EFT- Tappin' For Relief!

Why Does EFT Work? - A Theory

The following article appeared in Florida State University's Traumatology:The International Journal for Understanding the Traumatic Processes and methods for Reducing, Preventing, and Eliminating Related Human Suffering. (Vol. VI, Issue 2, Article 5, August, 2000)

The author stated that his purpose was to begin "to understand why these therapies are effective..." and asks readers, "...tosuspend their usual expectations of authoritative corroboration in return for an open-minded examination of the issues involved."

Because of the length of the article, only a few selected paragraphs are included here. The full article is available at: http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/v6i2/v6i2a5.htm

The Power Therapies: A proposed mechanism for their action and suggestions for future empirical validation

Michael Lamport Commons, PhD.  

Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/v6i2/v6i2a5.htm

ABSTRACT

Power Therapies claim to achieve rapid results in reducing fear elicited by a large number of situations. This paper presents a theory of how competition among stimuli may be the basis for how the Power Therapies work. The compelling features of these therapies are that they all interrupt old habits and conditioned reflexes and provide new habits and conditioning. Therefore, many of the protocols involve overcoming prior-stimulus dominance. In addition to proposing a mechanism for these therapies, this article also reveals that, despite superficial differences, power therapies fundamentally accomplish the same thing. These therapies reduce the intensify of emotional responses elicited by stimuli associated with trauma.  It is proposed that they accomplish this end through working at the subcortical level of brain activity to interrupt the negative emotional responses elicited by the trauma stimuli.

        Selected Paragraphs          

Unlike global dissociation that causes severe disruptions of various integrative functions, V/KD D (NLP) only causes "a shift in one's perception of a memory from associated (i.e., as if one is reliving the experience) to dis-associated (i.e., not experiencing the memory in an associated manner)" (Gallo, 1996a). It is claimed that V/KD D, alone among the Power Therapies, promotes this "outside observer" position directly (Cameron-Bandler, 1978), whereas other Power Therapies may achieve this only indirectly.

Though derived from TFT, EFT requires only one comprehensive tapping routine to treat all emotional and physical problems as opposed to the 10 or 15 individualized tapping routines required for TFT.

In a review of 17 different previous studies, some that lasted for up to 2 years and in total involved nearly 700 patients, Sherman (1998) found that some Power Therapies were "indeed effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety" as well as other PTSD symptoms such as avoidance (of reminders of traumatic events) or arousal (sudden attacks of panic or anger). He found that the effects of treatment were extensive--up to 43% of patients lost all symptoms--and were maintained long term, even after treatment was discontinued.

CONCLUSION

It is suggested here the assumption made here should be tested.  First, in post traumatic disorder and related problems, conditioned fear results from exposure to aversive stimuli. Second, the firings at the subcortical level preempt and overwhelm the frontal-lobe function and, consequently, the sufferer.  Third, Power Therapies may compete with and successfully interfere with the overwhelming emotional responses.  Fourth, the specific actions in the therapies delay the conditioned stimuli from directly eliciting fears and phobias until the frontal lobes can perform their interpretive function....

Additionally, the use of brain-imaging technologies would serve to objectively confirm or disconfirm the collection of SUDS ratings and changes effected by various treatments. http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/v6i2/v6i2a5.htm

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