EFT for Addictions Treatment powerpoint presentation forms part of the training workshop with Masha Bennett of www.eft4addictions.co.uk

1. EFT for Addictions Emotional Freedom Techniques Training Masha Bennett Neurolinguistic Psychotherapist Advanced EFT Practitioner & Trainer AAMET www.practicalhappiness.co.uk www.eft4addictions.co.uk

2. EFT: Definitions & Claims “Acupuncture without needles” “Emotional form of acupuncture” “Acupressure combined with cognitive therapy” “A New Age fad” “Power therapy” “Universal healing aid” “One-minute wonder tool” “A placebo” “Another form of quackery” “Tapping therapy” “Pseudo –science” A fad or a valuable tool? www.practicalhappiness.co.uk

3. Brief History of EFT Traditional Chinese Medicine / Acupuncture : < 5000 years ago Thought Field Therapy (TFT): developed in the USA by Dr Roger Callahan , 1980s Thecase of Mary Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT): developed in the USA by Gary Craig, 1990s www.eft4addictions.co.uk

4. EFT Applications for Addictions Reducing / eliminating cravings Alleviating withdrawal symptoms Managing anxiety, fear, grief , anger, guilt Relieving physical pain and tension Addressing irrational & negative thinking Healing past trauma Enhancing sense of control Reducing risk of relapse Stress management & personal development tool for therapists

5. How does EFT work? No proven explanation of mechanism Popular view: balancing of the body’s energy system in relation to a specific issue? High concentration of mechanoreceptors in areas of skin associated with acupoints Signal produced by stimulating the points appears to reach the limbic system in the brain and reduce arousal Stimulates endorphin production Dual attention / Adaptive information processing? - Effects comparable to those of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing) www.eft4addictions.co.uk

6. Main EFT Acupressure Points EFT Point Meridian point CR – Crown Several points EB – Eyebrow Bladder 2 SE – Side of Eye Gall Bladder 1 UE – Under Eye Stomach 1 UN – Under Nose Governing Vessel 27 CH – Chin Central Vessel 24 CB – Collarbone Kidney 27 UA – Under Arm Spleen 17 TH – Thumb Lung 11 IF – Index Finger Large Intestine 1 MF – Middle Finger Pericardium 9 RF – Ring Finger Triple Warmer 1 LF – Little Finger Heart 9 KC – Karate Chop Small Intestine 3 SS – “Sore Spot” (not an acupressure point, but a neurolymphatic area)

7. ABC of EFT Awareness of the problem/issue Specific description SUD (Subjective Units of Distress) – for emotions/physical sensations, or VoC (Validity of Cognition) – for beliefs, rating on the scale of 1 – 10 Balancing Stimulation of the Karate Chop point, or the “Sore Spot” “Set-up” statement to include description of problem and a positive affirmation, the latter usually about self Clearing Stimulation of the sequence of points Focus on problem emotions, physical sensations, thoughts, images “Reminder phrase” (naming the problem) at each point to maintain focus

8. Awareness of the problem Specific description, e.g. General More Specific “I feel stressed at “I am worried about not work” finishing my report on time” “I am in pain” “I have a sharp stabbing pain in my left shoulder“ “I am fed up” “I am annoyed with my friend for not ringing me on time”

9. Awareness-Balancing-ClearingAwareness of the problem cont. Rating/Scaling the problem SUD (Subjective Units of Distress) 0– 10 VoC (Validity of Cognition) 0 – 10 where 0 is no intensity, and 10 is maximum intensity Alternative scaling methods, e.g. for kids Use arms to show how “big” the problem is Traffic light system Red – high intensity Amber – medium intensity Green – calm www.eft4addictions.co.uk

10. Awareness-Balancing-ClearingAwareness of the problem cont. What to pay attention to in the client’s language in description of the problem Mental images, e.g. “I can still see those scary eyes” Emotions, e.g. “I feel sadness” Thoughts, e.g. “I don’t know why it’s upsetting me so” Physical Sensations, e.g. “churning in my stomach” Belief Statements, e.g. “I should be able to cope better” Sounds/Voices, e.g. “I can hear him say ‘It’s your fault’…” Smells, e.g. “I can still smell her perfume” Taste, e.g. “metallic taste in my mouth” Metaphors, e.g. “heavy burden on my shoulders” www.eft4addictions.co.uk

11. Awareness-Balancing-Clearing Awarenessof the problem cont. Non-verbal cues to pay attention to: Facial expression, e.g. sad, smiling, confused, scared Breathing, e.g. fast, slow, deep, shallow, (ir)regular etc Muscle tone, e.g. tense, relaxed Skin colour, e.g. pale, red, blotchy Eyes, e.g. gaze fixed or moving, bright, dull, tearful etc Voice tone & pitch Speed/rate of speech e.g. fast, slow Use of emphasis, e.g. “…and then IT HAPPENED..” Posture, e.g. upright, slumped, open, closed Gestures, e.g. their location, fast, slow, small, large Sweating, e.g. sweaty palms www.eft4addictions.co.uk

12. Psychological Reversal 1 Psychological Reversal can be defined as Self-Sabotage on both psychological and energetic levels. Psychological Reversal can be assumed to be always present in: eating disorders serious addiction clinical depression serious chronic illnesses and may be present with other issues/conditions www.eft4addictions.co.uk

13. Psychological Reversal 2 If uncorrected, Psychological Reversal is likely to stop the treatment (EFT or any other) from working Can be detected through muscle testing (as in kinesiology) – however, this requires skill and often takes longer than the EFT Set-up / Balancing, so testing is usually unnecessary.

14. Awareness-Balancing-ClearingBalancing/ Set-up The Purpose of Balancing is to correct for any Psychological Reversal / Self-Sabotage present. The correction is TEMPORARY, and the Psychological Reversal can “kick-in” again within minutes or even seconds The Balancing/Set-up is normally repeated at the start every sequence of tapping www.eft4addictions.co.uk

15. Awareness-Balancing-Clearing Balancing/ Set-up cont. The Balancing or Set-up Phrase has two main components: Statement of Problem / Issue Positive affirmation about self Typical structure of the Balancing Phrase: “Even though [insert problem]… …I accept myself.”

16. Awareness-Balancing-ClearingBalancing/ Set-up 3 Examples of Balancing / Set-up Phrases: ”Even though [problem]…. … I deeply and completely accept myself” … I love and accept myself” …I forgive myself” …I give myself permission to… [heal, relax etc]” …I am OK” …I am a good person” …I am cool”

17. Awareness-Balancing-ClearingClearing Tapping through the rest of the points, 7+ times Reminder Phrase at each point , e.g. “This [problem]” “Remaining [problem]” “This [aspect of problem]” Important Note: Reminder Phrase is NOT an affirmation It’s function is to keep us focused on the problem

18. The Movie Technique How long does the movie last? If longer than a few minutes, it may need to be split into more than one movie Give the Movie / Memory a title, e.g. “Incident at Sainsbury’s” What type of movie is it – drama, horror, thriller, tragi-comedy, action film? Tap on the title of the movie After one or two rounds check if OK to look at individual scenes. www.eft4addictions.co.uk

19. The Movie Technique cont. Client to choose one scene & name it Usually the most emotionally charged scene, though sometimes we may work in chronological order Tap on the scene until the emotion subsides, then move to the next one It is important that there is only one emotional “peak” in each scene At the end get the client to “watch the movie” from beginning to end Check for remaining intensity, tap more if needed www.eft4addictions.co.uk

20. Shortcut for Cravings EFT Shortcut for relieving cravings / urges Tap on the following points (both sides) whilst focusing on the physical sensation, emotions and cognitions associated with the craving: Under Eye (Stomach 1) Collar Bone (Kidney 27) Under Arm (Spleen 17) Collar Bone (Kidney 27) Repeat a number of times until craving subsides. Revert to full protocol if required. Typical effects of EFT on cravings Intensity of craving / desire decreases, often dramatically Perceived smell of food / substance changes (usually from pleasant to unpleasant or neutral) Tension & anxiety reduces www.eft4addictions.co.uk

21. Aspects Aspect = Emotionally significant component of the issue Aspects can be Conscious Unconscious Remembered Imagined Aspects can emerge Sequentially Simultaneously Both Aspects can often be broken into smaller aspects Aspects can be Emotional Cognitive Visual Kinaestethic Auditory Olfactory Gustatory Symbolic

22. Side Effects Side-effects may include Tiredness, lethargy, yawning Light-headedness, dizziness Temporary increase in emotional charge Pain/ache moving to another location Different emotion emerging Repressed memories surfacing Feeling of nausea The best way to deal with the side-effects No.3 to 7 is to continue tapping until the discomfort is alleviated.

23. Contra-indications Clients with high blood pressure avoid tapping on the head can use any other point instead, e.g. collarbone Pregnant women avoid tapping on inside ankle point as it is thought to stimulate uterus avoid working with core beliefs in the 1st trimester (?) Client in Pre-contemplation Avoid directly pursuing the issue which is being denied Work on any distress experienced by the client Therapist’s competence & confidence psychotic symptoms / schizophrenia manic depression / bi-polar disorder multiple severe trauma Only use EFT with the above if you already have knowledge / experience of working with this client group

24. EFT Survey by M. Bennett in 2008 71 respondents including 49 practitioners 22 lay users Table 1. Self-reported frequency of successful outcome with EFT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Results for self Results for other Frequency no. % no. % Frequency ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Never 0 0 3 4.2 Never >25% 1 1.4 2 2.8 >25% 25-50% 5 7.0 2 2.8 25-50% 50-70% 12 16.9 9 12.7 50-70% 70-90% 24 33.8 24 33.8 70-90% 90-100% 29 40.8 29 40.8 90-100% ________________________________________________________________________________________________ www.eft4addictions.co.uk

25. EFT Survey cont. Table 2. Top 10 issues for which EFT was reported to be effective __________________________________________________________ no. % Issue ________________________________________________________________________ 65 91.5 Anxiety/Panic 55 77.5 Anger 76.1 Confidence/Self-esteem 53 74.6 Relationship issues 51 71.8 Depression 64.8 Pain Management 45 63.4 Trauma/PTSD 42 59.2 Phobias 41 57.7 Addictions 38 53.5 Abuse issues www.eft4addictions.co.uk

26. EFT Survey cont. Table 3. Comparison of EFT with other approaches by practitioners www.eft4addictions.co.uk

27. Masha’s Contact Details W: www.eft4addictions.co.uk W: www.practicalhappiness.co.uk E: masha@eft4addictions.co.uk E: masha@practicalhappiness.co.uk T: +44 (0)7887 617558 A: Practical Happiness, PO Box 142, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 9AD Skype: masha.bennett Masha Bennett is based near Manchester, UK and travels nationally and internationally to teach EFT to health professionals and general public www.eft4addictions.co.uk

28. www.eft4addictions.co.uk Main References Bennett, M. (2009) Use of EFT Survey. In preparation for publication in Journal of Holistic Healthcare. Bennett, M. (2009). EFT: Tapping into New Solutions. Addiction Today, Jan-Feb 2009, pp.30-31 Craig, G. The EFT Manual – downloadable from www.emofree.com