Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

I. What is EFT?
Emotional Freedom Technique, also called “tapping” is a technique developed over the past fifty years which is based on the concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. The patient treats their own emotional blockages by tapping on pressure points corresponding to the meridians of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

There are hundreds of different EFT methods all based on the same basic principles. The theory is that a patient who is suffering from excessive emotions can (by tapping on these pressure points while reciting a phrase related to the emotion) experience relief and release of emotional suffering.

II. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is reported to be over 5,000 years old and originates in China. Pictures have been found in ancient China suggesting acupuncture was used along with moxibustion as early as the stone age. Sometime during the Han Dynasty (113 BCE) stones were replaced with metal needles and depictions of modern acupuncture points date back as far as 200 BCE but they do not mention needles. The Yellow Emperors Inner Cannon or Huangdi Neijing is the first text depicting acupuncture alongside moxibustion.

Around ninety works on acupuncture were written in China between the Han Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. Emperor Renzong of Song in 1023, ordered the production of a bronze statuette depicting the meridians and acupuncture points then in use. After the end of the Song Dynasty acupuncture lost it’s status over time. In 1822, an edict from the Chinese Emperor banned the practice and teaching of acupuncture within the Imperial Academy of Medicine.

Acupuncture rose again to prominence under the rule of the Communist Party in China. Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong who had first used acupuncture as an example of old China under the Party’s rise to power later revived the lost art. China has since then used acupuncture as one of it’s premier methods of medical treatment.

Acupuncture attempts to correct the flow of “qi” energy through the body. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine the bodily organs and systems are connected through “meridians.” Illness is caused by the improper flow of energy through these meridians. Acupuncture attempts to correct this energy flow and thus the illness by inserting needles at specific “pressure points” along and outside these meridians.

In the United States which Western Medicine has found no proof that these meridians exist and acupuncture is often criticized by doctors and other medical professionals. However, the IRS accepts acupuncture expenses as medical expenses when declaring taxes and some medical plans even accept acupuncture as acceptable “alternative” treatment to illness, pain, and stress.

III. History of TFT and EFT
It is contended by many EFT practitioners that tapping of the meridians has gone on as long as acupuncture. In fact several modern styles of acupuncture don’t use needles at all. Moxibustion, lancing, hot stones and even lasers (www.ewamhealth.com) are used in place of needles. The idea that tapping could be used instead of needles especially for the treatment of phobias and emotional blockages was written about by Dr. George Goodheart, a well known chiropractor in the United States who founded a branch of chiropractic medicine based upon a precise method of testing the body for information about its own needs. Goodheart learned about acupuncture from a book he read in 1962 written by the president of the acupuncture society in Britain. He invented the field of Applied Kinesiology where Goodheart substituted using pressure or “percussing” on the pressure points. He found the non-invasive method effective.

After Goodheart, in the 1970’s an Australian psychiatrist  John Diamond, M.D., took this discovery to create a variation of it which he called “Behavioral Kinesiology”. He used Goodheart’s method and added the use of affirmations to increase the effectiveness of the treatment and to aid in behavioral therapy. Tapping first became popularized in the 1980’s under the study of Dr. Roger Callahan. Callahan developed his system called Thought Field Therapy (or TFT) initially to treat a phobia in a patient who was not responding to his other treatments. He asked the patient to tap under her eyebrow during the therapy and she reportedly had amazing progress with her phobia from then on.

Callahan’s tapping treatments are often complex and each phobia or disorder has a different tapping pattern and different points. By 1987 Callahan had developed his system called “Acutap.” A student of Callahan, Gary Craig began as a star pupil and later developed a simplified single algorithm he called “Emotional Freedom Technique.” This method is now the most widely used and popularized energy psychology treatment in the world. Craig patients have found his method to be as effective as Callahan’s more complex treatment and easier to learn. At current there are hundred of systems and practitioners using Emotional Freedom Technique in various ways all stemming from Gary Craig’s system.

IV. Skepticism (another ism!)

Modern Medicine
Wikipedia states “A 2009 review found “methodological flaws” in some research studies that had reported “small successes” for EFT and the related Tapas Acupressure Technique. The review concluded that positive results may be “attributable to well-known cognitive and behavioral techniques that are included with the energy manipulation. Psychologists and researchers should be wary of using such techniques, and make efforts to inform the public about the ill effects of therapies that advertise miraculous claims.”
Additionally, an article in the Skeptical Inquirer argued that there is no plausible mechanism to explain how the specifics of EFT could add to its effectiveness, and they have been described as unfalsifiable and therefore pseudoscientific. Evidence has not been found for the existence of meridians or other concepts involved in traditional Chinese medicine.”

It is important that you are aware that this is not considered a replacement for medical treatment and there are skeptics who believe that EFT is a scam. One thing I did note is that this statement seems to discredit EFT because of it’s association with Traditional Chinese Medicine.

B. Is EFT a scam?
In my research online I have found that the information on EFT is free and plentiful. There are no attempts by the developers of the system to keep their practices secret, to make extraordinary claims to cure any terminal conditions, or even to profiteer. Many of the sites on EFT advertise treatments and classes as reasonable prices. Most sites do not charge to learn how to do EFT. In fact most sites let you download the materials for free.

It is possible the treatment isn’t effective and we are only getting a “placebo” effect. I have had effective use of this treatment on myself in many very emotional situations. I believe that if you use EFT skeptically you probably won’t have a very good effect. You must put yourself and your emotions sincerely into the treatment for it to work. You must put your emotional energy into the phrases as you say them for it to be effective. If you don’t I wouldn’t expect you to get a good result.

V. EFT Methods
There are hundreds of EFT Methods I will link to some popular sites and videos here. Below the videos I explain my method of doing EFT. I recommend that you watch and read about several methods and create your own based on the ideas that most resonate with your understanding of the therapy and your own needs.

The basic elements of an EFT treatment are three:
1. Phrases. You must create a phrase or a few phrases based on the emotion you want to treat.
2. Eye Movements. To prepare the brain for tapping you are instructed to do specific eye movements (9 Gamut) while tapping on a hand point. These eye movements are intended to activate both hemispheres of the brain and encourage them to start working together.
3. Tapping Points. The patient taps on specific tapping points while reciting the phrases. This is done in order. This process of eye movements and tapping points is repeated 2-3 times or until there is no longer any reduction in the level of emotional suffering.