Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Technique

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

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a form of alternative psychotherapy that purports to manipulate the body's energy field by tapping on acupuncture points while a specific traumatic memory is focused on, in order to alleviate a psychological problem.

Critics have described the theory behind EFT as pseudoscientific and have suggested that any utility stems from its more 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.

Theory

The principle behind EFT is that negative emotions can cause disturbances in the body's energy field. EFT theory derives from similar principles behind those of acupuncture.

Studies

EFT has been the subject of several publications, with both positive and negative findings.

Several studies have been published in journals with an explicitly pro-alternative medicine brief or have been funded by or carried out by proponents of EFT or "energy psychology" generally.

Criticism

EFT has been labeled 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. Gary Craig, the originator of EFT, has argued that tapping anywhere on the body will manipulate "energy meridians". 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. Skeptics 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. 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. 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. A 2007 article in the Guardian 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.

See also

• Energy medicine
• Tapas Acupressure Technique
• Thought Field Therapy

References

ar:تقنية الحرية النفسية tr:Duygusal Özgürlük Tekniği