Time to turn off the Tap: Why Emotional Freedom Technique is dangerous nonsense
January 16, 2014 76 Comments
“Tapping therapy”, or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), has squirmed its way into mainstream media once again.
On Wednesday, BBC Midlands ran a segment on the results of a recent study using the technique, which combines tapping various points on the body with repeating positive statements. Apparently, all but one of the 36 patients in the trial had recovered. Senior doctors in the segment appeared to be pleasantly confused but utterly won over.
So if nearly every patient in the trial got better, why was there such an outpouring of derision on social media? Why exactly is “tapping therapy” a load of nonsense?
There’s no evidence it works
Firstly, as the lead author on the trial, Professor Tony Stewart, was keen to point out, the study was only a service evaluation. All they did was give a group of people with mild mental health difficulties some “tapping therapy”, to see if it was practical to do in a GP surgery. This is a very different thing to testing if a treatment works or not.
Just because the patients got better after some “tapping therapy” doesn’t mean it was the therapy that caused the change. People naturally get better anyway, especially if their problems are relatively mild. This is called regression to the mean. Even half of people with major depression recover completely within a year if you do nothing at all.
And even if the patients getting “tapping therapy” recovered quicker than they might have done without it, that doesn’t mean that there’s something special about the technique. The “tapping therapy” involves the patient saying lots of positive things to themselves while tapping – the nice comments would make you feel pretty good, regardless of whether you were tapping yourself, hopping around on one leg or watching Thomas the Tank.
But we don’t have hopping therapy, and the Fat Controller is thoroughly underqualified.
So we really can’t say whether or not the tapping did any good at all from this trial. What we need are trials that compare a group of patients who get “tapping therapy” to a group of patients who get something that cancels out the effects discussed above – perhaps a few sessions with a friendly counsellor.
Unsurprisingly, there really aren’t any good studies out there. McCaslin published a fair review of the meagre collection trials of “tapping therapy” in 2009, finding them riddled with basic methodological errors, including:
- Drawing conclusions from a p value of 0.09
- Not declaring the number of patients who dropped out
- Poor, if any, blinding
- Not controlling for placebo effects
- Not controlling for demand characteristics
- Tiny sample sizes
- Bizarre, or inadequate, control groups
In fact, the biggest study, by Waite and Holder, who used the technique on phobias, found that all four of their groups (including doing nothing, tapping on the wrong places and quite brilliantly, tapping on a doll) did equally well.
Why would it work anyway?
Before we even ask if something works, we have to ask why we think it might. Is it plausible?
This is where “tapping therapy” really starts to get unhinged. Flicking through the 79-page manual written by Gary Craig, we find choice quotes like:
“EFT was originally designed to overhaul the psychotherapy profession. Fortunately, that goal has been reached…”
The manual states the starting point for the theory behind “tapping therapy”:
“The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system”
and therefore that
“Tapping [various points of the body] sends pulses through the meridian lines and fixes the disruption”.
The tapping is combined with making positive statements, like
“Even though I still have some of this war memory, I deeply and completely accept myself”
until the bad feelings go away.
I don’t know about you, but I sat in lectures at medical school for 5 years. I’ve assisted in countless operations, looked at hundreds of scans, and studied physiology and neurology, but I’ve never seen anything resembling a meridian line in a human being. There is nothing special about the parts of the body “tapping therapy” chooses. In real life, there is simply no rational basis why tapping on arbitrary parts of the body would have any effect – apart from giving you a sore finger if you did it hard enough.
Any benefit really is just down to people saying self-affirming, hopeful things to themselves while they look a bit silly.
Why this is dangerous
So if “tapping therapy” doesn’t do anything special, how can it do any damage?
It can’t do any damage directly – but it can certainly harm patients who urgently need treatments that do work, by delaying and fooling them. Every second someone spends having “tapping therapy” is time they could be spending seeking effective treatment for their mental illness, or perhaps even worse, for their physical illnesses. The manual claims to be able to cure allergies and respiratory conditions, as well as cancer too – things which can kill quickly if left untreated.
Pursuing “tapping therapy” as a potential therapy, by wasting thousands of pounds on further trials and therapist training, diverts sorely needed resources from interventions that really do have rational, believable promise. Things that could help people.
On top of all of that, lending it credibility in the form of airtime and column inches will only skew the public’s idea of what real science is about – hard work and small steps. Everyone wants a miracle cure, but we can’t delude ourselves into thinking we’ve found one when it makes no sense on any level.
Time to turn off the tap.
About Alex Langford
The Psychiatry SHO* 
You forgot to mention your large ego and over inflated sense of self importance.
There is plenty of proof of the validity of EFT or meridian tapping if you care to look without your obvious purpose of finding fault and expressing biased opinion.
I encourage readers with a more open mind to examine the scientific proof that some people crave. Besides the numerous studies including RCTs (randomized controlled trials) there are thousands of anecdotal real life experiences that the layperson can relate much better to.
budurl.com/EFTproof
p.s. I always encourage others to “do your own thinking” by making up their own minds i.e. don’t take Alex’s word or my word —> examine the boatload of evidence & info via the above link
Responsibility for health lies with the person experiencing ill health. I agree with the point that ill people need protection and assistance from qualified medics and other health professionals, however, in my view I would like the eastern concept of their healing systems along with our own to be valued and understood.
Wow 3 years..how arrogant.I have paid idiots like you .All you have done is read certain texts and puke it out in expensive..dull ..ineffective bore ..Prescriptions and basically..could talk to a stranger at a bus stop and get as much help from your type.I have had ptsd..anorexia and prescription addictions handed to me by some of the most highly respected colleagues..After 20years and the value of a 4 bed house in London.I found eat online and cured myself.by way of dealing with eft..it is beyond helpful I hadn’t been out the house for 8 months wouldn’t come out of my room ..see people..my body was toxic from drs “help” and once you people mess up you pass us around ..in 3weeks I’m vegan ..working out ..walking 2K a day ..socialising..talking care of my nutrition..keeping a control on my emotions and responses and lifting my mood without drugs..so you are a child career wise ..start growing and stop talking shut about anything that may interupt your flow of cash..I was also given EFT every am and transcendental meditation..go read the papers on the energy mood and quality of word produced by children given the practices.People like you are just as bad as ambulance chasers ..how could someone as inexperienced in life possibly have wisdom of any value..I call buckshot on you and your crying about people “distracting” themselves by fixing themselves for free..yeah doesn’t pay your student loans does it..I’m dyslexic before you feel like grammar checking me ..basic.
I appreciate Alex’s skeptism and I agree it’s better to decide for oneself if it works. Argument from Ignorance (also, Argumentum ad Ignorantiam): The fallacy that since we don’t know (or can never know, or cannot prove) whether a claim is true or false, it must be false (or that it must be true)
It’s a scientist’s JOB to find fault in medical practices, so they can be improved or discontinued. Anecdotal experiences are not scientifically sound because they are not controlled- it’s basically just positive and negative noise with no way to sort it out.
…”You forgot to mention your large ego and over inflated sense of self importance”… yeah right, with your aggressive reply you have convinced us all: the original poster is a hack and you are the true Messiah, tapping round for everyone! (sigh). Alex Langford has written above a logical article and used very sensible arguments that make use of the scientific method to debunk that commercial abuse being dumped on poor helpless and gullible people who would be attached to anything in the hope of reducing stress and anxiety. It’s a good thing the voice of reason is still shining out there to help us from drowning in all the nonsense the opportunists keep dumping on us.
What an arrogant person Alex is. I have been using EFT for approx. 15yrs. when I first heard about and went to a workshop and trained in EFT. Prior to using EFT doctors had put me on anti=depression tablets sent me to counsellors. Anti depressed numbed the emotions and counsellor’s were just as useless and offered no solutions to helping me to get better. It was only EFT that helped me change patterns of behaviour and beliefs that enabled me to heal. If I had not found EFT I know I would have been long dead. EFT is so effective in helping to change thinking patterns Counsellors and psychologist are good at stating the obvious that your thinking is not good etc etc… but they do not have the tools to change the writings on your walls. EFT is a tool that enables you to change self sabotage beliefs. It enable you to get your own power back rather than others having the power. Alex I think you need to tap on why you are so adamant on criticizing something that is so effective. Is it because you fear that something is being taken away from what you do?
No, it’s because there’s no good evidence or reason why it would work, read the post
Can you clarify, Alex, in what way dozens of RCTs and several systematic reviews/meta-analyses do not constitute evidence? Indeed, they do not explain the actual mechanism of EFT working (which is also the case for the great majority of psychological therapies as it is exceptionally difficult to demonstrate what the actual active ingredients are in such treatments), there is a significant volume of evidence for its efficacy for PTSD, anxiety, depression, and food cravings. Yes, it would be good to have more larger scale studies and to improve the quality of controls etc, but to dismiss the existing research just because you’ve already made up your mind ‘s not an attitude worthy of a scientist
Dozens of meta analyses? 😀
Go on, show me ONE that would make NICE even think about recommending it.
Yes the ignorance and arrogance of shrinks who only know how to push drugs on people who need real help is appalling. Not to mention endless couch sessions that do little else but pad their fees. I know how these phd types operate. First they say there is no real evidence, later when people like me show them plenty of evidence which they barely examine before proclaiming that in their esteemed wisdom they do not agree with the evidence presented. How convenient and self serving. Have you noticed that there are several comments here from people that have been helped by EFT but NONE that say that they are so grateful for the help of drug pushing shrinks that have not helped clients in any meaningful way.
Sadly, Alex, that just proves my point as you didn’t even bother to read my reply properly – I wrote “dozens of RCTs and several systematic reviews/meta-analyses”, not “dozens of meta analyses” as you stated. I have listed some references in other comments to these articles. I could offer more if I had an inkling that you were even remotely interested in any challenge to your well-established views.
Hurray for calling out EFT as the utter humiliating, bullying bunkum that it is. It’s a heart sink moment reading that a therapy is based on treating something deemed to be ” a disruption in the body’s energy system” Will EFT be prescribed for those who have just had massive heart attacks? Probably the wrong sort of energy.
I would also add EMDR and Group Based CBT to a list entitled “Cheap Bunkum That Does Not Work But Can Harm Individuals Badly”
I am a registered psychotherapist working both in the NHS and private practice. I use NICE-recognised approaches such as CBT and EMDR, but from my clinical observations I believe that EFT greatly enhances effectiveness of my work, it typically makes treatment quicker, gentler, more effective, and the clients less likely to drop out of treatment and/or relapse.
Yes plenty more research is needed, but some of the existing studies (regardless of their limitations) and clinical experience of many mental health and medical professionals who already use EFT are promising and I believe it is short-sighted of the author to dismiss them altogether.
Thanks for the comment.
My response is that your clinical observations – all of our clinical observations – are not a relaible guide to what works and what doesn’t. Like I discuss in the piece, just because someone has tapping therapy doesn’t mean it was the tapping that helped, or that they wouldn’t have improved without anyone of it.
That’s why we have trials.
The existing evidence base is highly biased, confounded and based on a completely unscientific premise – “energy lines”.
It isn’t irresponsible of me to critique this, it’s my duty as a doctor to point out poorly evidenced bunkum.
I agree, by use use of language that he staes its nonsence, while at the same time states that there is a limited amount of studies. This is clearly not objective and bad science (coming to a conlusion with limited infomation). In addition, highlighting the methological flaws in the original design proccess of a method, does not catogorically show it doesnt work. I would assume that this is hard to test for placebo while tapping on the body, whilst tapping on a doll may recruit the mirror neuron system. This could be tested and I would be open to this before coming to a conclusion. Additionally if an effect is found while tapping on the wrong parts or in the wrong order, all this shows is that the original explanation is flawed. Very hard to test placebo in my opinion. Ive not actually tried this myself, Im just reading around.
I invite you to do a search of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. There are NO scientific studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of EFT just as there is no scientific evidence of the existence of the underlying “invisible energy field” that it purports to manipulate.
I am surprised by your statement about lack of research in peer-reviewed journals – on the contrary, there are approximately 50 randomised controlled trials and several systematic reviews/meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals that support the efficacy of EFT.
Below are a few examples.
Gilomen, S. A. & Lee, C. W. (2015). The efficacy of acupoint stimulation in the treatment of psychological distress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 48, 140-148.
Nelms, J. & Castel, D. (2016). A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized trials of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for the treatment of depression. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 12(6), 416–426.
Clond, M. (2016). Emotional Freedom Techniques for anxiety: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 204(5),388-95.
Metcalf, O., Varkert, T., Forbes, D., Phelps, A., Dell, L., DiBattista, A., Ralph, N. & O’Donnell, M. (2016). Efficacy of fifteen emerging interventions for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 29(1), 88-92.
Stapleton, P., Bannatyne, A., Porter, B., Urzi, K.C., & Sheldon, T. (2016). Food for thought: A randomised controlled trial of emotional freedom techniques and cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of food cravings. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 8(2), 232–257.
Church, D., Yount, G. & Brooks, A. (2012). The effect of emotional freedom technique (EFT) on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(10), 891–896.
Karatzias, T., Power, K., Brown, K., McGoldrick, T., Begum, M., Young, Y., Loughran, P., Chouliara, Z., & Adams, S. (2011). A controlled comparison of the effectiveness and efficiency of two psychological therapies for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing vs. Emotional Freedom Techniques. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (2011), 199(6), 372-378.
Church, D., Yount, G., Rachlin, K., Fox, L., & Nelms, J. (2016). Epigenetic
effects of PTSD remediation in veterans using Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Health Promotion, pii: 0890117116661154.
Al-Hadethe, A., Hunt, N., Al-Qaysi, G., Thomas, S. (2015). Randomized controlled study comparing two psychological therapies for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) vs. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET). Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment, 4(4).
Church, D., Piña, O., Reategui, C., & Brooks, A. J. (2012). Single session reduction of the intensity of traumatic memories in abused adolescents: A randomized controlled trial. Traumatology, 18(3), 73-79.
I underwent EDMR for serious stress and depression. For me it worked, don’t know how but it did. Large outpouring of suppressed grief over the loss of a dear friend that I’d been carrying round for 20 years and didn’t realise it. It was a huge relief to me and my wife to release the burden. Better than pharmaceuticals.
I would be interested in seeing the scientific control trials on how to measure contentment acceptance and peace. Science is designed to objectify people to numbers and while this is important in understanding how to repeat results in applying insavive treatment such as surgery (I.e fixing what is physically wrong) it is detrimental to healing individuals with their own experience of the world. I could compare EFT to washing your face -is it harmful to touch your own face gently? There are more questions than answers when it comes to answering my last question. I am glad that gentle easy approaches are available for people who require healing, after all, healing is about care, rest and being kind and caring with oneself.
Just as an update on research so far, for the present moment there are 47 randomised controlled trials published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as 7 systematic reviews / meta-analyses that support EFT as an effective therapy for wide ranging conditions including PTSD, anxiety, depression
I use several therapeutic approaches in my clinical practice, include those recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (CBT and EMDR) but I would not be without EFT, I have seen it to be a life saver for many vulnerable people in a range of settings, including prisons, addiction treatment services and mental health services
I do not dispute that currently available evidence is insufficient in volume and in quality. I used to be a scientist in the past so understand the importance of rigorous and unbiased scrutiny in research.
However the study you are writing about was based on a small-scale pilot service evaluation, and never intended to fulfil the criteria of “gold standard” research – this would have been unrealistic, unnecessary and very, very expensive.
In terms of quality of evidence, there have been a few small scale RCTs conducted already, and as far as I understand more are in progress, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
You seem to be automatically assuming that all those who practise EFT base their understanding on the concept of “meridians” /“energy lines”. Whilst that is the case for many, as the technique originated in the field of complementary therapy, there are also a number of other theories and hypotheses based on neuroscience that are shared by others (admittedly none of them are entirely satisfactory or proven as yet, but some make rather more sense to me as a lapsed scientist). I would personally not categorise EFT within “alternative therapies” as for me it sits much better within psychotherapeutic approaches such as EMDR and various body psychotherapies.
In my clinical experience the effects of EMDR and EFT are extremely similar (which was something suggested by the outcome of the recent small-scale study comparing these two treatments for simple PTSD, conducted by Edinburgh University / Forth Valley Behavioural Psychology Service). No, we don’t have a clear understanding of the mechanisms of either (and EMDR had its fair share of flack in the past, and is still continuing to in some quarters, despite a hefty volume of research and approval by NICE). On a pragmatic level, whilst seemingly having similar outcomes in clinical practice, EFT tends to be gentler than EMDR, with fewer contra-indications and side-effects, and is more amenable for self-help (of course this is based just on my personal experience / opinion and anecdotal evidence from my colleagues).
Whilst I use a wide range of psychotherapeutic interventions in my work, including those based on good quality evidence and widely implemented within NHS, if someone was to put a gun to my head and say “You are allowed to keep just one technique/intervention and have to discard all others”, I would not hesitate for long before I would choose to keep the tapping.
As I am writing this I am smiling to myself remembering how 10 years ago when EFT was first introduced to me, my initial reaction was “what a load of b****cks!” (this was also my second reaction, and the third one, and some more after that). Despite my extreme scepticism and initial reluctance to even consider this nonsensical-looking approach I’ve eaten my hat since, and wish you the same 🙂
A great article on sloppy and uncritical reporting by the BBC. Some of the negative comments here seem to miss the especially in light of the Waite and Holder trial. And that point is that EFT ( a registered trade mark) does show signs of offering some benefit. These benefits however may not be a result of EFT but rather exposure, distraction and cognitive bias and that tapping on meridians is merely smoke and mirrors to create the impression of novelty thereby allowing Mr Craig ( a realtor by profession) the right to charge license and franchise fees.
If Craig genuinely had the interests of humanity at heart then he would finance large scale, double blind RCTs, maybe he could get his big Alt Med supporters such as Chopra, Mercola and Hay to chip in, but then again these folk are only interested in making money from the sick and vulnerable not spending money helping them.
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When I was introduced to E.F.T. by a person who had just returned from America, there was just one website when searched on the big G. emofree dot com
I have just found this article whilst carrying out the second search, and at the same time discovered that more than 20 million websites now exist.
Over the years, I have introduced and used E.F.T. for the purpose of helping people, who, in my opinion, would benefit at that particular timeframe of their “emotional condition”.
In general, I have found two things.
ONE. Despite the subject sounding a little “different” most people were happy to try it, and like myself, the results they experienced were positive, dramatic and instant.
TWO. A very small amount of people, instantly dismiss the subject as “BlaBlaBla” and do not even want to hear any more, but will rant on and on and on, with negative remarks, such as “making money from the sick and vulnerable”
Note: I have never charged for E.F.T. just used it as another tool in my “Bag”
In my experience, all results have been positive and without side effects.
Like the World Wide Web, E.F.T. is a powerful tool used properly, and should be free to all.
Chris from Hampshire
Id been charged 800 pounds for 9 hours sessions.
Did the treatment help you?
Why not try an EFT session to sort out your fear-based negativity and skepticism!
Are you really suggesting that we shouldn’t have scepticism in healthcare?
INteresting article, one pint, we ALL use electricity. but it is still not fully understood, but do we dismoss it?no!! so by the same token we should not dismiss EFT “just because we dont understand it”. A look at history will tell you that derision is the halllmark of paeople who through habit, cling to established ideas. The world was considered flat for meny centuries intill proven contrarywise… the earth was beeived to be the centre of the universe, untill proven otherwise.. so before you go poo pooing EFT. study your history it might surprise you.. 10 years down the line you might find yourself staring at scientific proof of the eficacy of EFT.OH and one more thing. it has been shown that, that which is observed is affected by the observer. so even science for all its cleim to objectivity is not iteslf truly objective.
sigh! “electricity … is still not fully understood” enough said. now i know the educational and IQ level of people who are so poor, so simple-minded that they fall into the nonsense trap. you know what, you’re not worth saving if you’re so dumb. go ahead indulge yourself in eft and what have you. hoping you’ll top yourselves once you realized it’s all nothing. it’s an natural evolution purge.
I dont get it, are you just trying to promote your own conventional failed methods I am sure you fancy SSI pills and Chock treatment too. “Just because the patients got better after some “tapping therapy” doesn’t mean it was the therapy that caused the change. People naturally get better anyway, especially if their problems are relatively mild”. Have you seen the video EFF on Veterans, would you call this a mild case ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=B4hhMm8qsCs
EFT may indeed neutralise stored or blocked emotion but it fails to address associated core beliefs; this is probably why in the EFT Manual the case of ulcerative colitis was not completely cured. As an ex-sufferer i know there is a very specific core belief responsible for UC via psycho-neuro-immunological mechanisms, which it is necessary to change. I did not use EFT.
EFT literally saved my life. I had tried various therapies- both traditional and non- and EFT was the only one that truly made an impact. Talk therapy seemed to only re traumatize me, and I never felt like the issue was ever ‘relieved’ or ‘cleared.’ I discovered EFT, on my own, when I was 16. I am grateful that the resources were free, because I could have immediate access and begin. Once I started (skepticism in tow), I cleared major emotional and physical issues within WEEKS. I was a completely different individual. At the end of the day, the way I think and feel and the beliefs I hold are what contribute to the joy (or lack thereof) in my life. If people have found an emotional therapy system that works for them, who are you to try to take that away? Your blanket statement of “sure, it could have been the EFT…or anything else in the universe that could potentially help people…” is the only thought system that I believe could offer any real harm.
It certainly didn’t work for me, but that’s because I was sceptical to begin with. So there you have proof of the placebo effect 🙂
Professor Stewart was paid £40k by Sandwell PCT for this service evaluation. A rather expensive sugar pill!
That’s not a lot of money for a decent service evaluation,
But it is lot for a registered trademarked placebo. And as all of the authors have business connections it’s somewhat dishonest too. I’m sure you’ll agree that the NHS shouldn’t be paying to evaluate commercial products. I would also add that this can hardly be described as a decent service evaluation – meaningless stats and very generous conclusion.
And by the way to clarify my comment about a decent service evaluation, The £40k was the money paid to Mr Stewart personally as a fee for his “Tapping” not for the evaluation per se. The cost of the evaluation may have been considerably higher, given the number of hands in the till.
The following is taken from NRES Guidance and UH Bristol Operational Guidance on research, audit and service evaluation. More information is given in these documents.
Aim to judge a service’s effectiveness or efficiency through systematic assessment of its aims, objectives, activities, outputs, outcomes and costs
Asks questions like – “has this service been a success?” or “how satisfied are patients with the service being provided?”
Are often specific to a department or clinical area within the Trust
Never involve allocating service users randomly to different treatment groups
May also be used to compare the effectiveness or efficiency of a new practice/service (where supported by evidence) with an existing one – however this would be for the purpose of local comparison, i.e. not with a view to derive generalisable or transferrable results (which would be research)
Whilst benchmarking may be used to compare services, the evaluation will not involve measurement against agreed standards (which would be clinical audit)
Generates evidence of effectiveness of a service which may lead to service redesign
The only box that I can see that the report tick is the none randomisation. I assume that there are also ethical problems associated with allowing an unqualified person access to experiment his branded products on NHS patients, Mr Stewart’s only genuine qualification seems to be a Master’s Degree in Public Health. In my simplistic thinking this looks more like a an evaluation of a business rather than an evaluation patient benefit.
I learnt EFT (emofree website) to help my wife. Since December 2014 improvement is amazing. There was a lot I had to learn to make my EFT effective but I was able to help my wife:
1) cure hayfever (which lasted over 15 years).
2) Reduce allergy to nuts, cotton and other allergens.
3) Stop completely emotional eating.
4) Stop occasional meltdowns.
5) Reduce mood swings.
6) Clear heart palpitations.
7) Improve physical health (limited by negative thoughts).
8) Stop panic triggers.
9) Help develop inner peace
10) Reduce self sabotage behavior (often related to products / brands she liked, e.g. cosmetics that were triggers side effects but she continue to use despite knowing consciously she shoudn’t)
11) Remove any kind of pain. My wife used to take pain killers everyday for anything! I couldn’t anything about until December 2014. Number of pain killers since December 2014? ZERO!
We do EFT everyday and I would say my wife’s greatest advantage is that she vividly imagines everything. I simple word would trigger certain emotions as she would have images in her mind some of which would only last a fraction of a second.
My results with EFT are harder to get, as I process emotions “logically” and it’s more trial and error but I still do that as does help me.
Placebo effect? Who cares, no doctors were able to help my wife. Call it whatever you want, the quality of her and my life improved immensely thanks only to EFT. So what that years later someone will explain why it works and will give a different reason that there is now. If it works for someone, just use it.
Exactly. The reason why more than 4 million people in many countries use EFT including more enlightened professionals is because it works. The old and tired methods (not to mention expensive and often useless) of endless years of couch therapy sometimes accompanied by drugs with harmful side effects is no longer acceptable to the masses. And its about time we move on to better, more holistic methods. budurl.com/eftproof
As many people know who tried EFT seriously, EFT works, but the explanation why it works hurts many people and creates skepticism. Personally, I don’t believe in the EFT explanation, but I know it works and I’m happy to have learned that someone investigated it from a scientific point of view and the results and new method called “The Havening Technique” is in the book called “When the past is always present” by Ronald A. Ruden.
So far we noticed that The Havening Technique has the same effect as EFT but it is easier to self-apply, takes out several aspects at the same time (need to be specific, but doesn’t have to be one very specific aspect to tune it, which seems to be required for EFT in more difficult experiences) and it produces “calm” effect (My wife was relieved but tired after doing EFT “movies”).
We are switching to “The Havening Technique” but interestingly pain reduction seems to be still better with EFT.
I also like the fact, it is very well explained why this method works in scientific terms. Hopefully this will increase the adoption and help many people around the word.
By the way, what is it dangerous not trying EFT or The Havening Technique? This point should be added to “Why this is dangerous” section.
Hi! I got to this website by googling “emotional freedom technique quackwatch” because I wanted to see what the skeptical reasons are for denouncing EFT. I, myself, am a fan. A few of my personal highlights: healing depression (it took a little while but it worked, no other psychological therapy but a few extra energy-psychology techniques), straightened a crooked leg (again, took a little while but the body made the physiological improvements), I ended a long-series of almost-annual nervous breakdowns and became optimistic and resilient. Also gone is a fear of heights, public speaking, spiders, and I lost my shyness. How could tapping do this? I thought a lot about this.
I never bought into the meridian-system model, or at least I found some different answers from biology and neuroscience: Nearly everything we do, behave, emote, etc, in any given moment is (maybe 95% or better) is feedback from memory, organized in the body and managed by the brain. The body literally is the mind, body and mind are one thing, and thinking–even consciousness–can be considered an emergent property of the body-mind “singularity”. In fact, the latest fascinating argument in neuroscience is the illusion of “free-will”, especially since the latest findings suggest we are subconsciously choosing actions up to ten seconds before the actual choice is presented to conscious awareness. Talk about a rut!
There are several biological pathways this feedback takes to re-demonstrate what had been learned, and as long as we trust the feelings being presented to conscious awareness, we may do nothing about it and we will always make up the story as to why we do what we do based on the model of the universe we are subscribing to. I like to call it our “augmented reality.” I leaned from neuroscience that I was making up everything, and decided to stop trusting the feeling (they are just molecules and hormones), not the thoughts and events endorsing the feeling. I also figured out that all positive psychology was the expression of positive biology.
But this is just me trying to figure out what tapping does. I finally concluded that it was disturbing the feedback system, or a major part of it, enough so that I could demonstrate or even imagine a different response and modify the output feedback. Its a biological “hack”, if you will, of the subconscious mind, areas of the mind that are not in the brain but endorse the conditioned reactions. Since the body is already naturally wired for peace and elevated states of consciousness, disturbing old feedback patterns allows those natural states to return, to restore balance, synchrony, and coherence in the brain that itself re-entrains the body back to natural states of health and vitality—the healing process.
EMDR is BS too. I had a few books on it, and a self help one. What you needed to know about how to do EMDR on yourself could have been written on one page, but that wouldn’t have produced a book worth about a £tenner. I felt ripped off.
I was reading how you can do the butterfly technique where you fold your arms and tap either side of your body alternately. You don’t have to do EMDR by moving your eyes from side to side. Or you can tap your legs. Some therapists combine EFT with EMDR tapping, for improved performance, they say.
I had a lot of anxiety at the time and a very heavy workload. I usually only had time to do the EMDR tapping in bed before sleeping. Due to exhaustion I tap my legs alternatively, but then that got tiring so I started moving my toes alternatively. Apparently, any type of alternating movement or tapping will work.
Francine Shapiro, the inventor of EMDR, cured herself by accident from her chronic malaise by focussing on a pond with ducks on. She wondered why this had cured her and then she realised that her eyes had been darting backwards and forwards looking at the ducks on the pond.
I soon realised that moving my toes alternately had similarities to waking. So the next day as I walked I concentrated on the alternating movement of my legs. Nope, didn’t do a thing? I realised that as everyone walks they naturally do EMDR without realising it, like the Francine Shapiro did when she cured herself. But millions of people aren’t curing themselves of all their chronic problems by walking everyday.
That same remark could be levelled a a good many alternative therapies being bandies about theese days, The principle thing that makes an alternative or fringe therapy appear to”work” is the placebo effect,this principle is even used quite extensively in allopathic medicine especially pharmaceuticle products, where the manufactuer or distributor essentially relies on the dynamis between the physician and the patient to enhance the perceived afficacy of a given medication. Of the great many alternative therapies I beleive some forms of meditation are arguably more effective than EFT and its derivatives.. people too readily grasp for the quick, instant fix to problems, this rarely works.
TFT, the original tapping therapy that do not use affirmations at all, are now officially an evidence based therapy, that means SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO WORK…
It is only a small time before EFT also will be named evidens based.
You’re an idiot! EMDR is to be administered by professionals ONLY for this very reason. Are you going to start operating on yourself too and kick yourself when you end up worse than before? Wow, you are pathetic!
Alex, you are bias. Like many, you see an alternative treatment that has evidence behind it, but you only research one study that is questionable. There is always room for more studies, but your arrogance is really what hurts people. Do proper research before you decide to throw out your “professional” opinion. EFT is not the solution for everyone, but it can be an alternative treatment or even an addition to their current treatment
Looks like you were right to be sceptical of this BBC piece. It turns out that two of the authors of the “Service Evaluation” have been charged with fraud against the NHS.
Emotional Freedom Technique is “dangerous”… Oh please, don’t be such a drama queen.
A couple of problems here. EFT can harm directly because it helps people repress their traumatic memories, While this may seem like a good thing it really isn’t, because the pain is still there eating away at the system below the level of consciousness. Driving trauma deeper makes you worse not better. You just don’t notice because of the mantras you have to repeat over and over. And Langford is wrong to imply that there are treatments for anxiety and depression ” that actually work”. What exactly? All existing treatments are equally problematic. Drug companies lie, in case you haven’t noticed.
Sorry Andrew, you have got it all wrong. I use the original tapping technique TFT and I do not use affirmations at all. It still works because the cure is from the tapping effect which gives the body an almost instant relaxation according to what you are focused on at that very moment. I have helped traumatized people in 25 countries and NONE became more traumatized afterwords.
The contents of this article can be summarized as:
1. There is no proof that eft works
2. I don’t believe in meridians
3. If it doesn’t work, then it might be harmful, because then the patients won’t get the traditional treatment.
This is a very poor basis for claiming that eft is dangerous. You can say many things against this, such as: are the traditional treatments always effective? (Clearly they are not). How much time is lost for a patient when eft would not work? (Very little) Can eft be combined with traditional techniques? (It seems so).
Well you would disagree with tapping, because if it did work then some of the power that lies in the hands of the medical/psychiatric profession would be taken away. Where is the evidence to show that labelling people with ‘conditions’ helps? Yet that is what psychiatrists do over and over again. Of course maybe that does help some people, but there is no evidenc to suggest it does. So take a good look at your own profession because it sound like you’re actually talking about yourself.
But Dosh, how does your Ad Hominem demonstrate the veracity of the arguments being presented in the paper being critiqued here and the critique of EFT in general, you appear to be attacking the authors character by making unfounded assumptions in respect of his motivation for writing the article. This is a well known tactic used by those in the faith healing and vitalism industry, formally known as the the Pharma Shill Gambit.
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-pharma-shill-gambit/
This is brilliant. Thanks for showing this to me. I’m a chronically ill person so a lot of quackery is tied up in a nice tidy bow for my consumption, and seeing people not understanding the principles of science and why they ‘don’t just open up their minds and give it a chance (they do give it chance! It’s called study!)’ is extremely frustrating and saddening.
Haha! I went to psychiatrist who dressed like a flasher complete with trenchcoat and started the session by criticizing what I was wearing, proceeded to make little eye contact and then prescribe a drug that had dangerous side effects . Needless to say I did not return as I believe he needed more help than I did.
I have found EFT to be effective in curing a phobia of crossing bridges and the need to see dodgy medical professionals.
I went to see a psychiatrist who dressed like a flasher, complete with trenchcoat, who started the session by criticizing what I was wearing, proceeded to make little eye contact and then prescribed a drug that had dangerous side effects . Needless to say I did not return as I believe he needed more help than I did.
I have found EFT to be effective in curing a phobia of crossing bridges and the need to see dodgy medical health professionals.
EFT is a therapeutic therapy.It doesn’t tell you to stop your medical treatments.My EFT practitioner advise me in the beginning that i must continue my treatment with my GP and see him as an extra help at emotional side.
Like Masha, I was sceptical when I first heard about EFT. But I have taught it to many of my clients as a self help technique and the vast majority of them have found it helpful. I also agree that a lot of the scepticism comes from the explanations that have been given as to how it works. I don’t think our current scientific knowledge can explain it fully. This has been the case throughout medical history and has led to medical practice at the time treating people in ways that didn’t work or that even harmed them.
I agree that evidence is important but value should also be given to anecdotal evidence. Even if EFT’s success is down to the placebo effect, don’t write it off. If the placebo effect works, use it. I don’t think EFT’s success is purely down to repeating positive phrases. In many EFT sessions the phrases are not positive, they reflect the reality of the person’s feelings at that time.
I am a hypnotist in private practice and use EFT as part of that. I certainly do not advise people against conventional medicine. Many of the people who come to see me do so because the treatments they have been offered have not been effective or they are on a long waiting list for CBT and need something right now, not in 6 months’ time.
This is an incredible ignorant article, and of course it comes from a psychiatrist… a profession where they believe that the can find illness by watching people rather than measuring if something is wrong.
Psychiatry is the essence of quackery and has never cured a single case. Medications cannot cure traumas which is the the most common reason for psychological distress. Exposure cannot cure the fundamental reasons either. If a pilot get scared of flying you do not tell him that he need to fly more to get rid of it.
If a female is scared of looking men in the eyes because she was raped at 11 years old, you do not cure the effects from the incident by forcing her to look men in the eyes until she is not scared anymore. If you try that it is unnecessary and torture like.
Tapping can solve this easily, quickly, without danger or medications. I have done so with more than 6000 people in 25 countries. I use the original tapping technique TFT, and now it is formally an evidence based therapy which means that IT IS SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO WORK.
Please spare us from this type of articles that comes from people who after years of studying still cannot get the same results as tapping and is based on fraudulent science according to Dr. Peter Goetsche who is leader of the nordic part of the Cochrane Association(44000 independent researchers on scientific findings)
I wonder if the authors of the service evaluation can tap on this:
Well I’ve tried it and I don’t appear to have had any positive response. Perhaps I am an exception. The bit that I found confusing was the “applied kinesiology” – pushing down on my arm to measure response. In the absence of accurately measuring that exactly the same force is applied (using a Newton meter pehaps ?) how can the practitioner know that it is not just their perception or an increasing weakness in my arm muscles from keeping my arm extended for a long period of time ?
Psychiatric medicines are not evidence based and relies on placebo as well. When controlled for this in longer studies the psychiatric treatment always fares worse than basically anything. But eft is bs as well. Dueling pianos.
totally agree stella, in fact, psychiatry actually HARMS people and changes brain chemistry. Far worse.
This article is SOLELY based on the author’s personal opinion. Stop acting like the media and start reporting about FACTS, not your personal OPINIONS
I stopped reading when I saw that a Psychiatrist is arguing a therapy isn’t valid. Dude, number one Psychiatry isn’t even a science, its at best a form of quackery where people who were once real doctors, need to invent medications that they theorize work a certain way. On top of that I’d take my chances with EFT considering the vast range of side effects from psychopharmacology. Psychiatry has done far more harm besides some religions to the masses. Dangerous medications that change brain chemistry, no test for mental illness, yet your arguing its bs. OKAY lol
Poor Alex Langford! What a shame that you do not have an open mind or an open heart! If you truly wish to help anyone heal their mind you would do well to cultivate both. I am put in mind of a conversation I witnessed whilst working at Harperbury Hospital, (Yes, I really am that old!), between male psychiatrist and female psychologist concerning her premenstrual tension. He then turned to me and asked “Tell me, do YOU believe in premenstrual tension?” HE obviously didn’t, but as a man, how did he think he had the authority to comment? So, as a sceptic how do you feel you have the authority to comment on a technique that will require a little faith in things beyond our current understanding of the world and ourselves? And remember that ‘Science’ thought once that hosing people with ice-cold water and electric shock therapy would cure ‘madness’!!! And do not be so arrogant to fool yourself that “Science” has come a long way since then… it is hardly less than a lifetime ago! Here endeth the lesson….! See you have to be able to laugh at yerself….
Thank you for your article, I’ve not had such a good chuckle at a load of nonsense as I did reading your ignorant words. A career in comedy awaits.
Interesting discussion here reading both points of view. I personally suffered from a type of major anxiety disorder which crippled my life . In my experience psychiatric medication has been a life saver for me despite the side effects, for me the sideffects were nothing compared to the psychiatric symptoms . For some people medications are great, but for others it may not work. In my understanding from the research i read i find that Antidepressants are most benefitted for those with Serious depression or psychiatric illness. The mild to moderate patients can recover with Therapy and lifestyle changes.
For my case being severe, i would prefer to stay with psychiatric treatment than rely alternative medicine, this is my view because in my years of trying alternative approaches like EFT, herbs etc none of them were able to relieve my psychiatric issue on their own. Infact whenever i reduced my antidepressant dose i relapsed.
For me EFT was not at all effective, maybe during the session i felt better to some extent but didnt change anything. I believe for many people it has a placebo effect.
However i believe from my experience certain herbs and nutritional supplements can have good effects on stress and depressive issues as an Addition to the primary psychiatric treatment. I take Vitamin C 500mg, Niacin 200mg and adaptogenic herbal formula which all help me generously when taken along with my Antidepressant. I narrowed down to these supplements by reading research papers and other articles and finally using them(trial and error) ..some worked whereas others didnt.
…”You forgot to mention your large ego and over inflated sense of self importance”… yeah right, with your aggressive comment/reply you have convinced us all: the original poster is a hack and you are the true Messiah, tapping round for everyone! (sigh). Alex Langford has written above a logical article and used very sensible arguments that make use of the scientific method to debunk that commercial abuse being dumped on poor helpless and gullible people who would be attached to anything in order to reduce stress and anxiety. It’s a good thing the voice of reason is still shining out there to help us from drowning in all the nonsense the opportunists try to dump on us.
After a tramatic breakup from a longterm relationship, I sank into the first depression of my life. I tried 2 different therapists over 6 months and anti-depresants that caused awful side effects. I lost 26 lbs and was in a frequent state of sadness, anxiety, sleeplessness and recurring thoughts about my ex. I was completely skeptical about tapping, I mean seriously how could it work? Bottom line, I went to a qualified practitioner and it worked. Harvard has studied it and found it worked in many cases. Are more studies needed, of course. But to say it’s rubbish is simply ignorant. I am not saying it will work for everyone, but for me it was a solution when talk therapy and meds failed. And honestly, had I known about it before I took the meds, I’d have tried it. For me, it was safer, more effective and overall less expensive.
I just had to jump in here – what a load of retards on this thread – and thanks (and brave of) Alex for leaving all the responses up. Every person disagreeing starts with “well it worked for me”. That doesn’t mean it works – and if you don’t think so, then go and find out what is necessary to have things proven (eg double blind trials). Educate yourself. If you believe in EFT, fine, believe in it. The point Alex has made (clearly and well) is that it doesn’t matter what you believe, nor what pother people have told you. This is not science. To prove something works, it’s not a court room, with you saying it works, nor other people suggesting it might work, or that it worked on your friend down the road, you need conclusive proof. This means it needs to be fully accepted and you need test after test showing the same results = repeatable. Same when you get on a plane. You know it will fly. You don’t think it, or were told it by a friend. You don’t just jump off the cliff and think it works – you know it works and it’s been proven over and over, and we understand exactly why. What Alex has shown is that are there tests that have been done, but they have holes in, they’re not repeated, and it’s not conclusive proof. Anymore than the placebo effect. It’s not to be glossed over though, believing something does have a pretty big impact (20% if I’m not mistaken) so actually, go ahead and believe it, if you’re having a tough time, it will help, just having a break, or just telling yourself you’re going to be ok. It all helps and adds up to helping you heal. BUT – the point of this post, is that you need to understand it is the placebo effect, and that if you have a serious illness, and you skip proper treatment for the tapping fairies, then you’re doing yourself and others a disservice. Thanks Alex. Retards, have a re-read and a proper think. Or even better, go and prove it works, conclusively, and win a science prize, and make millions.
With all due respect to your superior intelligence, Nick, you are somewhat out of date. Yes, a lot of published research studies on EFT are not of sufficient quality to be considered as strong evidence for its efficacy.
However, my “less retarded” colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have evidently concluded that there is sufficient quality data for it to be considered a potential treatment for PTSD, as it is now mentioned in the final NICE PTSD Guidelines (NG116) issued on 5 December 2018, under “Other recommendations for research” https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng116. Whilst not recommending it as a proven treatment at this stage, this means that future EFT research is now eligible for government funding as a potentially promising intervention. As you will be aware, NICE has strict criteria for even beginning to look at a novel treatment as worthy of consideration and does not make such recommendations lightly.
I would also like to take you up, Nick, on the way you address people who quote their personal experiences on this thread. Whilst their stories and opinions may not constitute strong evidence, I do not believe that this merit personal insults. Also, as you are undoubtedly well aware off, all research and innovation starts with phenomenological observations – this was true for Aaron Beck, the grandfather of CBT, and Francine Shapiro, the developer of EMDR, the two well approved and established treatments for PTSD.
Regards, on behalf of all “retards” on this thread.
Thanks Masha. Your replies were, and still are, indeed much more than “but it works for me” – and thanks for taking the time to reply – very insightful.
The insults were more playful than genuine by the way, it’s my frustration at the general public’s ignorance, and not actually aimed at you. I kind of regretted after posting as well, I wish I could edit – but hey, I have to live it with it now! 🙂 Apologies for any offence caused.
Also moving past what I assume is a sarcastic compliment – I’m quite aware I don’t have superior intelligence, or education, by the way – just direct, logical thought and access to clever peoples experiments – and I’m completely happy to change my mind should things be proven otherwise.
Anyway. After our clumsy introductions – now onto genuine points:
You’ve used “considered” and “potential” and “recommendations for research” and “not proven” – to your extreme credit actually, so thank you for that, and I presume you’re well versed in scientific discourse, and wouldn’t dream of making assumptions, or jumping to conclusions. So whilst I appreciate NICE may have stricter criteria – my point still stands and I await proof.
We should also acknowledge that the NHS fund homeopathic treatments, so widespread conclusions around lack of understanding, improperly conducted trials, and the placebo effect are sill rife and quite worrying actually, in the age of automated vehicles, and just around the corner of the age of AI.
To add to the mix – with my, I’ll admit, completely officially uneducated, opinion – we are in the stone age of brain understanding. Probably to your horror, I’d even contest most psychological diagnoses since they have so much cross over and vagueness. So on the opposite side, CBT, EMDR, EFT, NLP, Hypnosis and a stream of other treatments all “work” to a certain degree, as does sleeping well, eating well, meditation, friendship, hugs, sex, dancing, exercise – and as Alex originally pointed out, so does positive thinking, a placebo, and even doing nothing at all – well, just living and waiting. So yes, I’d suggest anyone with any issues that we can kind of draw a circle around on a mood chart, from panic attacks, sleeping disorders, stress, anxiety, shock, all the way to PTSD – I would definitely advise trying ALL these things. And if they don’t work, move onto the next until something does. And eventually as a holistic approach, and some love from doctors to everyone around you, you will eventually heal, or at least feel a little better – it doesn’t mean we know at all what we’re doing and why it all works. And I mean that in the best possible intention and sense. Not in the same way for example that we know removing a piston from an engine will stop it working, and putting it back will make it work, and we have a whole other series of test to figure every single problem with every single engine.
So, as an initial conclusion – let’s not pretend that tapping on the wrist cures X condition and we know why it does, when we’ve tested that tapping on doll also does.
Anyway – all that padding was to say that I postulate that it’s all related to the same thing. Our brain is a partially pre-programmed robot for the basics, and for the rest, an extremely sensitive and programmable biological neural network. In short – action in equals effect in the brain. And the opposite is also true, induced effect in the brain equals action out.
Everything we’re discussing is encompassed by this. When you feel lots of pain, physical, emotional, perceived – your brain is programmed. And when we you go near something that looks, sounds, feels or accidentally is assumed to be the same thing, you feel pain, whether actual, or perceived, or even feared – and of course you try to avoid it. On the opposite side, when you feel or educe joy, contentment, relaxation, pleasure, accomplishment, success – this is also programmed, and also creates actions. And so the action of smiling, fist pumping, jumping in the air, moving, reacting, thinking and talking to yourself, tapping, or being spoken to by someone – in a positive way that feels good – it can counter act all the pain and can re-program or desensitise your brain.
There is however, no clear distinction yet, since we don’t understand the intricacies of the brain on an atomic level.
To conclude, I’m sure to your annoyance – we’re not even at the point of rubbing sticks together and making fire – we’re kind of looking at lightning and saying it might be Thor, or energy, or fire from the sky, and we should probably go and collect the piece of wood that’s been lit because the fire is useful.
Thanks Nick, I appreciate your clarification and the apology for calling people retards (in your post from 9th February). I also like your metaphor “we’re not even at the point of rubbing sticks together and making fire” – I agree that indeed we are very limited in understanding of what makes any type of therapy or healing effective, however neuroscience is catching up and there are already fairly sophisticated scientific hypotheses of what happens (or may be happening) in the brain and our nervous system during/as a result of different interventions.
Again, as I mentioned before, the foundation to making any scientific discovery or progress are simple phenomenological observations, like “I saw this”, “I experienced this” – no matter how subjective that is, it’s the essential start to any knowledge-finding. Yes, people may be naive in saying “I experienced this, so this must be the truth and the only truth”, but we cannot dismiss their experiences as not valid, even though they may be valid only in a certain limited context.