What is the Allergy Release Technique? How holistic treatment is helping to change lives

A 7-year-old girl who once suffered from anaphylactic food allergies can now eat whatever she wants, thanks to a holistic treatment. 

On a typical morning, with the snap of a barrette and the selection of a shoe, Gina Black is helping her daughter Julia get ready for school. But there's one part of the routine in particular that's become fun and fear-free this year: packing Julia's lunch.

"Pinch me, because there's no way all of the sudden, she can just eat all these things," Gina said.

Julia previously suffered from anaphylactic food allergies.

"It was constant communication with the teachers, with the nurse, always checking in," Black explained.

Julia sat at the allergy table at school, where she was always monitored.

"She was allergic to everything really. We used to say she was allergic to life," Black said. Julia was allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, sesame, peas, lentils, mustard and all nuts.

"I just prayed that she was safe every day," Black said.

Gina Black and her husband Matthew received the answer to that daily prayer, when she learned about a promising treatment for her 7-year-old's severe allergies from one of her photography clients.

"They reached out to me and said there was a holistic way, less invasive, because where she was, was very invasive. I'm talking skin pricks; I think it was 30 skin pricks on the back one day. Crazy experience, truly," Black said.

That holistic, less invasive approach is A.R.T., which is an acronym for the Allergy Release Technique.

"It's hope, right? Because we didn't have hope before," Black said.

Hope was also at the heart of the Allergy Release Technique itself.

The founder, Amy Rose, created the technique more than 20 years ago, when her son had a serious reaction to food and ended up in the hospital.

The board-certified nutrition and health coach was already working in holistic health when she decided to take a deep dive into approaches that could work.

"And what I discovered was nothing really worked on its own, and so I just started adopting different pieces and created A.R.T. And over the years it has really evolved into an amazing process," Rose said.

How is the process different?

"We have a machine that's a bio scan machine that we're able to evaluate the immune system and see what's contributing to that overload, " Rose explained.

Next, Rose says her team focuses on getting the immune system to work the way it's supposed to, out of its overreactive state.

"We work on lots of different allergens, triggers that will also tip the immune system," Rose said.

"We gave her tools to start creating new belief systems, new neuro pathways in the brain based on tapping with the emotional freedom technique, positive affirmations, freedom boards," said Rose.

Then the food is introduced and Rose said the body responds in a different way.

"We give tools that really help the families to manage the anxiety, and we lay it out in a way that feels really doable," Rose said.

The family credits the Allergy Release Technique with allowing their daughter to enjoy foods she once couldn't eat. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology notes that some children naturally outgrow food allergies but recommends evaluation by an allergist to confirm when an allergy has resolved. 

In 2024, a medical study of Rose's work was published in The Journal of Alternative Medicine and Therapies, involving Boston University and Boston Children's Hospital. The study concluded that patients who received the Allergy Release Technique showed less physical sensitivity to allergen skin testing, were able to safely consume larger amounts of the allergen over time and experienced less of a daily burden with food allergies compared to standard allergy management.

At the beginning, Black admits she was equally optimistic and skeptical.

"And then little by little, it was mind-blowing honestly, absolutely mind-blowing," she exclaimed.

After about three years of treatment, Julia was finally free to eat whatever she wanted. It's a day this past April her parents say they'll never forget.

"We had a huge, awesome day. So, she had a graduation, she rang the bell and then we were off, we were free. We went to the Cheesecake Factory; she had a cheeseburger and fries and to watch her eat new things is adorable," Black explained with joy on her face, as she thought back to the day.

"It's not always the easiest process, but what you get out of it is unbelievable. We stuck to the process, and our lives are better for it," Matthew said, trying to hold his tears. 

Rose has been able to help thousands of people. While Julia is 7 years old, Rose said she's treated people as old as 80 years old.