Self-administered EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) in Individuals With Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Trial

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) were created in the middle 1990s by Stanford engineer Gary Craig. He was a student of Roger Callahan’s Thought Field Therapy (TFT)1 and devised EFT as a comprehensive method that would cover a multitude of health problems. EFT is a controversial psychotherapeutic tool that introduces the principles of acupuncture into psychotherapy and is intended to relieve many psychological conditions, including depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress, addictions, and phobias. EFT has also been used for the treatment of various somatic symptoms such as different pain conditions, including migraines, facial neuralgia, back pain, and fibromyalgia. Treatment protocol includes a comprehensive algorithm used for all types of problems and symptoms. The method consists of 1) a tapping part used, according to the EFT Manual by Gary Craig, to “rebalance the energy system,”2 2) a verbal part that involves making appropriate affirmations, and 3) an eye rolling part with the aim of increasing communication between the two halves of the brain. EFT thus aims at combining physiological effects of meridian treatment (acupressure) with mental focusing on thoughts of the pain/trauma/problem (cognitive therapy) and the releasing “eye roll” method that sometimes is used in hypnotic procedures and in the treatment of PTSD with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).