COMBINING EFT WITH OTHER THERAPIES

A: Yes. EFT works well with and can enhance a variety of other techniques. Here are some of the methods that practitioners or individuals have combined with EFT: psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy, Gestalt therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, kinesiology, neurofeedback, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, Reiki, HeartMath, homeopathy, chiropractic, massage therapy, Ho’Oponopono, color therapy, dreamwork, Matrix Reimprinting, meditation, prayer, Law of Attraction, A Course in Miracles, and the Artist’s Way.

A: Yes. If you’re currently seeing a psychotherapist and you’re also learning EFT, the two work well together. We often hear reports of people making much faster progress in therapy after adding EFT.

If you’ve just learned EFT and you’ve been seeing a therapist, you might feel so elated at the changes you notice in yourself that you’re tempted to abandon your course of therapy. The therapy has been part of your mental health support system, however, so rather than make an abrupt change, consider taking things slowly. Talk to your therapist about the improvements and get their perspective on your condition. Most courses of therapy have a natural end point at which the client feels they have made progress on the issue that brought them to the therapist’s office. Marking that end point with your therapist is a more graceful way to conclude the process than an abrupt end. As future challenges arise in your life, you may well need your therapist again, as well as EFT.

–from The EFT Manual, by Dawson Church

A: Yes. I have lectured to thousands of medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists and I have generally found them to be interested, curious, and respectful when it comes to EFT. Your primary care physician needs to know about all the complementary and alternative medicine approaches you are using, including EFT. It’s important to tell your doctor about a Chinese herb you’re taking or a dietary supplement you’re experimenting with, because some of these can interact unfavorably with drugs your doctor might prescribe. It’s also important to tell your doctor about EFT and other approaches you might be using for stress management, weight loss, or psychological health.

If your doctor wants to know more about EFT, it’s useful to reference the EFT Universe research pages. This will give your doctor a sense of the strong research base that underlies Clinical EFT.

–from The EFT Manual, by Dawson Church

A: EFT can work well with medical prescriptions in several ways. One I use myself is to tap when I’m taking a prescribed medication, imagining that this pill is going to do me the maximum amount of good. Tapping while affirming my highest good engages my belief system and I get the placebo effect working on my behalf. EFT may be able to enhance the positive effects of a medication in this way.

You can also tap for your body accepting a medication easily. Some prescription drugs have severe side effects and EFT can mitigate these. This has been done by cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, for instance. Several have reported that when they imagine the chemotherapy cocktail clearing out the cancer in their bodies, while tapping, they don’t experience the side effects that most other patients endure.

Another example is the drug Xanax. Research shows that the drug helps one person in six, which sounds good. However, one person in three experiences negative side effects (Whitaker, 2011). The net effect of these two numbers is that twice as many people experience harm as benefit. If you’re able to reduce the side effects of Xanax or any other drug, then you’re able to get the benefits without the side effects.

Research has not shown that combining EFT with prescription drugs poses a risk. One study of hospital patients monitored their prescription drug use during their EFT treatment; no adverse reactions were reported (Karatzias et al., 2011). Similarly, veterans with PTSD had their prescriptions noted before and after EFT (Church et al., 2013). Their prescription drug use did not go up or down during the six weeks of the study and, again, they did not report any adverse events.

Finally, by reducing stress, EFT makes it easier for your doctor to prescribe drugs for you appropriately. Recall the Healthcare Workers Study, which showed that two thirds of physical pain vanished after a brief EFT session (Church & Brooks, 2010). The remaining one third might well require medication. Your doctor is likely to appreciate that you’ve taken care of the two thirds of your pain that’s emotional using EFT rather than trying to suppress the symptoms temporarily through high levels of medication. This also signals to your doctor that you’re a responsible patient taking responsibility for your own well-being.

–from The EFT Manual, by Dawson Church

A: Only after consultation with your physician. There are few absolutes in the health world, but this concept comes close to being one of them. Your doctor has prescribed a certain dose of a medication based on his or her rigorous training, extensive experience, and the results of clinical trials, so it is essential that you follow the dosage instructions carefully. If you’re feeling better after EFT, consult your physician about your dose. Your doctor might want to taper it down gradually, see you frequently to monitor your progress, or counsel you to maintain your dose for a certain period of time. Don’t modify your dose unless in consultation with your physician.

–from The EFT Manual, by Dawson Church