Emotional Freedom Technique EFT

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a form of counseling intervention that draws on various theories of alternative medicine including acupuncture, neuro-linguistic programming, energy medicine, and Thought Field Therapy. During an EFT session, the client will focus on a specific issue while tapping on so-called “end points of the body’s energy meridians”.

A controlled study of EFT suggested that its benefits were due to placebo effects, desensitization and distraction rather than the mechanisms proposed by its practitioners. There is no plausible mechanism to explain how the specifics of EFT could add to its effectiveness and they have been described as unfalsifiable and therefore pseudoscientific. Evidence has not been found for the existence of acupuncture points, meridians or other concepts involved in traditional Chinese medicine.