1. Dr E. Boath, Caroline Rolling & Elham Kashefi
Combatting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Dr E. Boath, Caroline Rolling & Elham Kashefi
Social Work, Allied and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Staffordshire University and AAMET
KEY RESULTS
INTRODUCTION
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a new and emerging psychological therapy that has been used to treat a variety of physical and psychological conditions including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Craig, 2009; Feinstein 2011; Church & Feinstein, 2012). EFT combines somatic stimulation with elements of other established therapies such as exposure therapy and cognitive processing (Church & Feinstein , 2012).
PTSD affects between 2-17% of military personnel and ‘represents a significant and costly illness to veterans, their families, and society’ (Richardson et al., 2011).
EFT has been used to treat PTSD in military and veteran populations:
Battle Tap is an online, self-help tool based on EFT designed for armed public service professionals who are experiencing emotional or psychological distress.
Veterans’ Stress Project suggests that that 8 out of 10 veterans who complete 6 one-hour EFT sessions, no longer test positive for PTSD, as one said:
Overall EFT resulted in positive clinical gains in terms of PTSD and measures of psychological distress for both veterans and civilian survivors of war, as one civilian reported:
Search Strategy
A systematic review of databases including the Cochrane library, CINAHL, ProQuest, PsychInfo, PubMed, PsychArticles, Web of Knowledge and Web of Science was carried out in April 2015 using the key terms Emotional Freedom Technique*, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Combat, military and veterans.
Experts in the field were contacted and searches made of the Association of Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP) and AAMET websites and Newsletters
Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria
Studies were included if they used EFT for active military, veteran or civilian survivors of war. Studies were excluded if they included PTSD as a result of non-military trauma and if they used other forms of Energy Psychology such as Thought Field Therapy (TFT) or Trauma Tapping Technique (TTT).
A total of 8 studies were included
EFT Studies: Veterans
Seven studies were identified that used EFT for war veterans (Church, 2009; Church, 2010; Church et al., 2013; Dinter, 2008; Dinter, 2009; Lubin & Schneider, 2009; Stein & Brooks, 2011; Hartung & Stein 2012).
EFT Studies: Civilian survivors of war
One study used EFT combined with Matrix Reprinting for civilian survivors of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovia (Boath, Stewart & Rolling, 2014)
“I feel like I’ve achieved so much both physically and psychologically. I am more cheerful, calmer and happier. During the treatment I have had a nice feeling of calmness and positive emotion.”
(Civilian Survivor of war)
RECOMMENDATIONS
High prevalence rates of PTSD in military, veteran and civilian survivors of war present a treatment challenge in terms of both time and resources. EFT may offer an innovative and potentially cost-effective solution. Further research is required to provide definitive answers as to the effectiveness and cost-effective=ness of EFT for ‘Combatting PTSD’.
RESULTS
REFERENCES
Boath, E., Stewart T & Rolling, C (2014) The impact of EFT and Matrix Reimprinting on the civilian survivors of war in Bosnia: A pilot study. Current Research in Psychology, 5(1), DOI : /crpsp
Craig, G. (2009). EFT for PTSD (Santa Rosa, CA: Energy Psychology Press. .
“I was given a tool and I used it. EFT succeeded where prescribed drugs, therapists and booze failed “