Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT): Research

& PracticeDawson Church, PhD, National Institute for Integrative Healthcare

EFT Evidence-Based Standards of the American

Psychological Association (APA) EFT Research and the APA Criteria Physiological Mechanisms of Action Demonstrating EFT Feedback & Questions

APA Division 12 (Clinical Psychology)

Task ForceFor a therapy to be considered a “well-established treatment”:I. Two strong studies by independent investigators demonstrating that the treatment is:A. Statistically superior to a pill, a placebo, or another treatment [or]B. Statistically equivalent to an already established treatment (Chambless & Hollon, 1996).

For a therapy to be considered a “probably efficacious treatment”:I. One strong study demonstrating that the treatment is:A. Statistically superior to a pill, a placebo, or another treatment [or]B. Statistically equivalent to an already established treatment. Or:II. Two strong studies showed the treatment to be statistically superior to a waiting list control group.

APA Journal “Review of General Psychology”

“A literature search identified 51 peer-reviewed papers that report or investigate clinical outcomes following the tapping of acupuncture points to address psychological issues. The 18 randomized controlled trials in this sample were critically evaluated for design quality, leading to the conclusion that they consistently demonstrated strong effect sizes and other positive statistical results that far exceed chance after relatively few treatment sessions.

Criteria for evidence-based treatments proposed by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association were also applied and found to be met for a number of conditions, including PTSD.” (Feinstein, 2012)

EFT Randomized Controlled Trials

EFT Draws from:

Exposure Therapy Cognitive Therapy Acupuncture … to reduce stress The somatic component of EFT (tapping on

acupoints) is critical; it enhances the exposure and cognitive components

Stress Affects Every Organ System

Stress is a component of:

PTSD Anxiety Depression Pain That is why so many conditions improve

after EFT and other therapies that successfully reduce stress

We tap on acupoints unconsciously every

day

EFT simply organizes common tapping points into a routine that clients can easily remember.

Psychology is Physiology

www.SoulMedicineInstitute.org 10

Electromagnetic signals sent out by autonomic nervous system when subject is experiencing anger and appreciation. HRV (Heart Rate Variability) changes moment by moment depending on emotional states. Correlates with the stress hormone cortisol.

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Stress = AgingChronic Cortisol Elevation Contributes To: High blood pressure Reduced memory & learning High blood sugar Heart disease Diminished cell repair Accelerated aging Slower wound healing Reduced bone repair Decreased circulating immune cells Diminished immune antibodies Death of brain cells Reduced muscle mass Decreased skin cell repair Increased fat deposits around waist/hips Osteoporosis

Kaiser’s massive ACE study (Adverse Childhood Experiences, 17,400 subjects) showed that 50 years later, people not

nurtured as children had a higher incidence of

ACE StudyACE Study

HypertensionHeart Disease

CancerBone Fractures

SmokingDiabetesSuicide

Drug Use

Yellow is Common @ 3 & 50 YO

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By 50 Stress Dramatically Affects Biological Markers of

Cell Aging

www.SoulMedicineInstitute.org 14

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Cortisol Drops After EFT

Church, D., Yount, G., & Brooks, A. J. (2012). The effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(10):891-6. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31826b9fc1e

Triple blind randomized controlled trial

83 normal subjects receiving either talk therapy, rest, or EFT

Anxiety and depression reduced by three times as much in EFT group

Cortisol dropped significantly more in EFT group

Cortisol Change After Treatment

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EFT Psychotherapy No TreatmentIntervention

Cortisol Levels (0=50%)

After Treatment Before Treatment

Integrative Medicine Journal

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Church D., & Brook,s A. J. (2010). The effect of a brief EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) self-intervention on anxiety, depression, pain and cravings in healthcare workers. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, 9(4):40–44.

Pre-post assessment of 216 psychotherapists, doctors, nurses, chiropractors, alternative medicine practitioners

Day-long EFT intervention at 5 professional conferences

Significant reductions in psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression

Very large reductions in pain, cravings, and the intensity of traumatic memories

Doctors, Nurses, Chiropractors

Psychological and Physiological Symptoms Drop Together

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Psychotherapists, Alt Med Pracs

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From Just 2 Hours of Group EFT

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"Significant improvements were found on all distress subscales and ratings of pain, emotional distress, and cravings at posttest (all p<.001). Gains were maintained at follow-up for most SA-45 scales. The severity of psychological symptoms was reduced (-45%, p<.001) as well as the breadth (-40%, p<.001), with significant gains maintained at follow-up. Greater subsequent EFT use correlated with a greater decrease in symptom severity at follow-up (p<.034, r=.199)”

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Veterans, PTSD, & EFT

59 veterans. Random assignment to EFT or wait list.

Six EFT coaching concurrent with regular care. Mean PCL-M score before Tx: 64 After: 37 3 month and 6 month follow-up: 36. (p < .0001)

Church, D., Hawk, C., Brooks, A., Toukolehto, O., Wren, M., Dinter, I., & Stein, P. (2013). Psychological trauma symptom improvement in veterans using EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201, 153–160.

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Veterans, Spouses, & EFT

218 veterans and spouses (p < .001). Attending one of 5 week-long retreats with group

EFT. Mean PCL-M before: 65. After: 44. Follow-up: 42. Spouse Mean PCL before: 45. After: 30. Follow-up:

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Church, D., & Brooks, A. J. (2013). CAM and energy psychology techniques remediate PTSD symptoms in veterans and spouses. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing (in press).

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Confirmatory PTSD Research

Karatzias, T., Power, K., Brown, K., McGoldrick, T., Begum, M., Young, J., . . . Adams, S. (2011). A controlled comparison of the effectiveness and efficiency of two psychological therapies for posttraumatic stress disorder: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing vs. Emotional Freedom Techniques. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 199(6), 372–378. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e31821cd262

Nemiro, A. (2013, May). EFT vs CBT in the treatment of sexual gender based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Presented at the conference of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP), San Diego, CA.

Church, D., & Feinstein, D. (2013). Energy psychology in the treatment of PTSD: Psychobiology and clinical principles. In T. Van Leeuwen & M. Brouwer (Eds.), Psychology of trauma (pp. 211–224). Hauppage, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Church, D., Geronilla, L., & Dinter, I. (2009). Psychological symptom change in veterans after six sessions of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): An observational study. International Journal of Healing and Caring, 9(1).

Church, D., & Palmer-Hoffman, J. (2013). TBI symptoms improve after PTSD remediation with Emotional Freedom Techniques. Traumatology, in press.

Church, D., Piña, O., Reategui, C., & Brooks, A. (2012). Single session reduction of the intensity of traumatic memories in abused adolescents after EFT: A randomized controlled pilot study. Traumatology, 18(3), 73–79. doi:10.1177/1534765611426788

Not Indicated For Easiest targets are phobias (1 session) and

PTSD (6 sessions). Hardest are addictions (mixed results), purely physiological conditions like tinnitus, and genetic diseases.

Best used in the context of a comprehensive treatment program rather than as a standalone treatment.

Resources Free EFT Mini-Manual at EFTuniverse.com. Free treatment for veterans at

StressProject.org. Research bibliography at EFTuniverse.com. The Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetic

Medicine and the New Biology of Intention. Dawson Church, 2010.

Certification in Clinical EFT at EFTuniverse.com. CE and CME credits.

EFTs “Basic Recipe”1. Determine Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS): 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 02. Repeat setup statement 3x (while tapping karate chop point): “Even though I have ____________ (problem), I deeply and completely accept myself.”

3. Tap each point ± 7 x

4. Determine SUDS:10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

05. Repeat till SUDS is low

Resources Free EFT Mini-Manual at EFTuniverse.com. Free treatment for veterans at

StressProject.org. Research bibliography at

Research.EFTuniverse.com. The Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetic

Medicine and the New Biology of Intention. Dawson Church, 2010.

Certification in Clinical EFT at EFTuniverse.com. CE and CME credits.