Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Technique

Alternative medicine / fringe therapies
Claims	Tapping on meridian points on the body, derived from acupuncture, can release energy blockages that cause negative emotions[1][2]
Related fields	Acupuncture, Acupressure
Year proposed	1993
Original proponents	Gary Craig
See also	Thought Field Therapy, Tapas Acupressure Technique

EFT-tapping points

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an alternative intervention technique, described by some proponents as "energy psychology". EFT has the goal of desensitization, and utilizes the tapping of acupuncture points while a client focuses on a specific issue. It was derived from Thought Field Therapy by Gary Craig, a neuro-linguistic programming practitioner who gave the technique away freely in an online manual.^[1]

As with other alternative medicines lacking a plausible mechanism, critics have described EFT as "probably nonsense"^[2] and "unfalsifiable and therefore outside the realm of science."^[3] One controlled study stated that any benefit is due to traditional cognitive components, such as the placebo effect, the distraction from negative thoughts, and the therapeutic benefit of having someone actually listen, rather than from manipulation of meridians.^[4]

Process

Its founder says the techniques can be used to treat a range of emotional issues.^[5] The procedure consists of the participant rating the emotional intensity of their reaction on a Likert scale then repeating an orienting affirmation such as "Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself" while rubbing a specific spot on the chest. Next, a series of acupressure points are tapped or rubbed while stating a similar phrase. The third part of the sequence involves rubbing a point on the back of the hand whilst performing eye movements and diverse neural task. The emotional intensity is then rescored. Parts 2 and 3 are repeated until the emotional intensity shows no improvement. ^[1] EFT is very simple; almost exactly the same points are tapped, regardless of which illness, pain, or emotion the user wants to address.^[6]

Research

In 2003, researchers at the University of Lethbridge and Okanagan University College published a controlled clinical study that concludes that "components shared with more traditional therapies" are responsible for the effects of EFT in reducing fear and anxiety. Tapping plays the role of distraction, and similar effects are found when tapping on a meridian point, an arbitrary point, or on a doll.^[4]

A 2011 randomized trial compared EFT with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The study found similar improvements in both groups, although EMDR produced a slightly higher proportion of patients with substantial clinical changes compared with EFT. Due to the "speculative nature" of EFT, the authors recommend further study on what constitute the active elements of the therapy.^[7] The trial did not include a control or placebo group, and the effectiveness and scientific basis of EMDR is also an issue of ongoing debate.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Several studies reporting positive findings have been published in journals that have since disappeared,^[12] journals with an explicitly pro-alternative medicine brief,^[13][14][15] or have been funded by^[16] or carried out by^[17] proponents of EFT or "energy psychology" generally.

Critical reception

EFT has been identified as a pseudoscience in the Skeptical Inquirer, based on what the journal identifies as its lack of falsifiability, reliance on anecdotal evidence, aggressive promotion via the Internet and word of mouth.^[3] Gary Craig, the originator of EFT, has argued that tapping on meridian points on the body will manipulate the energy flow in the meridians, thus releasing the disturbance. There are many pressure points used by acupuncturists not included in EFT methodology; it is suggested that tapping one such point may have incidental effects. Scientists have pointed out that such an argument renders EFT untestable by the scientific method and that it therefore needs to be categorized as a pseudoscience, however beneficial some may consider it.^[3] EFT's successes are also thought to stem from "characteristics it shares with more traditional therapies", rather than manipulation of supposed "energy meridians" via tapping acupuncture points. There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.^[18] Testing of the EFT hypothesis through the use of a placebo group produced the same positive changes in recipients as following the EFT's standard methodology.^[4] A 2007 article by Oliver Burkeman suggested that the act of tapping parts of the body in a complicated sequence acts as a distraction, and therefore can appear to alleviate the root distress.^[2]

Criticism has also been made of the creator Gary Craig, a NLP practitioner, who has no medical background and who "offers EFT as an ordained minister".^[19][20][6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Craig, G (nd) (pdf). EFT Manual. http://www.spiritual-web.com/downloads/eftmanual.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-03. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Oliver Burkeman (2007-02-10). "Help yourself". The Guardian. http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/wellbeing/story/0,,2009525,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Brandon A. Gaudiano and James D. Herbert (2000). "Can we really tap our problems away?". Skeptical Inquirer 24 (4). http://www.csicop.org/si/show/can_we_really_tap_our_problems_away_a_critical_analysis_of_thought_field_th/. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b c} Waite WL & Holder MD (2003). "Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear". The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice 2 (1). http://www.srmhp.org/0201/emotional-freedom-technique.html. 
5. ^ Feinstein, D (2008). "Energy Psychology: A Review of the Preliminary Evidence". Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 45 (2): 199–213. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.45.2.199. ISSN 0033-3204. http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/pst/. 
6. ^ ^{a b} House, Jeanne (2008). Peak Vitality: Raising the Threshold of Abundance in Our Material, Spiritual and Emotional Lives. Elite Books. pp. 191. ISBN 9781600700132. 
7. ^ Karatzias T, Power K, Brown K, et al. (June 2011). "A Controlled Comparison of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Two Psychological Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing vs. Emotional Freedom Techniques". J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 199 (6): 372–8. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e31821cd262. PMID 21629014. 
8. ^ Kenneth Fletcher; Ricky Greenwald. "PRO and CON -- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing". http://users.umassmed.edu/Kenneth.Fletcher/emdr.html. Retrieved 2011-03-01 
9. ^ R.H. Coetzee; Stephen Regel. "Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing: an update". Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 11: 247–354. http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/reprint/11/5/347.pdf. 
10. ^ "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - EMDR". http://www.eatingdisordertreatment.com/treatment-solutions/treatment-modalities/eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing-emdr. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
11. ^ Herbert, J.; Lilienfeld, S.; Lohr, J.; Montgomery, R.; O'Donohue, W.; Rosen, G.; Tolin, D. (2000). "Science and pseudoscience in the development of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: implications for clinical psychology". Clinical psychology review 20 (8): 945–971. doi:10.1016/S0272-7358(99)00017-3. PMID 11098395.  edit
12. ^ Rowe, JE (2005). "The Effects of EFT on Long-Term Psychological Symptoms". Counseling and Clinical Psychology 2 (3): 104–111. ISSN 1545-4452. http://www.psychologicalpublishing.com/. 
13. ^ Swingle P; Pulos; Swingle M (2005). "Psychological Neurophysiological Indicators of EFT Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress". International Society for the study of Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine Journal 15 (1). http://www.issseem.org/storejournals_detail.cfm?articleid=203. 
14. ^ Brattberg G (2008). "Self-administered EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) in Individuals With Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Trial". Integrative Medicine 7 (4). 
15. ^ Church D; Geronilla L; Dinter I (2009). "Psychological symptom change in veterans after six sessions of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT): an observational study". The International Journal of Healing and Caring 9 (1). http://www.wholistichealingresearch.com/jan_2009_v9_n1.html.  Note: A fee is payable for access to this paper.
16. ^ Wells S, Polglase K, Andrews H, Carrington P, Baker A (2003). "Evaluation of a meridian-based intervention, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), for reducing specific phobias of small animals". J Clin Psychol 59 (9): 943–66. doi:10.1002/jclp.10189. PMID 12945061.  Note: This study was funded by ACEP.
17. ^ Daniel J. Benor, Karen Ledger, Loren Toussaint, Geoffrey Hett and Daniel Zaccaro (2009). "Pilot Study of Emotional Freedom Techniques, Wholistic Hybrid Derived From Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Emotional Freedom Technique, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treatment of Test Anxiety in University Students". EXPLORE: the Journal of Science and Healing 5 (6): 338–340. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2009.08.001. PMID 19913760. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7MF9-4XP1RHH-9&_user=122861&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000010080&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=122861&md5=8c4595637598da2efce5e65c8aab7ba1.  Note: This study was carried out by the originator of the technique under investigation. Subjects were not randomly assigned to treatment groups and the sample size was small. In addition, it appears that all subjects underwent all treatments, since the authors use a repeated measures statistical test. The order in which they underwent the different treatments is not clear.
18. ^ Felix Mann: "...acupuncture points are no more real than the black spots that a drunkard sees in front of his eyes." (Mann F. Reinventing Acupuncture: A New Concept of Ancient Medicine. Butterworth Heinemann, London, 1996,14.) Quoted by Matthew Bauer in Chinese Medicine Times, Vol 1 Issue 4 - Aug 2006, "The Final Days of Traditional Beliefs? - Part One"
19. ^ Temes, Roberta (2006). The Tapping Cure: A Revolutionary System for Rapid Relief from Phobias, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and More. Da Capo press. pp. 180. ISBN 9781569243244. 
20. ^ Craig, Gary (2010). EFT for Sports Performance.