Emotional Freedom Technique
What is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)?
How does it work?
What happens during an EFT session?
Who uses EFT?
What is Emotional Freedom Technique • It is a simple, fast, drug-free, safe and painless treatment;
• It will remove your fear or phobia;
• Works well for fear of spiders, rodents, flying etc
• Its effects are lasting;
• It provides relief at a very deep level;
• It will allow you to get on with your life.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is known as an ‘energy psychology’ therapy, a term created by clinical psychologist Fred Gallo (Gallo 1998). EFT differs from most psychological therapies in that they are not classic ‘talking therapies’ and do not use lengthy dialogue between practitioner and patient to help bring about therapeutic relief. Energy psychology approaches are therefore generally considered to be complementary (psychological) therapy, although they were not developed until the mid 1990s so are relatively new to the field. These approaches are based on the theory that negative emotions are caused by disturbances in the body's energy system or, as described by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), disruptions in the flow of an energy called Chi through the body’s meridian channels. Light tapping on specific meridian points while focusing on a traumatic memory, fear or phobia has been said to reduce or remove the distress caused by these negative emotions, thus helping the individual to feel better (The Association for Meridian and Energy Therapies).
Consideration is also given to other factors which may be linked to the persistence of an emotional state or ailment. These can include levels of chemical toxicity in an individual’s body, allergens, and unconscious limiting and self-sabotaging beliefs.
EFT has been used in challenging situations such as for treating traumatised victims of war zones and global disaster sites such as the bombing in Nairobi of the American Embassy in 1998, the tsunami in South East Asia 2006 and the war in Kosova in 2001 (Johnson et al. 2001) and is also in use in a number of NHS Trusts in the UK.
Top of the pageHow does it work?Who uses EFT?EFT works by allowing the body to gently release negative thoughts and beliefs centred around a particular issue such as a fear, phobia or action using specific set up phrases and tapping on specific beginning and end points of Chinese meridians.
The theory is that negative thoughts, anxieties etc are trapped in the body's energetic system. Traditional psychotherapy and counselling can help find coping strategies but they do not address the energetic system and as a result the individual still has remnants of the fear or phobia. EFT allows the body to eliminate this last part allowing the individual relieve.
What happens during an EFT session? We firstly explore what issue is causing distress ie a fear of spiders
Notes are then taken on the different aspects surrounding spiders which can cause distress
The Subjective Units of Distress (SUDs) scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is highly stressful and 0 represents no stress, is used to measure the starting stress level of each aspect of the issue;
A set-up phrase is identified to start working with the aspect which has the highest SUD score;
This set-up phrase is repeated out loud by the client while the therapist
taps gently on specific points on the face, torso and hands (the client can tap on themselves if they wish);
The after a 'round' of tapping a SUDs score is taken again. Usually it will have reduced;
Further rounds of tapping with other set-up phrases for associated aspects are made until the SUDs level for that fear or phobia is down to zero. At this stage the fear or phobia will have been disarmed;
In some cases the client will be given homework to continue working on the issues until they reach a SUDs score of 0.
Top of the page
Who uses EFT?
EFT has spread rapidly worldwide and is being used by natural health therapists, nurses, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, personal coaches, hypnotherapists, chiropractors, dentists and companies specialising in weight loss. In the UK it has been adopted and taught to staff in several NHS Trusts (for example Forth Valley NHS Trust, Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust and The Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust).
Indeed, although energy psychology approaches are usually used for psychological disorders, such as post trauma stress disorder, depression, addiction and anxiety, they are also used for physical ailments such as heart arrhythmia, migraines, asthma attacks, pain from fibromyalgia and in conjunction with the treatment of cancer, its symptom control and the side-effects of the treatment.
It is very helpful in boosting performance in athletic sports, golf, tennis etc by identifying negative thoughts surrounding success.
Emotional Freedom Technique is used in the UK in some NHS Trusts on victims of trauma including service men and women returning from war zones. It was demonstrated on TV’s Richard and Judy programme and is fast gaining acceptance as an alternative treatment to conventional approaches. It can also be used to enhance sport performance and tackle limiting beliefs. Clinical trials have proved its efficacy.
Marcia is a qualified practitioner with over 8 years experience clearing fears, phobias and limiting beliefs.
For more information on how Emotional Freedom Technique can help email me.
