EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique

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EFT is the acronym for Emotional Freedom Technique; a powerful psychological self help tool and method of treatment whose origins are in age old traditional Chinese medicine.

This page will present many aspects of EFT from the history of it, applications, description of how the technique is performed and applied, suggested resources and more.

EFT History

In many ways it is closely related to the growth, development and wide spread popularity of acupuncture in the west.

Most of us know acupuncture in simplest terms as a method of healing with the use of needles. Practitioners of the healing method put needles on the points they refer to as ‘the energy pathways of the body.’ Obviously it is a massively in depth art form, but the basic principle behind “energy pathways” is the foundation for EFT. My understanding is that initially the focus of acupuncture and similar methods were created to serve as relief for physical ailments; the emotional aspect was explored later on.

The development of Emotional Freedom technique, EFT, has been credited to Gary Craig, as early as the nineties. EFT is believed to have sprung from the ‘Thought Field Therapy’ (TFT), a method of therapy whose creation has been credited to Dr Roger Callahan, a physiologist and acupuncturist whose specialty and experience lay in treatment of patients with anxiety disorders. Callahan’s work got a breakthrough after he helped a hydrophobic patient overcome her fear of water. By telling her to tap on an acupuncture point below her eye, he was not only able to help her dissolve the fear but also put an end to her anxiety attacks. Roger Callahan’s studies were based on Kinesiology and Acupuncture, both of which have greatly influenced Emotional Freedom Therapy.

While Callahan is credited with developing the foundation and creating the basic concept behind the EFT, Gary Craig is the one who took up the further development of the EFT, taking it through refinement and breaking it down for further simplification. The result of Gary Craig’s extensive work the birth of a simpler, highly effective, widely recognized, globally accepted, and increasingly popular therapeutic and healing technique known as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

Gary Craig was a business person and an engineer who studied under Callahan. He discovered that an individual’s state of emotional health had profound impact on such individual’s self esteem issues and quality of living. Gary developed an easy method which covered the 14 Meridian points. Not only did it erase the time and cost consuming extensive muscle testing, it also allowed for self application, erasing the need for specialized training needed for the muscle testing.

Gary Craig’s EFT invention is not only easy to apply; it also has been shown to generate unbelievably effective results within a short period of time for many people.

EFT has to do with tapping or percussion of certain points in the body. Light pressure is applied with the finger tips to energy pathways or points in the body while concentrating on the problem or ailment. Doing this will help ease up the energy congestion experienced and release pent up energy and tension, allowing for free flow of energy throughout the body.

EFT documented treatments

Though in principle the Emotional Freedom Technique could assist with any issue, there are cases where EFT has been successfully applied in the past include the following:

• Treatment of addictions like smoking, drug use and drinking addictions.
• Treatment of hydrophobia (a situation where a person is abnormally scared of water. The person is usually irrationally afraid of bathing, swimming or going near water. In some cases, a sufferer will flip out when his/her body comes in contact with water)
• Treatment of Bulimia nervosa (a case of emotional over eating or over feeding, which triggers a bout of depression, followed by nausea, vomiting (which is often self induced) or purging or abstinence.
• Treatment of anorexia – an opposite of Bulimia, it is characterized by little or no eating and general loss of appetite. Food usually has no appeal and is often avoided or disregarded. An anorexic is scared of putting on or adding weight and is overly concerned about the shape of his/her body.
• Treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) and Hypotension (low blood pressure)
• Treatment of mild or severe headaches and migraines
• Treatment of agoraphobia – Agoraphobia is generally defined as an irrational excessive and uncontrollable fear of open and public places. Sometimes agoraphobia arises when a person is faced with a situation where escape is almost impossible or is likely to generate a wave of embarrassment.
• Treatment of asthma
• Treatment of claustrophobia – this is an abnormal fear of closed and confined spaces. Sufferers usually feel trapped with no means of escape
• Treatment of Carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition where the nerve running into the palm from the forearm gets squashed, causing the palm and fingers to become painful and numbed.
• Treatment of Diabetes
• Treatment of depression, pain, OCD and low self esteem.
• Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive disorder in children and adults alike. ADD/ADHD sufferers find it difficult concentrating on issues for long or taking care of daily routines. They have short attention spans, are highly forgetful and unable to stay interested in something for too long. They have high level of energy and are hyperactive)
• Others include treatments for Phobias, dyslexia, anger amongst others.

Basic EFT procedure

A normal EFT process involves the patient focusing on his/her ailments or issues needing the Emotional Freedom Technique; then the intensity of the emotion felt for the ailment or issue is ranked on a scale of 1 to ten. The person then taps the necessary tapping points, while repeating sentences or affirmations out loud, focusing on the issue. After some time, the person rates the current intensity of the emotion felt and repeats this procedure until the issue or ailment has been effectively dealt with.

EFT Major energy pathways or tapping locations in the body

The major energy pathways where Emotional Freedom Technique is applied are;
The Karate chop meridian point
Side of the eye meridian point
Underneath the eyes
Directly on the chin
Underneath the nose
The area outside the outer edge of the eyebrows
The area inside the inner edge of the eyebrows
At the point of the collarbone
Underneath the arm
Top of the head meridian point

Recent Popularity of EFT

The Emotional Freedom Technique has been getting a lot of attention lately, with good cause. There are many, many cases showing that it greatly benefits the body physically, mentally and emotionally. It aids body relaxation, helps to improve health and general wellness, aids psychological development and helps to keep the brain stable and stress free. It increases confidence, boosts self esteem and promotes tranquility. EFT is safe and harmless and can be used for people of all ages, whether male or female. Application does not require intricate or technical skill or expertise; it can be learnt by anyone and can be taught to anyone.

EFT practitioners believe that negative thoughts and emotions obstruct free flow of energy through the body and focus on decongesting the energy pathways and aiding body relaxation. Unlike acupuncture, EFT does not require the use of needles. It basically requires tapping of the energy points and can be done as many times as possible. It is cheap, easy to learn and easy to apply for fantastic results.