Emotional Freedom Technique

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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.[1]

Studies

EFT has been the subject of several publications, with both positive[2][unreliable source?] and negative[3] findings.

Several studies have been published in journals with an explicitly pro-alternative medicine brief[4][5][6] or have been funded by[7] or carried out by[8] 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.[9] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[3] 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.[11]

See also

References

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ar:تقنية الحرية النفسية

cs:Techniky emoční svobody de:Emotional Freedom Techniques id:Emotional Freedom Technique hu:EFT nl:Emotional Freedom Techniques ja:EFT pl:Technika emocjonalnego wyzwolenia pt:Emotional Freedom Techniques ru:Техника Эмоциональной Свободы

tr:Duygusal Özgürlük Tekniği
  1. Craig, G. "EFT Manual". 
  2. Rowe, JE (2005). "The Effects of EFT on Long-Term Psychological Symptoms". Counseling and Clinical Psychology. 2 (3): 104–111. ISSN 1545-4452. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 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). 
  4. 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). 
  5. Brattberg G (2008). "Self-administered EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) in Individuals With Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Trial". Integrative Medicine. 7 (4). 
  6. 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).  Note: A fee is payable for access to this paper.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.  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.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Brandon A. Gaudiano and James D. Herbert (2000). "Can we really tap our problems away?" ([dead link]). Skeptical Inquirer. 24 (4). 
  10. 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"
  11. Oliver Burkeman (2007-02-10). "Help yourself". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-06-29.