Emotional Freedom Technique
| Alternative medicine | |
|---|---|
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| Claims | Tapping on "meridian points" on the body, derived from acupuncture, can release "energy blockages" that cause "negative emotions" |
| Related fields | Acupuncture, Acupressure, Energy medicine |
| Year proposed | 1993 |
| Original proponents | Gary Craig |
| Subsequent proponents | Jack Canfield, Nick Ortner |
| See also | Thought Field Therapy, Tapas Acupressure Technique |
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a form of counseling intervention that draws on various theories of alternative medicine including acupuncture, neuro-linguistic programming, energy medicine, and Thought Field Therapy (TFT). It is best known through Gary Craig's EFT Handbook, published in the late 1990s, and related books and workshops by a variety of teachers. EFT and similar techniques are often discussed under the umbrella term "energy psychology".
Advocates claim that the technique may be used to treat a wide variety of physical and psychological disorders, and as a simple form of self-administered therapy. The Skeptical Inquirer describes the foundations of EFT as "a hodgepodge of concepts derived from a variety of sources, [primarily] the ancient Chinese philosophy of chi, which is thought to be the 'life force' that flows throughout the body." The existence of this life force is "not empirically supported".
EFT has no benefit as a therapy beyond the placebo effect or any known-effective psychological techniques that may be provided in addition to the purported "energy" technique.
It is generally characterized as pseudoscience and it has not garnered significant support in clinical psychology.
During a typical EFT session, the person will focus on a specific issue while tapping on "end points of the body's energy meridians".
According to the EFT manual, the procedure consists of the participant rating the emotional intensity of their reaction on a Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) (a Likert scale for subjective measures of distress, calibrated 0-10) then repeating an orienting affirmation while rubbing or tapping specific points on the body. Some practitioners incorporate eye movements or other tasks. The emotional intensity is then rescored and repeated until no changes are noted in the emotional intensity.
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