Origins of EFT
EFT was introduced in 1995 by Gary Craig, a Stanford Engineering graduate in lifelong pursuit of personal well-being.
“I have been intensely interested in personal improvement via psychology since my age 13. That was when I recognised that the quality of my thoughts was mirrored in the quality of my life. Since then I have been self taught in this field, seeking only those procedures that, in my opinion, produced results. EFT is my latest finding, the core of which I learned from Dr. Roger Callahan. I also have high regard for Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) in which I am a Certified Master Practitioner.”
“I’ve been doing energy healing work since 1991 and my jaw still drops at the results. I’ve lost count of the number of phobias, panic/anxiety attacks, traumatic memories, guilt, grief and physical ailments that have been elegantly relieved (often in minutes) by this procedure. Even though EFT violates just about every conventional belief out there, the results remain remarkable. EFT isn’t perfect, of course. We don’t get 100%. But it usually works well and the results are sometimes spectacular. It often works where nothing else will.”
Gary Craig, Founder of EFT
Gary Craig is neither a psychologist nor a licensed therapist. He is an ordained minister through the Universal Church of God in Southern California, which is non-denominational and embraces all religions. He is a dedicated student of A Course in Miracles, and approaches his work with a decidedly spiritual perspective. There is no specific spiritual teaching connected to EFT, although concepts of love, understanding, acceptance and ultimately a form of forgiveness (as in understanding acknowledgement and release) underlie any deeper work. EFT, when applied correctly and skillfully, is also an astonishingly kind and gentle therapy.
Gary was a student of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) with the late Dr Roger Callaghan. EFT evolved as a simplification of TFT that could easily be shared for self-help. Gary made it freely available to all via his website emofree.com, where anyone could download a 60-page manual in e-book format and buy very affordable, detailed and extensive first CD-, then DVD-format video training. A popular email newsletter delivered fresh articles twice weekly providing information about new uses for EFT with examples of how it was being used by anyone from MDs and psychiatrists to lay people. This provided a platform for a strong, sharing, bottom-up movement (whereas Eye Movement Desensitising and Reprocessing – EMDR, which started around the same time, used a strict, health professionals only top-down approach). Within years, health professionals and academics, such as Dr David Feinstein and later Dr Peta Stapleton, started publishing research papers, because they realised the potential of this technique and wanted to share information about it with colleagues for the benefit of people all over the world.
Fast forward to 2023, where we are now reaching the tipping point, with hundreds of papers published in peer-reviewed journals, 29 of which meta-analyses or systematic review, 99%+ of which finding EFT effective. A clear evidence base for EFT for PTSD, stress management, anxiety, depression and other conditions continues to emerge, with EFT on the cusp of change to formal recognition as an evidence-based therapy, as is the case for EMDR.
Jacqui with EFT Founder, Gary Craig.
Jacqui was very fortunate to be able to attend the only training event led by Gary Craig in UK, his EFT for Serious Illnesses 4-day workshop in Bolton, UK in 2005.