Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a safe complementary therapy which is available at the Alpha Better Health clinic.
Although (as with any therapy or medication) there are no absolute guarantees of success, EFT has helped many people to address emotional problems resulting from deeply-entrenched phobias such as insects, heights, claustrophobia etc., and trauma (EFT has been used to help post-disaster victims in Kosovo, Rwanda, the Congo, South Africa, Sandy Hook and New Orleans, as well as miltary veterans from Viet Nam, Iraq and other war zones, and former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Many people have used EFT to address physical pain. Others have experienced improvements in a wide range of sporting activities including golf, athletics and tennis.
The theory behind EFT is that negative emotions are caused by a disruption to the body's energy system and that, in order to remove the negative responses, this disruption must be addressed.
The basic EFT technique involves focusing on a disturbing memory or emotion while simultaneously tapping on a series of 13 points on the body (a subset of the meridian points used in acupuncture).
The meridian points are linked to a series of threadlike channels inside blood and lymphatic vessels. These channels have been compared to fiber-optic channels and it has been suggested that they may carry an extremely high density of information far beyond the limited, one-way signals of the nervous system or the diffusive information carried by hormones in the blood stream.
The amygdala is the part of the brain where we store our emotions; it is also acts as our 'fear centre' and is responsible for the 'fight or flight' response which is activated when we perceive danger (real or imagined). When our experiences are emotionally-charged (i.e. traumatic), we do not always process them fully and, as a result, when similar events occur, memories are sometimes triggered as though they are happening in the present.
When we practise EFT and focus on an uncomfortable emotion or memory, the amygdala is re-activated. However, by tapping on the meridian points, we calm the amygdala and facilitate an 'unlearning' of the emotions associated with the trauma, enabling us to return to normal functioning. The simultaneous pairing of tapping and mental activation appears to alter the learned response and reduce hyperarousal. This strategy has been shown to extinguish a range of maladaptive conditioned responses such as phobias.
Research into EFT and other energy therapies continues to gather momentum, and the technique has been trialled in the NHS.
At EFT Universe you can find useful information about EFT and read how it is being used by therapists, doctors, nurses and other health professionals. The film "Try it on Everything" (a trailer for which can be seen on the right) follows a group of people who undertook a weekend of intense EFT.
Tel: +44 (0)773 915 1529
e-mail:alphabetterhealth@gmail.com
The following video provides a brief introduction to EFT.
In this excerpt from one of Nick Ortner's EFT workshops in California, he introduces EFT.
ARTICLE: Breakthroughs in Energy Psychology: A New Way to Heal the Body and Mind
An article by Nick Ortner about how new findings in the field of energy psychology, especically EFT, are taking our search for holistic solutions to an exciting new level.
The Huffington Post
Read the full article.
In the following video, Robert Schwarz explains the background to EFT and how it has been used successfully to help people address trauma issues.
In the following excerpts from the documentary "Try It On Everything", you can see what happened when a group of people met for an intensive weekend EFT workshop.
This excerpt from one of Nick Ortner's EFT workshops, illustrates how we can acknowledge our feelings in the present moment and incorporate them in subsequent rounds of tapping, gradually reducing the distress caused by previous experiences.