The Miracle of Emotional Freedom Technique™ (Sept. 2003)

Energy therapy was first popularized by Roger Callahan, Ph.D., who pioneered a treatment method called Thought Field Therapy (TFT). Dr. Callahan found that by tapping on acupressure points in certain sequences that he could rapidly relieve a variety of problems such as depression, phobias, grief, anger, trauma responses, addiction cravings, and anxiety. Gary Craig, one of his students, after completing all of Dr. Callahan’s courses, began to experiment with other methods of tapping, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) was born.

Gary Craig’s influence on the availability and practical use of tapping was dramatic. By reducing the tapping method of Dr. Callahan’s to its essence, the technique became extremely teachable and many people began to use it for both self help and helping others. Counselors found that the time in therapy for clients was greatly reduced with lasting results, sometimes permanent after one session.

Tap out the old –– Tap in the new
As more people experienced the dramatic results of EFT, other therapists like Dr. Larry Nims and Patricia Carrington, Ph.D. began to add refinements and new theoretical perspectives. New insights into the method of tapping allowed Dr. Nims to theoretically communicate with the subconscious mind directly. Dr. Carrington saw the benefit of including powerful affirmations in her tapping method that would replace old thinking patterns.

One of the benefits of EFT and other energy therapies is that clients are not limited to words or intellectual descriptions of their problems. A body sense of what the problem is like is all that is required. If a client comes in with a vague discomfort in their stomach area when thinking about a particular thing, it is not necessary for them to define it further or discover an insight to relieve the pain. They simply tune in to the problem and tap on specific acupressure points until the discomfort of thinking about the problem is gone.

Treatment success rate soars
Have you ever wondered why, despite their best efforts, someone could not seem to get over a problem? Therapists would often say that these clients weren’t ready to change. What it really meant was that the counselor was not getting any results with the client and couldn’t explain why. The theory of EFT supplied an intriguing answer to this issue.

The breakthrough came in the form of the idea of Psychological Reversal (PR). Briefly, when a person’s motivation operates in a way that is directly opposite to what they intended, they are exhibiting a PR. For example, suppose you behave in a destructive and hateful way to someone that you love and you feel helpless to stop it. Your willpower alone helps only temporarily or not at all. EFT theory would say that you are psychologically reversed. The polarity of your energy system is reversed, and your system is unable to incorporate the changes that you want to make. EFT includes a method of tapping that will normalize your polarity and enable you to make the changes that your mind and heart tell you are right. This refinement in EFT greatly increases the treatment success. Experienced EFT practitioners are reporting treatment success rates approaching 100%.

Is EFT a miracle, as the title of this article suggests? At times it truly appears that way. When problems are straight forward, they often take little time to address. Other times, the experience and knowledge of the counselor is necessary to reveal and focus on the many aspects of a problem in order to relieve it. EFT has been proven effective in therapists’ offices around the world and in professional studies as well. Through using EFT and related energy therapies, helping professionals offer strong and lasting changes through the mind / body connection.

by L.W. “Tres” Shaffer, LPC

L.W. “Tres” Shaffer, LPC specializes in bio-energetic approaches like EFT, BSFF, and EmoTrance for emotional healing, and has a private practice in Richmond. 804-354-9377.