisation.[16] France's government mission on cultic deviances (MIVILUDES) reported in 2021 that the facilitator licence carried two conditions: an annual fee, and completing one of the further trainings required each year. It put the cost of the one-day entry class in France at about 300 euros.[17]

"Access Bars" is a registered trade mark, including in Australia (see below).[18]

Scope

What it includes

  • Light touch on 32 points on the head, given by a person trained in the organisation's one-day class[1][10]
  • Classes, private sessions and group exchange sessions run by licensed facilitators[14]

What it is not

  • It is not a massage. The contact is light and held still, without pressure.[9]
  • Its effects are not established. The few published studies are small, most had no comparison group, and their own authors have called for more research (see Research below).[2][7][12]
  • It is not given at a distance. The organisation says it works only through touch.[4]
  • Access Consciousness does not describe itself as a spirituality. It contrasts its idea of "consciousness" with spirituality, which it describes as treating the spirit as separate from, and superior to, the body.[19]

Research

Research on Access Bars is scarce, and most of it is small. A Brazilian review published in 2020 searched SciELO, MEDLINE, PubMed and the Brazilian nursing database and found no studies of the practice. It drew instead on three studies listed on the organisation's own website, and concluded that few studies had been published to show whether it works.[7]

  • Single-session pilot study (2017). Seven adults aged 25 to 68, assessed as having mild to severe anxiety or depression, completed questionnaires and had brain-wave (EEG) recordings just before and just after one 90-minute session. Their questionnaire scores were lower afterwards and the EEG readings changed. The author suggested the practice may be useful for anxiety and depression.[12] The abstract does not describe a comparison group.[12]
  • Police officer case series (2023). Four United Kingdom police officers who still had symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress or post-traumatic stress after standard treatment received seven weekly 60-minute sessions. A licensed Access Bars Facilitator gave them at a naturopathic clinic in Hampshire. Their questionnaire scores fell. Both this study and the 2017 study were by the same author and appeared in Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment.[13][12]
  • Placebo-controlled thesis study (2023). A doctoral thesis at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, randomly allocated 42 adults with tinnitus to four sessions of Access Bars (22 people) or a placebo (20 people). Scores for tinnitus distress and anxiety fell in both groups, and the fall in anxiety scores was larger in the Access Bars group.[20] A single-patient case report from the same university in 2026 combined Access Bars with auriculotherapy and speech-therapy counselling, and reported on the combined approach rather than on Access Bars alone.[21]
  • Survey (2023). An Ecuadorian conference paper surveyed 15 people who had received Access Bars, using closed questions; all chose the positive answers. The authors concluded that the lack of solid scientific evidence is a significant barrier to the practice's acceptance in clinical psychology, and that controlled, randomised studies are needed.[2]

David Gorski, a surgical oncologist writing for Science-Based Medicine in 2024, argued that there is no good evidence linking the bars to anatomy, neuroscience or psychology, and that nothing beyond relaxation should be expected from a session.[8]

Traditions and lineage

Access Consciousness says it was founded by Gary Douglas in 1995, and that Dr Dain Heer, who first trained as a chiropractor, has been its co-creator since 2000.[5] The practice itself is older. In his own account, published on the organisation's website by 2012, Douglas said that what became Access began in about July 1990, when he was a real estate agent in Santa Barbara, California. He said he began channelling information about points on the head that hold a person's thoughts, feelings and decisions, and he taught it first as a class on energy work for four friends.[22] A 2011 post on the organisation's blog likewise says the bars were channelled by Douglas in 1990.[11]

The practice has since spread to more than 100 countries.[10] In Brazil, it grew from 2015.[7] There it is offered alongside other complementary therapies but is not among the practices recognised under Brazil's national policy on integrative and complementary practices in its public health system.[7][23] A Turkish scholar of religion wrote in 2021 that it had become popular in Turkey in recent years, alongside Reiki, theta healing and other energy-healing techniques, and described it as a variant of those techniques within New Age belief.[6]

Critics have compared the idea that points on the head carry particular meanings with phrenology.[8]

Context

Within Spiritualism

Spiritfold has found no published source linking Access Bars with Spiritualism.

In Australian Spiritualism

Spiritfold has found no published source linking Access Bars with Spiritualism in Australia.

A Spiritualist perspective

A Spiritualist would see Access Bars as a separate path with its own founder, classes and licences, not as part of Spiritualism. Its origin story may sound familiar, since the founder spoke of channelling, but for a Spiritualist the fact that a teaching was received says little on its own. What matters is what the teaching asks of people and how it treats them.

Whatever a person chooses to explore, the same care applies. Know what you are paying for and who sets the rules. Ask before you touch anyone, explain what you do and what you do not claim, and take particular care with children. Never suggest that someone stop a medicine or put off seeing a registered health practitioner.

Access Bars in Australia

"ACCESS BARS" has been a registered Australian trade mark since 2011. The owner is Access Consciousness, LLC of California, and the registration covers recordings, printed teaching materials and educational services such as seminars, workshops and courses.[18]

Victoria's Better Health Channel notes that the complementary therapy industry in Australia is largely self-regulated, and that without regulation no law requires a complementary therapist to be qualified, trained or experienced.[24] Some states have a code of conduct for health care workers who are not registered. Queensland's version applies to people who deliver a health service as that state's Health Ombudsman Act 2013 defines it, and its clauses include obtaining consent, not claiming to cure serious illnesses, not misinforming clients, not exploiting them financially and keeping appropriate records.[25]

Safety and good practice

France's MIVILUDES, which received 70 referrals about Access Bars between 2018 and 2020, said the head-touching practice itself presents no particular danger. The concerns reported to it were about the further courses for facilitators and practitioners, which it said teach unusual beliefs and make wide use of very intrusive questionnaires. It also said that most practitioners are not doctors and have had no academic training, that the method has no recognised scientific validation, and that great caution is called for.[17]

The organisation's "10 Keys to Freedom" include "No drugs of any kind".[3] A 2012 post on its blog explains that this does not mean stopping insulin or thyroid medicine, but that it does cover street drugs and prescription medicines it describes as changing who a person is, including antidepressant, anti-anxiety and ADHD medicines.[26] Healthdirect, the Australian Government's health information service, advises against stopping antidepressants suddenly, because withdrawal symptoms are likely, and says to ask a doctor how to reduce the dose gradually.[27] Better Health warns that relying on complementary therapies alone may delay diagnosis and medical treatment, and says it is very important to tell your doctor about any complementary therapy you are having or plan to have.[24]

Governments across Australia have endorsed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. They include that people working with children are suitable and supported, that complaint processes are child focused, and that physical and online environments reduce the opportunity for children to be harmed.[28] Every state and territory runs its own screening scheme, such as a Working with Children Check, for people in child-related work. Health is among the fields where these laws can make screening mandatory, and anyone unsure whether they need a check is advised to contact the screening body in their state or territory.[29]

Common questions

What happens in an Access Bars session?

You lie on a table or sit in a reclining chair while the practitioner rests their fingertips on points around your head.[7][9] The touch is light and steady rather than a massage.[9]

How long does a session take?

The organisation's blog gives 60 to 90 minutes as usual, while noting that sessions can be shorter.[11] A journalist's session in 2026 lasted about an hour.[9]

How do people learn Access Bars?

Access Consciousness teaches it in a one-day class.[10] Teaching the class needs a facilitator licence from the organisation, which follows attending three Bars classes with three different facilitators.[14][15]

Is there scientific evidence for Access Bars?

Only a handful of small studies exist, most without a comparison group, and one research team has called for controlled, randomised trials.[2][12] A 2023 Brazilian doctoral thesis compared Access Bars with a placebo in 42 people with tinnitus.[20]

Who oversees Access Bars practitioners in Australia?

Access Consciousness licenses the facilitators who teach its classes.[14] More broadly, Better Health notes that the complementary therapy industry here is largely self-regulated.[24] The name "Access Bars" is a registered trade mark owned by Access Consciousness, LLC.[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Access Consciousness. "What is Access Bars?". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026). The organisation's own description of its practice.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Cortez Ocaña, Mayra Paola, Andrea Gabriela Suárez López and Lila Galicia Chávez Fonseca. "Evaluation of the impact of access consciousness sessions on emotional and physical well-being". Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología – Serie de Conferencias 2 (2023): 1112. Universidad Regional Autónoma de Los Andes, Ecuador. Published 20 December 2023; full text (in Spanish) read (accessed 15 October 2026).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Access Consciousness. "The 10 Keys to Freedom". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Access Consciousness. "Access Bars" (class page). Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Access Consciousness. "Who we are". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026). The organisation's own description of itself.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yalvaç Arıcı, Handan. "Modern Şifacılık Yönelimleri" (Modern healing trends). Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 19 (25 June 2021). Full text (in Turkish, with English abstract) read (accessed 15 October 2026).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Freitag, Vera Lúcia. "Práticas Integrativas e Complementares: barras de acesso à consciência como estratégia de cuidado á saúde" (Access Bars as a health care strategy). Research, Society and Development 9, no. 8 (2020): e24985221. Universidade de Cruz Alta, Brazil. Published 20 June 2020; full text (in Portuguese) read (accessed 15 October 2026).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Gorski, David. "Access Consciousness: Phrenology fused with energy medicine". Science-Based Medicine, 8 July 2024 (accessed 15 October 2026). A critical commentary by a surgical oncologist.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Valls, Sol. "Access bars: la terapia no invasiva que 'resetea' el cerebro y disminuye el ruido mental". La Nación (Buenos Aires), 27 March 2026 (accessed 15 October 2026). A journalist's first-person account, in Spanish.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Access Consciousness. "Welcome to the Access Bars". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Access Consciousness. "Frequently asked questions about the Bars". Access Blog, Access Consciousness LLC, 24 February 2011 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Hope, Terrie. "The Effects of Access Bars on Anxiety and Depression: A Pilot Study". Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment 9, no. 2 (November 2017): 26–38. Energy Psychology Press. Abstract read through Crossref; the journal's website was offline (accessed 15 October 2026).
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hope, Terrie. "The effects of Access Bars on depression, anxiety, and stress in police officers: A case series". Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment 15, no. 2 (November 2023): 33–42. Energy Psychology Press. Abstract read through Crossref (accessed 15 October 2026).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Access Consciousness. "Become a facilitator". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026).
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Access Consciousness. "How can I become an Access Bars Facilitator?". Access Consciousness customer portal, updated 17 September 2018 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  16. ↑ Access Consciousness. "What is a facilitator?". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026).
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires (MIVILUDES). Rapport d'activité & études 2018–2020. Government of France, 2021, pp. 66–67. Read in French (accessed 15 October 2026).
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 IP Australia. "Trade mark 1455481: ACCESS BARS". Australian Trade Mark Search, Australian Government (accessed 15 October 2026).
  19. ↑ Access Consciousness. "How is Access different from spirituality?". Access Consciousness, undated (accessed 15 October 2026).
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Bruno, Rúbia Soares. "Clinical study with Access Bar: the effects on anxiety symptoms and tinnitus disorder" (English title as given in the record). Doctoral thesis, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil, 2023. English abstract read through the OpenAlex record; the university repository could not be reached (accessed 15 October 2026).
  21. ↑ Cavalheiro, Andriele dos Santos, et al. "Abordagem combinada no manejo do zumbido: relato de caso com auriculoterapia, técnica manual e aconselhamento fonoaudiológico". Distúrbios da Comunicação 38, no. 2 (2026): e74071. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil. Full text read (accessed 15 October 2026).
  22. ↑ Access Consciousness. "Gary Douglas story". Access Consciousness LLC; Internet Archive copy of 1 February 2012 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  23. ↑ Ladeira, Thaís Assis. Além da Nova Era: processos de legitimação das Práticas Integrativas e Complementares. Doctoral thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, 2024. Full text (in Portuguese) read (accessed 15 October 2026).
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "Complementary therapies – safety and legal issues". Better Health Channel, Department of Health, State Government of Victoria. Reviewed 28 February 2014 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  25. ↑ Queensland Health. "The National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (Queensland)". State of Queensland, 2026 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  26. ↑ Access Consciousness. "Can Consciousness Change Your Cash Flow? Pt V". Access Blog, Access Consciousness LLC, 9 September 2012 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  27. ↑ healthdirect Australia. "Antidepressants". Australian Government. Last reviewed April 2025 (accessed 15 October 2026).
  28. ↑ Australian Human Rights Commission. "National Principles for Child Safe Organisations". Child Safe Organisations, Australian Human Rights Commission (accessed 15 October 2026).
  29. ↑ Australian Institute of Family Studies. "Pre-employment and volunteer screening checks". Child Family Community Australia resource sheet. Published 24 January 2024 (accessed 15 October 2026).

Further reading

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