Honest answers, rooted in Scripture.

The Splankna Institute offers training and certification for Christians who are passionate about seeing hearts healed. Splankna work has applications in prayer ministry, counseling, coaching, health and wellness and even evangelism. It offers a biblically based, mind-body prayer protocol for promoting change.

"Splankna" is New Testament Greek for "bowels" or "guts." In first-century poetry and literature, the term was used the way we use the word "subconscious" today, like a "gut sense" or "deep knowing." Splankna work taps into the deep, subconscious root of symptoms.

Splankna work combines body, soul and spirit in concert to resolve emotional trauma. When all three elements of the person are working together, the change is deep and lasting. Splankna attends to the way our bodies store emotions like frequencies. A simple combination of "touch and thought" allows the body to release these stored emotions, thus attending to the body and soul.

When the stored trauma emotions behind a symptom are relieved, Splankna helps the client understand and remove the destructive vows and lies associated with those traumas. Through the biblical elements of confession, repentance and the authority of Jesus, we "break agreement" with symptoms on the ground level, and things change. Body, soul and spirit.

Muscle testing is based on the theory that any major muscle will respond to electrical shifts that go off in the body. All thoughts have a frequency on the sub-atomic level. So when I ask a question, the frequency of my meaning passes between us and it hits your body as a "match" or "mismatch." When your body responds with congruence to an idea, it shifts your electrical system and that shift shows up in the muscle.

For instance, if I asked whether the root emotion around a particular trauma is "anger," and your own subconscious database is congruent with that idea (frequency), the muscle will respond as well (weak vs. strong). Because the body naturally responds to ideas this way, a muscle test can be used as a simple yes/no tool. Muscle testing is not a perfect tool, but still a useful one as long as it is covered by the authority of Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit.

The Splankna protocol integrates the mechanisms of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).  EMDR uses bilateral brain hemisphere stimulation to help loosen "stuck" emotional processes in the brain. Splankna does incorporate bilateral brain stimulation, similar to EMDR, and it goes even further. It also uses "direct access" emotional release at acupuncture points and algorithms adapted from TFT (Thought Field Therapy) and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). But the most important differentiator of Splankna work is the dependence on the lead of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer to "break agreement" with destructive emotional patterns.

We all know what it's like to feel stuck. So often our willpower is insufficient to overcome destructive emotional patterns. Splankna is a way to get straight to the root cause of these patterns. In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul describes how "the very thing I want to do, I don't do." Splankna is a way to bring the body and soul into agreement with what the spirit man is choosing: life, in all its forms.

People report new levels of emotional freedom, greater wellness, new depths in their relationship with God, and greater empowerment to step into calling. At the Splankna Institute, we are accustomed to seeing God do really beautiful things.

The Splankna protocol was developed by Sarah Thiessen, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor. She earned her bachelor' degree in Bible and master's degree in MFT from Abilene Christian University in Texas, and her background is in the Church of Christ. She authored the apologetic Splankna: The Redemption of Energy Healing for the Kingdom of God and co-authored UpperDogs: Exploring Christianity on the Offense with Heather Hughes, Splankna's Executive Director. Splankna has been in development since 1997.

That's such an important question, and we're very passionate about the answer. New Age is a false theology. It denies the separateness, personhood and sovereignty of God. It teaches that the human being is "divine" and has within them all truth, resources and power, and that Jesus was no more than a human being who managed to access what is latent in everyone.

At the Splankna Institute, we believe that God is who He says He is in the Bible: the only God, who created all things and who alone is sovereign. We believe that Jesus is the only Son of God, fully human and fully God. Human beings are fundamentally dependent on God for our every breath. The source of healing, truth, power is not with in us, it is in Jesus.

The mind-body mechanisms in creation that Splankna works with have been strongly associated with New Age theology. But the mechanisms themselves belong to our God. They are His design, and they are useful to help relieve trauma emotions because He made them to work that way. So, is Splankna New Age? Passionately not.

Again, a critically important question. That would apply if we were doing something like, "Hey, let's use a Ouija board to contact the Holy Spirit." A Ouija board is a device humans invented to serve occult purposes, to get knowledge and power from sources other than God.

The difference is that the mind-body mechanisms we work with in Splankna are not invented. They were designed into creation by God Himself. We observe their operation, already there. Our enemy does not create. There is only one Creator, and all He made is good. The problem is not the created mechanism; it is the sinful way people have tried to use them. Splankna works with these mechanisms in obedience to Him.

Splankna does not incorporate elements from Reiki. Reiki is a treatment that uses the acupuncture/energy system to help resolve symptoms, typically physical. However, the practice of Reiki commonly uses spirit guides, symbols, remote work and "attunement" initiations to manipulate a person's energy. Those practices are aligned with New Age theology and are out of boundaries. The Splankna book explains this clarity in detail.

At the sub-atomic level of creation, everything is in motion. "Energy" is the word physicists use to describe the unknown cause of that movement. It is sometimes distorted and thought of in New Age terms, but if creation contains this energetic level, then God made it for His good purposes.

While God sustains all things, even at the energetic level, He could never be defined as "energy" any more than He could be called "an atom." With that understood, the energetic level of creation provides a wonderful platform for promoting growth and change.

Yes. Different forms of mind-body work and prayer are done with non-Christians all over the world. That said, Splankna is unique in that it is deeply rooted in prayer and the lead of the Holy Spirit. During training, we discuss the different issues that arise in working with non-Christians.

We invite everyone who believes in Jesus as Lord to be trained in Splankna. While Splankna does support emotional and physical change and growth, it is predominantly a prayer protocol rather than a psychological intervention. The minimum age for training is 20.

We are not approved by the NBCC to offer CEUs to mental health professionals because we train non-licensed individuals. If you are a licensed mental health professional, we provide the form to turn in to your CEU body. Depending on the state and organization, some accept hours from our institute and some do not.

February 18–21, July 8–11 and October 21–24, 2027, in Denver, Nashville and Kansas City. In Denver, Sarah teaches in person. In Nashville and Kansas City, you watch Sarah live on a big screen while Splankna practitioners in the room lead your hands-on practice.

Thursday: the theology behind it. Friday: learn the protocol. Saturday: practice the protocol. Sunday: how to start using it.

$1,800, or 4 monthly payments of $450. Bring your spouse for $698. Meals, hotel and travel are not included.

Yes. You can move your seat to any Core Training within 12 months.

Most practitioners certify in about 12 months, some in as little as 6 months. You start practicing right away and get one-on-one, personalized supervision and coaching as you develop your skills.

Visit our Find a Practitioner page to find one nearest you. If you don't find anyone close to you, email admin@splankna.com. We have hundreds of active practitioners around the country (and a few in Mexico, Australia, Uganda, Canada, Germany and China), but not everyone is listed because some are booked too far out to take new clients. We're training new practitioners all the time. Session fees vary from $45 to $150 an hour depending on experience and licensure.

For administrative questions and questions about becoming a Splankna Practitioner, contact Tracy Root at admin@splankna.com or 888-958-0730, ext. "Registration." For clinical and supervision questions, contact Heather Hughes at heather@splankna.com or 888-958-0730, ext. "Supervision." For public relations or Splankna Missions International, contact Sarah Thiessen at sarah@splankna.com.