Guide XII-105

Colorpuncture (Mandel)

Peter Mandel1970Germany
Client cardCompare
[source: …] where a claim comes from[uncertain] not confirmed in a primary source[synthesis] the writer's reconstruction

1. Introduction

Version followed: Esogetic Colorpuncture as presented by Peter Mandel and Esogetics (Bruchsal, Germany) in English-language practitioner and trade sources; the Esogetics organisation's own training curriculum is not cited here [uncertain: not verified]. The psychotherapist does not perform, sell, prescribe or recommend colorpuncture; this guide covers the psychotherapist's own work with a client who uses it or is considering it.

What it is, as its proponents describe it. Colorpuncture (also "Esogetic Colorpuncture", "colour light acupuncture", Farbpunktur in German) is a form of colour-light therapy in which coloured light from a hand-held light pen is applied to acupuncture points, meridian lines and skin zones instead of, or alongside, needles. It was developed from the 1970s by the German Heilpraktiker (non-medical practitioner) and acupuncturist Peter Mandel [source: Croke 2002, Acupuncture Today; Bionity encyclopedia entry, uncertain: secondary, unverified]. Mandel calls his overall system "Esogetics" or esogetic medicine, described as a merger of esoteric wisdom with the energetic principles of life processes, drawing on hermetic teaching, Chinese medicine and a reading of biophysics [source: Croke 2002]. Esogetics GmbH, Bruchsal, publishes Mandel's English-language books, including a home-use collection of light treatments [source: Shop Apotheke listing of The Healing Power of Light and Color, 2014].

Core idea of how change happens (attributed). According to Mandel and practitioners writing about the method: cells emit and exchange very weak light ("biophotons", a concept Mandel took from the biophysicist Fritz-Albert Popp); imbalance disturbs this light-borne information flow; acupoints and meridians are held to receive and conduct light, so coloured light applied there delivers corrective "vibrational information" [source: Croke 2002]. Illness and pain are understood as signals that a person has strayed from their life path; treatment aims to release emotional blockages, "unwind" traumas and negative beliefs said to be held in the energy body, and restore the person's connection to who they are and why they are here [source: Croke 2002; Wikipedia, uncertain: secondary, unverified]. These are the method's own explanatory concepts, not established physiology.

Evidence status (one line): no reliable clinical evidence that colorpuncture treats any physical or mental condition; reviews describe the research base as not beyond pilot level, and critics classify it as pseudoscientific [source: Wikipedia summary of cited reviews, uncertain: secondary, unverified]. Regulatory status (one line): not a regulated profession in its own right in the jurisdictions covered here; in Germany it is practised within the Heilpraktiker licence or by physicians; in the UK and US it is unregulated as a practice, while health claims in advertising are subject to consumer and advertising rules [source: BMG Rechtsgutachten page; ASA/CAP phototherapy advice; synthesis].

No method in this guide is presented as a treatment for cancer or any other physical disease.

2. Framework

2a. The method as published (what the client experiences)

  • Practitioners. Mostly German Heilpraktiker, naturopaths, acupuncturists, massage and bodywork therapists and other complementary practitioners trained in Mandel's seminars; some practitioners advertise certification as a "Certified Professional Practitioner of Esogetic Colorpuncture" and separate certification in Energy Emission Analysis at basic level [source: practitioner listings on ABMP-hosted sites]. The organisation that certifies, and its requirements, were not confirmed from an Esogetics page [uncertain: not verified]. Swiss vocational-guidance listings show Esogetics GmbH offering courses titled "Esogetische Medizin: Farbpunktur nach Peter Mandel" and "Energetische Terminalpunkt-Diagnose (ETD)" [source: berufsberatung.ch search listing titles; page content not verified].
  • Assessment as proponents describe it. Mandel developed "Energetische Terminalpunkt-Diagnose" (ETD, 1973), also marketed in English as Energy Emission Analysis (EEA): a modified Kirlian photograph of the fingertips and toes, read as a map of "energetic disturbances" related to organs and systems [source: Bionity encyclopedia entry, uncertain: secondary, unverified; ABMP practitioner page]. Practitioners say EEA indicates which treatments to use [source: ABMP practitioner page]. This is not a recognised medical diagnostic test [synthesis].
  • Treatment as proponents describe it. A battery-powered pen with interchangeable coloured glass or quartz tips is held on or just above points, lines and zones; the skin is not pierced. Points are taken from acupuncture, reflexology, kinesiology maps and Mandel's own discoveries, treated in set sequences [source: Croke 2002; Wikipedia, uncertain: secondary, unverified]. Colour families include warm and cool complementary pairs (red, orange, yellow; green, blue, violet) used to "balance" paired points, so-called "soul-spirit" colours used for psychological themes, infrared and ultraviolet light, and grey light shades [source: Croke 2002]. Named treatment areas include moving stagnation, "building chi", lymphatic work, prenatal trauma imprints, and "conflict solution therapy", said to bring up and release unprocessed emotions from past conflicts [source: Croke 2002].
  • Add-ons. Practitioners describe brain-wave induction sequences, small crystals left on points after treatment, sound recordings, discs and "activators", and an essential-oil blend, plus treatments the client continues at home [source: Croke 2002; ABMP practitioner pages]. Mandel's theory also names "subtle" elements (chakras, the formative field, the converter model) and physical ones (body systems, the coordination system, transmitter relays) [source: Wikipedia, uncertain: secondary, unverified].
  • Format. Usually individual sessions, client clothed or partly clothed for access to points on hands, feet, head and trunk; courses of repeated sessions and home treatment are common [source: Croke 2002; synthesis]. Session lengths, colour sequences and device specifications are deliberately not given in this guide.
  • Regulation by jurisdiction. Germany: only physicians and licensed Heilpraktiker may practise Heilkunde (healing); the Heilpraktiker licence is granted after a check that the applicant poses no danger to public health, and medical knowledge is not formally examined [source: BMG, Rechtsgutachten zum Heilpraktikerrecht, 2021]. Switzerland: offered as private further training; no federal recognition was confirmed [uncertain: not verified]. UK: no statutory regulation of colour-light therapies; advertising health claims needs clinical evidence, and a light product claimed to treat a medical condition may be a medical device needing conformity marking [source: ASA/CAP phototherapy advice, 2021]. US: no colorpuncture licence; practitioners work under their existing licence (e.g. acupuncture, massage) or unlicensed; NCCIH advises checking state licensing boards and FTC rules govern deceptive health advertising [source: NCCIH "Are You Considering..."; synthesis]. Spain: reported to be on the government's 2019 pseudotherapy list [uncertain: secondary, unverified].

2b. The psychotherapist's own framework alongside it [synthesis]

There are no phases of colorpuncture for the psychotherapist to run. The therapist's work is folded into ordinary therapy, usually in four overlapping steps:

  1. Notice and ask (any session, especially intake and review): routine, non-judgemental enquiry about complementary approaches; record it.
  2. Understand (one to two sessions, revisited as needed): meaning, hopes, explanatory model, costs, how it fits the client's goals; check whether it is used for a mental-health problem, a physical illness or general wellbeing.
  3. Decide and coordinate (as needed): informed, values-based decision support; with consent, coordinate with the doctor or pharmacist, especially if any medical care is being delayed or replaced.
  4. Monitor and respond to risk (ongoing): watch for delayed care, dependence, financial strain, distress from "conflict release" work, children and other vulnerable people; report where required.

Move from step 2 to step 3 when the client is making or considering a decision with health or financial consequences; escalate to risk response at once if medical care is being stopped or delayed for a serious condition, or a child's care is affected.

3. Guiding principles

  • Neutral curiosity. Ask without judgement; clients disclose more when they do not expect ridicule [source: NCCIH tips; synthesis]. Practical meaning: same tone as asking about sleep or exercise.
  • Attribute, do not adjudicate. Describe light, biophotons, meridians, chakras and "energy" as the method holds them, neither stating them as fact nor mocking them [synthesis]. Practical meaning: "In colorpuncture, the idea is...".
  • Stay in your lane. The therapist never performs, sells, prescribes, recommends or advises on the colours, points, devices, crystals, oils or home treatments [synthesis; APA 2.01 Boundaries of Competence]. Practical meaning: questions about the method go back to its practitioner; questions about health go to the doctor.
  • Medical care comes first. Unproven approaches should not be used to delay seeing a provider, and stopping proven treatment can have serious consequences [source: NCCIH "Are You Considering..."]. Practical meaning: always ask what medical care is in place for any physical complaint.
  • Autonomy with information. Respect the client's right to choose (APA Principle E) while making sure the decision is informed [source: APA Ethics Code]. Practical meaning: offer information and questions, not verdicts.
  • Coordinate with consent. Cooperate with other professionals where it serves the client (APA 3.09), sharing information only with consent or as law allows (APA 4.05) [source: APA Ethics Code]. Practical meaning: a signed release before calling the GP.
  • No conflicts of interest. No referral fees, sales, product links or dual roles with colorpuncture practitioners (APA 3.05, 3.06) [source: APA Ethics Code]. Practical meaning: declare and avoid any financial tie.
  • The client's meaning is clinical material. Hope, control, identity, distrust of medicine and the "life path" framing are worth exploring in their own right [synthesis]. Practical meaning: ask what the method means, not only whether it works.
  • Watch for psychological load from the method itself. Treatments framed as releasing trauma or prenatal imprints can stir distressing material outside a therapeutic frame [synthesis]. Practical meaning: ask how the client feels after sessions.
  • Safeguard the vulnerable. Children, pregnancy, serious illness, cognitive impairment and financial vulnerability raise the stakes [synthesis]. Practical meaning: lower threshold for coordination and reporting.

[source for section 3 as marked: APA Ethics Code (2002, amended 2010 and 2016); NCCIH; otherwise synthesis]

4. Intervention inventory

All interventions below are the psychotherapist's own work alongside colorpuncture. None involves performing, advising on or endorsing the method. [source: NCCIH tips and consumer guidance; APA Ethics Code; otherwise synthesis as marked]

4.1 Routine, non-judgemental enquiry and recording

  • Purpose / when: at intake, at reviews, and whenever a client mentions "light treatment", "my energy practitioner", crystals, Kirlian or "energy photos". NCCIH urges patients to tell every provider about all complementary approaches at every visit; the therapist can make that easy [source: NCCIH tips].
  • Steps: (1) Ask about complementary approaches in the same list as sleep, exercise and medicines. (2) If colorpuncture is named, ask what it is used for (mental health, physical complaint, wellbeing), who provides it and their background, how often, whether there is home use, and approximate cost. (3) Ask whether the GP or other treating clinicians know. (4) Record factually in the client's words (e.g. "attends colorpuncture with an Esogetics-trained practitioner for low mood and back pain; GP aware"). (5) Revisit at reviews.
  • Example language (illustrative): "Lots of people use things alongside therapy or medicine, like acupuncture, light or colour treatments, crystals or supplements. Is there anything like that you're using at the moment?" / "What do you go to colorpuncture for?"
  • Watch for: hesitation or apology (signals expected disapproval: normalise); a physical complaint with no medical care behind it; use for a child or another dependant. Working when the client volunteers updates spontaneously.

4.2 Exploring meaning, hopes, expectations and explanatory model

  • Purpose / when: once colorpuncture is part of the client's life, especially if it carries strong hopes or links to how they understand their problems (e.g. illness as a sign of straying from the life path, emotions "stored" in the energy body) [source for the method's concepts: Croke 2002].
  • Steps [synthesis]: (1) Ask the client to explain the method in their own words. (2) Explore what drew them: wish for control, gentleness and no needles or drugs, disappointment with medicine, a relationship with the practitioner, community, spiritual identity. (3) Ask what they hope will change and how they will know. (4) Explore how the "life path" and "blockage" framing fits their own story; note where it helps (meaning, agency) and where it may hurt (self-blame for illness, waiting for a block to clear before acting). (5) Link to therapy goals where the client wishes.
  • Example language (illustrative): "How does your colorpuncture practitioner explain what's going on for you?" / "What would be different if it worked the way you hope?" / "The idea that illness signals being off your path: does that feel comforting, or does it ever leave you feeling it's your fault?"
  • Watch for: self-blame, shame or guilt about illness; magical expectations of total cure; reliance on the practitioner's interpretations for life decisions. Working when the client can hold the method's framework and their own judgement side by side.

4.3 Making sense of Energy Emission Analysis (Kirlian) results and "readings"

  • Purpose / when: a client brings an EEA/ETD image or report describing "energetic disturbances" linked to organs, or is alarmed or reassured by it. EEA is presented by proponents as showing energetic disturbances mapped to organs [source: Bionity entry, uncertain: secondary, unverified; ABMP practitioner page]; it is not a recognised medical diagnostic test [synthesis].
  • Steps [synthesis]: (1) Ask what they were told and how it left them feeling. (2) Separate the method's language (energy, blockage) from medical diagnosis without disparaging the practitioner. (3) If the report has raised fear of a physical disease, or the client has new or persistent symptoms, encourage a medical appointment. (4) If the report is being used to reassure the client that a medical symptom is unimportant, name the risk and encourage medical review. (5) If reading the images fuels repeated worry, treat as possible health anxiety (4.9).
  • Example language (illustrative): "In Esogetics, these photos are read as showing energy patterns. A doctor would use different tests to check your body. Would it help to have both views?"
  • Watch for: new alarming beliefs about organs; reassurance replacing medical assessment; repeated testing. Working when the client takes physical concerns to a doctor.

4.4 Supporting informed, values-based decisions

  • Purpose / when: the client is deciding whether to start, continue, expand (home kits, crystals, trainings) or stop colorpuncture, especially when it is linked to a health problem or significant cost.
  • Steps: (1) Clarify the decision and what is at stake. (2) Use NCCIH's consumer questions as a frame: practitioner training and licensing, whether they will work with the client's other providers, and talking with providers before stopping or not starting proven treatment [source: NCCIH "Are You Considering..."]. (3) Share warning signs NCCIH lists: "miracle cure" or "ancient remedy" language, claims to cure disease or many unrelated conditions, evidence that is only testimonials [source: NCCIH]. (4) Help the client weigh benefits they value (relaxation, feeling cared for), costs and risks against their own values. (5) Summarise and respect the choice; record the discussion. No published decision aid specific to colorpuncture is cited here [uncertain: not verified].
  • Example language (illustrative): "What matters most to you in deciding this?" / "Has your practitioner said how it would fit alongside what your doctor is doing?" / "Whatever you decide, I'm here to help you think it through. It's your decision."
  • Watch for: the therapist drifting into persuading for or against; the client deferring the whole choice to the therapist or to the practitioner. Working when the client can state reasons in their own values.

4.5 Coordinating with the doctor or pharmacist (with consent)

  • Purpose / when: colorpuncture is used for a physical complaint, during pregnancy, by someone with a serious or chronic illness, or alongside medicines, crystals, oils or home treatments the doctor does not know about. NCCIH advises telling all providers about everything used [source: NCCIH tips]. APA 3.09 supports cooperation with other professionals; 4.05 governs disclosure [source: APA Ethics Code].
  • Steps: (1) Explain why coordination helps. (2) Obtain written consent specifying what will be shared. (3) Share facts (what is used, for what, and any changes to medical care), not opinions about the method. (4) Route every question about medicines, side effects or stopping treatment to the prescriber or pharmacist; never advise on medicines yourself. (5) Record and feed back to the client.
  • Example language (illustrative): "I'm not the right person to say how this fits with your medicines or treatment. Would you be happy for me to let your GP know you're using it, or would you prefer to tell them yourself?"
  • Watch for: refusal of consent driven by fear of being judged (explore it); the client stopping medicines on a practitioner's suggestion (urgent prescriber contact, encourage the client to call). Working when the treating team is informed.

4.6 Processing emotional material stirred by "release" treatments

  • Purpose / when: treatments presented as unwinding trauma, releasing prenatal imprints or bringing up past conflicts ("conflict solution therapy") [source: Croke 2002] leave the client flooded, tearful, with intrusive memories, or with newly "recovered" beliefs about early life.
  • Steps [synthesis]: (1) Ask routinely how the client feels in the days after sessions. (2) Use usual stabilisation and grounding; assess for dissociation, self-harm or suicidal thinking with standard risk assessment. (3) Treat beliefs about prenatal or early events that arose in sessions with neutrality: explore their meaning without confirming or disconfirming historical accuracy. (4) Agree pacing; the client may choose to tell the practitioner what is happening or pause sessions. (5) Integrate the material into evidence-based trauma work if indicated (see the relevant trauma domains).
  • Example language (illustrative): "You said things came up after your last light session. Can we slow down and look at what's been happening since?" / "We don't need to decide what really happened back then to work with how it's affecting you now."
  • Watch for: destabilisation, dissociation, new accusations based on session-derived memories, increased distress after each session. Working when the client feels steadier and in control of pacing.

4.7 Recognising and responding to risk

  • Purpose / when: continuous; the key risks are indirect, arising from what colorpuncture may replace or delay rather than from the light itself [synthesis]. NCCIH warns against using an unproven practice to delay seeing a provider and notes that stopping or not starting proven treatment can have serious consequences [source: NCCIH "Are You Considering..."].
  • Steps [synthesis unless marked]: (1) Screen for: a serious or worsening physical illness managed only with colorpuncture; stopping or reducing prescribed medicines; pregnancy; use on children or dependent adults in place of medical care; depression, psychosis or suicidality being "treated" with light alone; escalating spending or debt; pressure from a practitioner or group. (2) Grade urgency: immediate medical need or child at risk means act the same day. (3) Discuss concerns openly with the client, naming the specific risk, not the method. (4) With consent, contact the doctor (4.5); without consent, follow local law and policy on disclosure to prevent serious harm [source: APA 4.05]. (5) For children deprived of needed medical care, follow your jurisdiction's safeguarding procedure; consider consent and the child's assent, and never name the child outside formal channels. (6) Physical safety questions about the device or ultraviolet or infrared light (eyes, skin, photosensitivity, implanted devices, epilepsy) go to the doctor or the device regulator; no specific safety data are cited here [uncertain: not verified]. (7) Document what was discussed and done.
  • Example language (illustrative): "I respect that this helps you feel better. I'm worried, though, that the lump hasn't been checked by a doctor. Could we talk about what's getting in the way of that?" / "If your daughter's asthma medicine is being replaced, I need to talk with you about keeping her safe."
  • Watch for: secrecy from doctors, "my practitioner says I don't need...", missed medical appointments, rising costs. Working when medical care is restored or confirmed and the client keeps you informed.

4.8 Financial pressure, commerce and group dynamics

  • Purpose / when: the client is buying repeated courses, home pens, crystals, oils, sound recordings or tiered trainings and certifications, or feels obliged to a practitioner or community. The method's own sources describe home treatment, crystals, oils, recordings and multi-level trainings and certifications [source: Croke 2002; ABMP practitioner pages; Shop Apotheke book listing].
  • Steps [synthesis]: (1) Ask neutrally about total spend and whether it is affordable. (2) Explore pressure: urgency, fear of relapse if stopping, practitioner suggestions to buy more or train. (3) Explore social ties: whether leaving the method would cost friendships or status. (4) Help the client set their own limits. (5) If misleading health claims or exploitative selling is apparent, discuss reporting options (4.10).
  • Example language (illustrative): "Can we look at what this is costing you each month, and how that sits with you?" / "What do you think would happen if you took a break?"
  • Watch for: debt, secrecy from family about costs, fear-based retention, the client being recruited to sell or teach. Working when spending is within limits the client chose.

4.9 Health anxiety and somatic symptom presentations

  • Purpose / when: colorpuncture use is driven by persistent worry about illness, many unexplained bodily symptoms, or repeated "energy" checks for reassurance. Cross-reference Domain II for full protocols.
  • Steps [synthesis]: (1) Assess for health anxiety, somatic symptom disorder or functional presentations using established psychological approaches (Domain II). (2) Formulate the role of reassurance-seeking: EEA readings and frequent sessions can function like checking. (3) Agree with the client, collaboratively, on whether to reduce checking of any kind (medical and complementary), without forbidding the method. (4) Coordinate with the GP for a single consistent medical plan. (5) Use the standard CBT elements from Domain II (formulation, attention and checking experiments, values-based activity).
  • Example language (illustrative): "After each reading, how long does the relief last?" / "Shall we treat the checking itself, of all kinds, as something to look at together?"
  • Watch for: shifting reassurance from one source to another; worsening anxiety after alarming readings. Working when worry and checking reduce and function improves.

4.10 Reporting routes

  • Purpose / when: a practitioner or seller makes disease-treatment claims, misleads clients, pressures them to stop medical care, harms a child or acts unprofessionally.
  • Steps: (1) Discuss with the client what happened and their wishes (unless safeguarding overrides). (2) Choose the route: UK advertising claims to the ASA, which expects clinical evidence for health claims and treats claims to treat conditions needing medical supervision as discouraging essential treatment; light products with medical claims may be medical devices for the MHRA [source: ASA/CAP phototherapy advice, 2021]. US: deceptive advertising to the FTC, product safety to the FDA [source: NCCIH "Are You Considering..."]; licensing boards where the practitioner holds a licence (e.g. acupuncture, massage) [source: NCCIH]. Germany: concerns about a Heilpraktiker to the local health authority (Gesundheitsamt) that licenses them [source: BMG Rechtsgutachten page; synthesis on route]. (3) Child protection or adult safeguarding through local procedures. (4) Record the decision and the client's involvement.
  • Example language (illustrative): "What you were told sounds like a claim to cure a disease. There are bodies that look into that. Would you like to think together about whether to report it?"
  • Watch for: the client's fear of losing the relationship; reporting becoming the therapist's crusade rather than the client's choice (except safeguarding). Working when the concern reaches the right body.

4.11 Holding scope and managing conflicts of interest

  • Purpose / when: the client asks the therapist to endorse, recommend or use colorpuncture; a colorpuncture practitioner proposes cross-referral; or the therapist has personal interest in the method.
  • Steps: (1) Decline to perform, sell, prescribe, recommend or interpret the method; explain why in terms of role and competence [source: APA 2.01]. (2) Accept no referral fees, product commissions or shared marketing [source: APA 3.06 Conflict of Interest; 6.04 Fees]. (3) Avoid multiple relationships with the client's practitioner that could impair objectivity [source: APA 3.05]. (4) If you yourself are trained in colorpuncture, keep the roles separate and seek consultation [synthesis]. (5) Record.
  • Example language (illustrative): "I'm not able to recommend it or not. That's outside what I'm trained in. What I can do is help you think about what you want from it and make sure your doctor is in the loop."
  • Watch for: pressure to take sides; your own enthusiasm or scepticism leaking into the work. Working when the client experiences you as neutral and still interested.

5. Handling problems

The cited sources do not address psychotherapists working alongside colorpuncture; all guidance in this section is [synthesis] unless a source is named.

  • Client will not disclose or minimises use. Normalise and ask again later; disclosure often follows trust. Do not interrogate. Response: "No pressure. I ask everyone, because it helps me see the whole picture."
  • Client feels judged or the alliance ruptures after a risk conversation. Acknowledge directly, separate respect for the client from concern about a specific risk, and repair. Response: "I think I came across as dismissing something that matters to you. That wasn't my intention. Can we go back over it?"
  • Client wants the therapist to say it works (or doesn't). Hold neutrality (4.11); return to the client's own observations and values. Response: "What have you noticed in yourself since starting?"
  • Stuck: client relies on colorpuncture instead of engaging in therapy tasks. Explore what therapy work feels like compared with passive light treatment; frame both as possible, not either-or; adjust pacing if therapy tasks feel too exposing.
  • Overwhelm after "release" or "conflict solution" sessions. Stabilise first (4.6); standard risk assessment for self-harm and suicide; agree a pacing plan the client controls; encourage the client to tell the practitioner.
  • Non-adherence to medical care or medicines. Explore the reasons (side effects, distrust, cost, practitioner advice) and route medicine questions to the prescriber; never advise on medicines yourself. Use motivational interviewing to explore ambivalence about medical care rather than arguing [synthesis].
  • Medical care stopped or delayed for a serious condition. Name the concern plainly; offer to help the client contact their doctor; with consent coordinate; if a child or a person lacking capacity is affected, follow safeguarding procedure [source: NCCIH on delayed care; synthesis on procedure].
  • Conflict with family about the method. Family therapy or a joint session focused on shared goals (health, safety, money), not on whether energy exists; help each side state fears and hopes.
  • Spiritual or life-path framing leads to self-blame for illness. Explore gently; offer alternative, compassionate framings drawn from the client's own values; consider spiritual care input where the client wishes.
  • Practitioner contradicts the therapist or doctor. Do not engage in conflict with the practitioner; keep the client's decision central; with consent, communicate facts only; report misleading claims where warranted (4.10).
  • Therapist's own strong views. Seek supervision when frustration, scepticism or enthusiasm affects neutrality.
  • Grief or regret after relying on the method. Where a client feels they delayed medical care, respond with compassion, help process guilt, and avoid "I told you so"; see grief and psycho-oncology domains where relevant.

Sources