Addiction

Energy psychology, which combines acupuncture point stimulation with cognitive interventions, has demonstrated exceptional speed, impact, and durability in treating various conditions. This chapter discusses its application in addiction recovery, offering targeted strategies for each stage of recovery while explaining how it supports psychological change by influencing brain areas involved in emotional and cognitive processes. Clinical trials and imaging studies highlight its effectiveness as a valuable tool for substance abuse counselling.

A 2-year longitudinal follow-up study found that an 8-week online Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) intervention significantly reduced food cravings, anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms, while improving dietary restraint, with most benefits maintained over the 2-year period. Although weight loss was not sustained at 2 years, the study suggests that EFT can be a valuable addition to traditional weight loss interventions, with benefits extending beyond weight loss to improved psychological and emotional well-being.

Childhood adversity is linked to problem behavior and substance use later in life. Research suggests that this association is mediated by externalizing behavior and lower activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which affects inhibitory control.

Results revealed a delayed effect for both groups at post-intervention, with improved eating habits, self-esteem, and compassion at follow-up. Findings provide preliminary support for EFT as an effective treatment strategy for increasing healthy eating behaviours and improving associated weight-related psychopathology.

These findings suggest EFT may be an effective adjunct to addiction treatment by reducing the severity of general psychological distress, and in particular, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. This study is limited by the small sample size, lack of a control group, and exploratory nature.

This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of acupressure in reducing pain and anxiety in trauma patients during emergency transport. In a double-blinded trial, 60 patients were randomly assigned to receive acupressure at true points, sham points, or no acupressure, and results showed that true acupressure significantly reduced pain, anxiety, and heart rate. The study suggests that acupressure is a simple, risk-free, and effective treatment for pain in emergency trauma care that can improve patient satisfaction and quality of care. This acupressure study is included in the EFTi Research Database because it pre-dates known EFT-specific research.