Athletic Performance

This study investigated the effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) on competitive anxiety in 29 elite male taekwondo athletes. After 10 sessions of EFT training, the intervention group showed decreased cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and salivary cortisol, as well as increased self-confidence, compared to the control group.

This dissertation highlights promising benefits of integrating Dance/Movement Therapy and Emotional Freedom Techniques for sports performance enhancement but acknowledges that the findings are preliminary and further research to validate these methods, refine their application, and strengthen their evidence base is needed. The dissertation supports its claims by presenting qualitative and quantitative data from case studies and surveys involving athletes who integrated Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) into their training.

Review of EFT research finds it effective for stress and anxiety management for students and school personnel. Suggests that there are links between EFT and CBT citing allied techniques eg “EFT uses cognitive behaviour therapy techniques, such as awareness building, imaginal exposure, reframing of interpretation, and systematic desensitization, while teaching the individual to self-stimulate protocol-identified acupoints”.

This study examines the effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) in reducing stress among athletic training students. Results indicate that EFT led to a general decrease in stress levels, with variations based on class standing and gender, and most participants reported feeling calmer after treatment.

Twenty-six women soccer players were randomly assigned to either a 10-minute EFT session or standard soccer technique coaching after an initial series of penalty goal attempts. The results showed a statistically significant improvement in goal-scoring ability for the EFT group compared to the coaching group.

EFT was applied to a single figure handicap golfer in an attempt to overcome the performance decrements the player had suffered. The participant underwent four 2-hr sessions of EFT. The study suggests that EFT may be an effective treatment for yips, potentially linked to addressing significant life events.

This study explored whether Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) could improve athletic performance in college basketball players. The results showed that players who received a brief EFT session scored an average of 21% better in free throws compared to the control group, while the control group scored 17% lower. However, EFT did not have a significant impact on vertical jump height, although female players who received EFT showed a trend towards improved performance in both free throws and jump height