Patricia Lemer MEd NCC describes the five levels of healing from autism and other chronic health conditions according to Dietrich Klinghardt MD PhD.
On several occasions I have written about practitioners whose work has profoundly influenced my thinking: Dietrich Klinghardt is another. He joins Drs. Leo Galland, Abraham Maslow, and Sidney Baker on a high pedestal because his innovative model of healing is applicable to anyone with physical, behavioral or mental issues, regardless of diagnosis.
I have been privileged to many exciting weekends learning from Klinghardt at his Klinghardt Academy teachings. I believe that many healing professionals will soon accept and adopt his protocol for treating autism and other chronic health conditions.
Klinghardt states unequivocally that autism has one cause: mercury poisoning.
Nutritional, metabolic, immunological, behavioral, emotional and gastrointestinal problems are all secondary to mercury toxicity.
Healing takes place on five levels: Physical, Electromagnetic, Mental, Intuitive, and Spiritual. Developmental problems can manifest at several levels.
Influences flow both up and down. Mental health, for instance, has a regulatory effect on levels beneath it, while physical strength supports work at higher levels. Klinghardt’s autism protocol begins at the two lowest levels.
He believes that for complete recovery, treating mercury poisoning both physically and energetically is essential.
Physical Level
The physical level includes the body’s structure and functions. This level is where mercury begins wreaking havoc. The biomedical approach to dietary modification, nutritional supplementation and detoxification focuses here.
Klinghardt and others raise the question, “If mercury impacts the physical body so strongly, why don’t all kids exposed to mercury become autistic?”
He concurs that poor methylation and other impaired detoxification pathways in the physical body are important. He adds, however, that synergistic inter-level relationships are also in play, producing the ideal environment for autism to develop.
Electromagnetic Level
The electromagnetic level includes the autonomic nervous system, immune system and other systems that regulate cells, tissues and structures of the physical body.
Mercury corrupts the body both physically and functionally. Other environmental sources also interfere with and impede the electromagnetic body.
Practitioners using energy medicine often recommend removing or moving away from potentially harmful environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs), such as wall sockets, televisions, computers, baby monitors, cell phones and their towers, and other invisible energy sources.
Therapies that address the electromagnetic level are acupuncture and one of Klinghardt’s major contributions: neural therapy. He injects a form of “liquid electricity” into scars, root canals and ganglia to break up electromagnetic disturbances.
Mental Level
The mental body is the home of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and childhood memories. Disturbances at this level come from unresolved traumatic experiences, such as a difficult birth, divorce, separation or loss.
The brain replays trauma, constantly sending stress signals into the electromagnetic and physical bodies, disrupting the flow of energy, nutrients, blood and other essential components of health.
While autism almost never starts here, working on mental issues can contribute to a child’s complete recovery by the trickle-down effect to lower levels. While food allergies or dysbiosis are symptoms, mental body disturbances may be the cause.
Therapies that work at this level are homeopathy, psychotherapy, hypnosis, and another Klinghardt invention: applied psychoneurobiology (APN).
Klinghardt’s elegant protocol for healing disturbances at this level combines diagnostic muscle testing of organs and their associated emotions with therapeutic eye movement desensitization (EMDR) and colored lenses.
Intuitive Level
The intuitive body is what Carl Jung called the “collective unconscious.” Ever know a family who seemed “cursed?” Think of the Kennedys. Forces that acted upon them, sometimes going back several generations, came from this level, according to Klinghardt. These forces constitute an energetic, rather than a genetic legacy.
Children inherit not only a family chin or gait, but also a family fate, sometimes manifesting as early death, illness or other dysfunction, such as autism. Therapy that focuses on this level has its roots in American family systems work from the 1980’s.
Klinghardt strongly recommends that anyone with an autistic child have a family constellation session performed, conceived by German psychoanalyst, Bert Hellinger. Practiced widely in Europe, constellations are becoming better known and respected by mental health professionals in the U.S. today.
I have attended several family constellations and am extremely impressed by their simplicity, beauty and power.
Spiritual Level
The fifth level is a person’s relationship with the divine. Not implicated in autism, this level is very personal and not affected by any outside therapies.
About Dietrich Klinghardt MD PhD
Dr. Klinghardt studied medicine & psychology in Freiburg, Germany, completing his PhD on the involvement of the autonomic nervous system in autoimmune disorders.
Early in his career he became interested in the sequelae of chronic toxicity (especially lead, mercury, environmental pollutants & electromagnetic fields) for the course of illness.
Increasingly aware of the limitations of conventional medicine when dealing with chronic conditions, he trained in Ericksonian hypnotherapy and began to include body-oriented psychotherapeutic and counseling approaches in his work, along with neural therapy, mesotherapy injection techniques & applied psychoneurobiology.
Dr. Klinghardt has contributed significantly to the understanding of metal toxicity and its connection with chronic infections, illness and pain. He has been instrumental in advancing various fields within biological medicine especially in pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD.
He has also developed Autonomic Response Testing, a comprehensive diagnostic system that has helped many practitioners to become accomplished holistic physicians. He founded the Sophia Health Institute in Seattle, Washington in 2012. He teaches other practitioners at his Klinghardt Academy.
To learn more about Klinghardt’s unique approach, read The Natural Medicine Guide to Autism (The Healthy Mind Guides)
About Patricia S. Lemer LPC MEd
Patricia S. Lemer is a licensed professional counselor, holding a Masters of Education in counseling and learning disabilities from Boston College and a Masters in Business from Johns Hopkins University. She practiced as an educational diagnostician for over 40 years.
She was a co-founder and served as Executive Director of the international non-profit organization Developmental Delay Resources (DDR). After DDR merged with Epidemic Answers, she became Chairman of the Board. When she retired from the board, she became an emeritus board member.
She is the author of three books, the most recent of which is Outsmarting Autism, Updated and Expanded: Build Healthy Foundations for Communication, Socialization, and Behavior at All Ages (North Atlantic Books, 2019).
Lemer wrote over 50 editorials for "New Developments," the quarterly newsletter of Developmental Delay Resources (DDR), from 1995 - 2009. When DDR wound down, she wrote an online blog, "After the Diagnosis, Then What?" from 2009-2017. Her articles and blogs have been updated and archived on the Epidemic Answers website.
Since 2019, Patricia Lemer has recorded a bimonthly podcast, "The Autism Detective." In these hour-long shows, she interviews parents and professionals about their experiences in maximizing the potential of individuals on the autism spectrum. Over 100 episodes are available on Spotify and other online platforms. To learn more, go to PatriciaLemer.com and OutsmartingAutism.com
Still Looking for Answers?
Visit the Epidemic Answers Practitioner Directory to find a practitioner near you.
Join us inside our online membership community for parents, Healing Together, where you’ll find even more healing resources, expert guidance, and a community to support you every step of your child’s healing journey.
Resources
Adams, J.B., et al. Mercury in first-cut baby hair of children with autism versus typically-developing children. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry. 2007 Jun;70(12):1046-51.
Adams, J.B., et al. Mercury, Lead, and Zinc in Baby Teeth of Children with Autism Versus Controls. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. 2007 Jun;70(12):1046-51.
Holmes, A., et al. Reduced Levels of Mercury in First Baby Haircuts of Autistic Children. International Journal of Toxicology. Jul-Aug 2003;22(4):277-85.
Palmer, R.F., et al. Proximity to point sources of environmental mercury release as a predictor of autism prevalence. Health and Place. 2009 Mar;15(1):18-24.
Rowland, I.R., et al. Effects of diet on mercury metabolism and excretion in mice given methylmercury: role of gut flora. Archives of Environmental Health. Nov-Dec 1984;39(6):401-8.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Issues Recommendations for Certain High-Risk Groups Regarding Mercury-Containing Dental Amalgam. 24 Sep 2020.
Wang, H.L., et al. Case-Control Study of Blood Lead Levels and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Chinese Children. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2008 Oct;116(10):1401-6.
