Emotional Freedom Techniques is a part of the field of energy psychology developed by Gary Craig in the 1990s. EFT allows us to process unwanted negative emotions, thoughts, beliefs, or memories by releasing the flow of energy that has been blocked by these negatives through “tapping” on specific meridian points of the face and upper body. The prevailing premise of EFT is that the flow and balance of the body’s electromagnetic and more subtle energies are important for physical, spiritual, and emotional health and for fostering well-being. EFT is believed to work with imbalances within the person’s energy system to address the energetic influence of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions on the body.  

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EFT allows us to better align the parasympathetic and the sympathetic portions of the autonomic nervous system, releasing the fight/flight/freeze/faint (primitive brain) responses so that we can better access the cognitive brain and think more clearly about our situations past, present, and future. This balancing allows for proper neurotransmitter and hormone release which link to every major organ system and has a huge impact on our immune system.

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EFT tapping drops us down into the lower alpha and theta brainwave states which produce calm consciousness, helping us to expand our window of tolerance and allowing for appropriate responses to the circumstances we face each day.

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EFT is sited in many professional peer-reviewed journals containing scientific studies, review articles, and meta analyses including randomized control trials, pre-post outcome studies, and more. Despite this growing body of EFT’s effectiveness, EFT has yet to be fully researched by the Western academic, medical, and psychological communities, therefore, it may be considered experimental.