HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a technique that stimulates acupressure points by pressuring, tapping or rubbing while focusing on situations that represent personal fear or trauma. EFT draws on various theories of
alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...
– including
acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
,
neuro-linguistic programming Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's book ''The Structure of Magic I'' (1975). NLP ...
,
energy medicine Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into patients and effect positive results. The field is defined by shared beliefs and practices relating to m ...
, and
Thought Field Therapy Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a fringe psychological treatment developed by American psychologist Roger Callahan. Its proponents say that it can heal a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at ...
(TFT). EFT also combines elements of
exposure therapy Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the anxiety source or its context (without the intention to cause any danger). Doing so is thought to help them overc ...
,
cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and chang ...
and somatic stimulation. 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 ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...
'' describes the foundations of EFT as "a hodgepodge of concepts derived from a variety of sources, rimarilythe ancient Chinese philosophy of
chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...
, 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 (1) the
placebo effect A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...
or (2) any known effective psychological techniques that may be provided in addition to the purported "energy" technique. It is generally characterized as
pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
, and it has not garnered significant support in clinical psychology.


Process

During a typical EFT session, the person will focus on a specific issue while tapping on " end points of the body's energy meridians." EFT tapping exercises combine elements of cognitive restructuring and exposure techniques with acupoint stimulation. The technique instructs individuals to tap on meridian endpoints of the body – such as the top of the head, eye brows, under eyes, side of eyes, chin, collar bone, and under the arms. While tapping, they recite specific phrases that target an emotional component of a physical symptom. 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) – i.e., a
Likert scale A Likert scale ( ,) is a psychometric scale named after its inventor, American social psychologist Rensis Likert, which is commonly used in research questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, s ...
for subjective measures of distress, calibrated 0 to 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.


Mechanism

Proponents of EFT and other similar treatments believe that tapping/stimulating acupuncture points provide the basis for significant improvement in psychological problems. However, the theory and mechanisms underlying the supposed effectiveness of EFT have "no evidentiary support" "in the entire history of the sciences of biology, anatomy, physiology, neurology, physics, or psychology." Researchers have described the theoretical model for EFT as "frankly bizarre" and "pseudoscientific." One review noted that one of the highest quality studies found no evidence that the location of tapping points made any difference, and attributed effects to well-known psychological mechanisms, including distraction and breathing therapy. An article in the ''
Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...
'' argued that there is no plausible mechanism to explain how the specifics of EFT could add to its effectiveness, and they have been described as
unfalsifiable Falsifiability (or refutability) is a deductive standard of evaluation of scientific theories and hypotheses, introduced by the philosopher of science Karl Popper in his book '' The Logic of Scientific Discovery'' (1934). A theory or hypothesi ...
and therefore
pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
. Evidence has not been found for the existence of meridians.


Research quality

EFT has no useful effect as a therapy beyond the placebo effect or any known-effective psychological techniques that may be used with the purported "energy" technique, but proponents of EFT have published material claiming otherwise. Their work, however, is flawed and hence unreliable: high-quality research has never confirmed that EFT is effective. A 2009 review found "methodological flaws" in research studies that had reported "small successes" for EFT and the related
Tapas Acupressure Technique Tapas Acupressure Technique (or TAT) is an alternative medicine therapy that claims to clear negative emotions and past traumas. Though the full technique was invented in 1993 by Tapas Fleming, TAT incorporates elements of and builds on other acu ...
. The review concluded that positive results may be "attributable to well-known cognitive and behavioral techniques that are included with the energy manipulation. Psychologists and researchers should be wary of using such techniques, and make efforts to inform the public about the ill effects of therapies that advertise miraculous claims." A 2016 systematic review found that EFT was effective in reducing
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
compared to controls, but also called for more research to establish the relative efficacy to that of established treatments.


Reception

A
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
poll of an expert panel of psychologists rated EFT on a scale describing how discredited EFT has been in the field of psychology. On average, this panel found EFT had a score of 3.8 on a scale from 1.0 to 5.0, with 3.0 meaning "possibly discredited" and a 4.0 meaning "probably discredited." A book examining pseudoscientific practices in psychology characterized EFT as one of a number of "fringe psychotherapeutic practices," and a psychiatry handbook states EFT has "all the hallmarks of
pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
." EFT, along with its predecessor,
Thought Field Therapy Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a fringe psychological treatment developed by American psychologist Roger Callahan. Its proponents say that it can heal a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at ...
, has been dismissed with warnings to avoid their use by publications such as ''
The Skeptic's Dictionary ''The Skeptic's Dictionary'' is a collection of cross-referenced skeptical essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book. The skepdic.com site was launched in 1994 and the book was published in 2003 ...
'' and
Quackwatch Quackwatch is a United States-based website focused on promoting consumer protection and providing information about health related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. It primarily targets alternative medicine, questionable health cl ...
. Proponents of EFT and other energy psychology therapies have been "particularly interested" in seeking "scientific credibility" despite the implausible proposed mechanisms for EFT. A 2008 review by energy psychology proponent David Feinstein concluded that energy psychology was a potential "rapid and potent treatment for a range of psychological conditions." However, this work by Feinstein has been widely criticized. One review criticized Feinstein's methodology, noting he ignored several research papers that did not show positive effects of EFT, and that Feinstein did not disclose his
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
as an owner of a website that sells energy psychology products such as books and seminars, contrary to the best practices of research publication. Another review criticized Feinstein's conclusion, which was based on research of weak quality and instead concluded that any positive effects of EFT are due to the more traditional psychological techniques rather than any putative "energy" manipulation. A book published on the subject of
evidence-based Evidence-based practice is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. The movement towards evidence-based practices attempts to encourage and, in some instances, require professionals and other decision-makers ...
treatment of substance abuse called Feinstein's review "incomplete and misleading" and an example of a poorly performed evidence-based review of research. Feinstein published another review in 2012, concluding that energy psychology techniques "consistently demonstrated strong effect sizes and other positive statistical results that far exceed chance after relatively few treatment sessions." This review was also criticized, where again it was noted that Feinstein dismissed higher quality studies which showed no effects of EFT, in favor of methodologically weaker studies which did show a positive effect. In response to a literature review by D. Feinstein on "Manual Stimulation of Acupuncture Points", published in 2023 in the ''
Journal of Psychotherapy Integration The ''Journal of Psychotherapy Integration'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association on behalf of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration. It was established in 1991 and covers re ...
'', Cassandra L. Bonessa, Rory Pfundb, and David F. Tolin publish, in the same journal, a critical analysis of 3 meta-analyses highlighted by this study. By using the AMSTAR2 analysis criteria, they come to the conclusion that these were poorly carried out and that their quality is “Critically low”. The three researchers call EFT pseudo-science and an “ unsinkable rubber duck”.


References


External links

* Short
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
video describing EF

* {{Authority control Energy therapies Manual therapy Emotion Pseudoscience