EFT: Pain Relief Turns Skeptic Into Believer...

By Greg Harper

Greg Harper, PhD, CHT, is a former science professor who offers Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for pain relief and personal growth.

Have you ever asked yourself how your life would be different without continual physical or emotional pain? What if just tapping on certain points of your body could reduce or eliminate pain, allow recovery from past emotional trauma, or relieve anxiety? What if you could learn the tapping sequence in less than 20 minutes from an EFT practitioner? Skeptical? Good!

I am a master skeptic myself, having been a science professor more than 20 years at large universities, where men-tion of "psychic" or even "energy medicine" would send peals of laughter down the halls. How did I go from being one of those academics to a practitioner of EFT, hypnotherapy, Reiki, and shamanism? Pain. Plain and simple. I wanted relief for a condition I'd had for 20 years that was resistant to medication.

EFT involves tapping on certain acupuncture points (without the needles!) on the face and body while making a verbal statement related to a symptom or condition. EFT falls in the category of energy healing or "energy psychology." As such, EFT has yet to be fully approved by mainstream medicine or psychology, although the available scientific research shows very promising results.

Stanford trained engineer Gary Craig developed EFT, and he acknowledges that the core of it was learned from Dr. Roger Callahan who developed Thought Field Therapy (TFT).

Experienced practitioners of EFT report a high success rate for many conditions, with a large number of reports of rapid and apparently permanent results. Even a novice can achieve noticeable or complete relief about half of the time. Conditions relieved with EFT include back pain, headaches, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, asthma, fibromyalgia, and even intense emotional issues such as PTSD, phobias, rape, and grief.

It is very important to be persistent with EFT. Amazing results can occur in a few minutes, but sometimes many rounds of tapping, even over a period of several days, are required. Many people try EFT once or twice and decide it just doesn't work for them. When I first learned EFT several years ago, I tried it a few times on myself and didn't notice anything significant changing, so I stopped using it. Once I was trained in EFT, however, I started seeing some remarkable results with clients, and I realized how useful it can be to work with a skilled practitioner.

Most of us go to a therapist or doctor because we are in physical or emotional pain. EFT is good for pain and stress, but it can also be used to create positive changes even when not in pain. Interestingly, clients often find it more difficult to decide what they want—most of us know what we don't want, which is why we usually seek help!