EFT
Emotional Freedom Techniques
A little history
“Chiropractor Georges Goodheart developed Applied Kinesiology. It allowed him to detect disturbances in the body's energy by testing the strength of a muscle. When he discovered acupuncture in 1962, he adopted the meridian pattern but replaced the needles with fingertip tapping. Two well-known methods have been developed from applied kinesiology: Touch for Health by John Thie and NAET (food allergies).
John Diamond, an Australian psychiatrist, created Behavioral Kinesiology in 1970. His book Life Energy (1985) describes how the body's organs are associated explicitly with certain feelings (stomach with fear, gallbladder with bitterness, etc.). He used “positive affirmations” and simultaneously tapped the thymus region (upper chest). From this development came MBT (Meridian-Based Therapies).
In the early 80s, the American psychologist Roger Callahan made a sensational discovery. He had been trying in vain for months to free his patient Mary from a severe water phobia. One day, when he asked her to tap her belly point, just below her eyes, in connection with her fear, the fear disappeared forever. Callahan went on to successfully treat hundreds of other patients and found different “algorithms” or combinations of points to treat specific mental problems. His method, TFT or Thought Field Therapy, has been taught to many students for a great deal of money.
Gary Graig, an American student of Callahan's, engineer, pastor and NLP Master, sought a method to reach a wider audience. Above all, he wanted to avoid the long search for optimal points. He developed a standard method that did not require any knowledge of kinesiology. In 1990, he made his first public appearance with the launch of his website, www.emofree.com, which soon enjoyed enormous popularity. Several thousand people worldwide receive his electronic newsletter with news and miraculous healings every week. His method can be easily learned in seminars, but also through DVDs and a freely available electronic manual at a very reasonable price. Despite its great success, it lacks scientific validation. Since Gary Craig is not a strict scientist, he does not care and assumes that EFT will spread independently. This explains why it is still unknown to many psychotherapists.
My experience
I have to admit, the first time a patient told me that an anxiety had been removed, I smiled to myself. But after a colleague gave me a demonstration treatment in June 2005, I ordered my first set of instructional DVDs over the Internet. It sat unnoticed on my shelf for the next two months until September 2005, when I watched the first DVD out of curiosity. It demonstrated the treatment (individual session) of post-traumatic stress in a war veteran. Strange! I thought and watched on. I soon tested the method on one of my patients, and the results were good. Other excellent results soon followed. As I continued to watch the DVDs, I learned that Cary Craig often used only part of the protocol. He also used a lot of kinesiology. One of his students had the patients tap the forehead points alternately, as in EMDR. So, over time, I developed my combination of tapping some points alternately (right, left, right, etc.).
I systematically use kinesiology (muscle testing), which I have known for over 20 years, to check my work. I especially appreciate the uncomplicated and gentle nature of EFT, which allows me to quickly get to the problem without fear of being too provocative. The patient is also much more in control. It is also more flexible than EMDR: you can tap a “traumatic clip”, a single word or a whole sentence. It is also possible to use EFT during anamnesis (David Lake): while the patient recounts painful events, the therapist holds the patient's hand and taps specific acupressure points. This setting can immediately relieve stress. It avoids re-traumatization by telling the case.
Finally, the “psychological reversal” approach (see Living Free from Fear, Roger Callahan) allows for an exciting working method. It tests whether the patient is ready for healing. If not, an affirmation of self-acceptance is used in combination with tapping.
The treatment
After defining the situation (e.g., event or painful emotion), the stress is rated on a scale of 0 to 10. This is called a SUD (Subjective Units of Distress). A short sentence or a simple word is chosen as a label for the issue, e.g., “accident,” “exam,” or “I'm a coward.” This label can be changed at will during the session. The chosen phrase is said aloud at each point on the set, and the patient taps the corresponding point approximately 15 times. Treatment continues until the SUD drops to 0. If this is not achieved, a new approach must be sought. This sometimes requires the creativity of an experienced therapist. EFT can be used in combination with hypnosis, NLP, EMDR, strategic therapy, and debriefing.
Indications
EFT is a good treatment for psychological trauma (accident, abuse, natural disaster, etc.), anxiety disorders and general self-esteem issues. As with other methods, a simple trauma can be treated in 1 to 3 sessions. However, if there are multiple traumas or a complex situation, more sessions are needed. In the case of dissociative disorders (e.g., severe chronic trauma or early childhood trauma), long and careful preparation with a specially trained psychotraumatologist is always necessary. If the issue is abuse or violence, there is little point in treating the patient unless the patient's safety is guaranteed (i.e., there is still contact with the abuser).
EFT in action
Here is the variation of EFT that I have used since October 2005.
Phrase Selection
Unlike EMDR, the problem can be addressed in many ways. The phrase can address the cause (“the accident)” or a self-judgment (“I am a coward”). In general, it’s better to choose a concise description.
Psychological inversion
As psychologist Callahan explained, many patients with chronic issues have lost some of their courage. When these patients think of a positive goal (e.g., “I am thin,” “I am healthy”), they become stressed because they feel guilt and self-loathing for not having achieved it yet. This reversal can be easily demonstrated with a muscle test (kinesiology).
Saying “I am healthy” will cause the arm to test weakly, and saying “I am sick” will cause the arm to test strongly—the opposite of the expected reaction. It is enough to do the 8-point set once with the phrase “even if I have problem x, I fully accept myself,” and the body will respond normally again. Now, you can continue with the short formula.
However, some people find it very difficult to name the blocking issue in the presence of a therapist. One can do this part of the exercise in silence. The therapist does not have to know everything. The therapist can ask the patient if people with similar concerns “are allowed” to breathe, go to the movies, or eat ice cream. Most of the time, patients start to smile and are ready to tap. Some fear that if they accept themselves, they will also accept their weakness and stop fighting (e.g., against overweight or addiction). This requires an experienced therapist with a creative approach.
Kinesiology (muscle testing)
Gary Craig's method, the creator of EFT, doesn't require muscle testing. However, it is relatively easy to learn how to use the muscle test; it helps you work more accurately. This is especially true if you want to eliminate psychological reversal, which I do systematically before every exercise.
Work at home
After 3–4 sets, the patient has understood how tapping works. They can work alone first in the practice and then at home. It is essential to keep using the reversal phrase “even if I.” Self-acceptance and not focusing on the chosen affirmation (wording) more than necessary is also crucial. Some patients masochistically manage to torture themselves with tapping for hours on end. It's not supposed to be like that! Tapping constantly involves a loving attitude toward yourself, even when examining your soul's dark sides.
Resistance
It is the therapist's art to elegantly work around resistance. It often requires a great deal of humor and self-irony. “Even though I think this therapy is idiotic,” “Even though the therapist is incapable of helping me” and “Even though I don't feel like getting better,”—such “prescribed” sentences are examples of how Gary Craig and his students approach problems.
Advantages of the Technique
EFT has exciting advantages. First, working with a patient's self-acceptance patterns is fascinating. It is also advantageous to have a method that is not destabilizing or “triggering.” When I first started working with EMDR, there were times when a patient would disengage or become anxious when I confronted them with their trauma. In those situations, I switch now to EFT, the patient calms down, and we can move on. However, there are some situations where I prefer to work with EMDR because it is more powerful. I usually decide intuitively between the different techniques, or I may ask the patient what they like. This gives them more autonomy and responsibility, and the tendency to dissociate is much less.
Patients appreciate being able to continue working at home and, over time, responding immediately to difficult situations. This method promotes their autonomy. In addition, it is very easy to learn and is widely applicable to mass disasters involving a large group of victims.