Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ‘could be helped by EFT’ says NICE (UK government health body)

January 6, 2019 EFT in the News, EFT Science, Post-Traumatic Stress

Below is the press release recently made public explaining a milestone with regards a huge thumbs up from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence regarding EFT and its application in the treatment of PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder. Tremendous acknowledgment goes out to EFT International (formerly known as AAMET) and a collaborative effort with ACEP, EFT Universe, David Feinstein, PhD and others.

PRESS RELEASE: For immediate release 13^th December 2018

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ‘could be helped by EFT’ says government health body

NICE calls for research into using alternative therapy to help PTSD sufferers

An alternative health therapy known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) has been recognised for the first time by the government as a possible way of helping people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The suggestion is made in new guidance on the treatment of PTSD published by NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence which is responsible for determining treatments recommended for use on the NHS.  The guidance published in December 2018 recommends that research is carried out into the clinical and cost effectiveness of EFT for treating PTSD in adults.

“We are excited and pleased that NICE has made these recommendations and recognised the potential that EFT may have in helping many people suffering from serious trauma,” said Jacqui Footman, Chairman of UK based AAMET International (the Association for the Advancement of Meridian Energy Techniques), which promotes the use of EFT.  “This is the first time that EFT has been acknowledged in any UK government guideline, signifying that there is an initial and promising evidence base, worthy of government-funded further research.”

EFT (also known as ‘tapping’) is a technique developed in the 1990s by Gary Craig, within the field of Energy Psychology (EP). Patients use their fingertips to tap specific acupuncture points on the body based on traditional Chinese energy meridian lines. This can help promote emotional and therapeutic relief for patients.

“There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of EFT in the treatment of PTSD,” added Jacqui. “This technique has the potential to increase patient choice and to create valuable savings for the NHS. It is gentle, easy to learn and non-invasive.  It empowers people, giving them a self-help tool that they can use whenever and wherever they need it.” Cont.

AAMET International, John Greenaway Building, John Greenaway Close, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 6QF

2 of 2/…NICE calls for research into EFT to tackle PTSD …press release cont.

The NICE guidance on PTSD points to “promising evidence for clinical benefits of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) on improving self-rated PTSD symptomatology in adults with established PTSD”.  It adds that much of the existing research concerns PTSD in combat veterans and recommends more research is needed in the use of EFT in other trauma situations.

Among the submissions to NICE supplied by AAMET International was powerful testimony from Executive Board Member and Co-Director of the AAMET Training Board, Shoshana Garfield, who has a PhD in Psychology.  After experiencing severe sexual abuse from a young age, she suffered for many years from PTSD. Dr Garfield used traditional psychotherapy techniques over the course of 25 years, but it was EFT, or (Energy Psychology), that she says helped her most.

“Behind every PTSD experience is not just a mountain of overwhelming pain … there is a mountain range of emotional agony that cannot ever be fully put into words… It was Energy Psychology (EP) that helped me truly have a life, and one that is deeply fulfilling, with the reliable experience of daily joy instead of brutal flashbacks. It was only with EP that I was able to come alive. Let me be clear: there is no dosage or intensity or type of traditional, conventional interventions that would have brought me so fully out of the mountains. Not ten years more, not twenty, not the rest of my life. I posit that EP research is at a state where it is quite likely unethical to ignore, and verging on unethical to not use.”

Editors’ notes

1. Jacqui Footman is available for interviews. Please contact her on: jfootman@aamet.org or 01769 572207 / 07933 998118
2. Photograph attached showing Jacqui Footman with an EFT patient.
3. For more information about the new NICE guidelines on PTSD and the EFT recommendations see: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng116/chapter/Recommendations-for-research
4. The research on EFT submitted to NICE was compiled through a collaboration of AAMET International, ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology), EFT – Universe and EFT researcher Dr David Feinstein.
5. More information is available at aametinternational.org
6. AAMET International is a registered charity with the purpose of advancing the use of EFT for public benefit. It has 1500 EFT practitioner members around the world. The organisation is looking for academic research partners in the field of EFT to work with and support through its fundraising, to supplement any government funds available.
7. Press release issued by ndmedia.co.uk
8. Ends