This article is part of the EFT 101: What is EFT? series.

Thought Field Therapy was developed in the early eighties by Dr. Rodger Callahan.  Over the years the techniques have evolved.  Different variations can be referred to as Thought Field Therapy (TFT), Evolving Thought Field Therapy (EvTFT), and the Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy (CTTFT).  Gary Criag studied TFT with Dr. Callahan and innovated Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) from this and other trainings.

Here is how Gary describes the differences on his web site http://emofree.com:

TFT uses similar principles as EFT but asks the student to learn 10 or 15 different tapping routines (called algorithms), each of which is designed to cover a specific issue such as trauma, phobias, depression, etc . Anything not covered by those individual routines (e.g. insomnia, TMJ, dyslexia, etc.) requires a diagnostic process. EFT, by contrast, uses only one comprehensive tapping routine to cover all issues (not just 10 or 15) and doesn’t require diagnosis. A more thorough treatment of the EFT/TFT comparison is covered in The scientific evolution of EFT from TFT.

When EFT relieves pain, does it merely mask the pain and thus thwart the ability for pain to signal danger?

I doubt it…but no one knows the answer to this for sure. However, I have applied EFT thousands of times and have never heard of anyone whose pain was “inappropriately blocked”. Many people have reduced or eliminated their pains with EFT and some have witnessed swelling disappear before their eyes. But, to my knowledge, no one has complained that the pain was “merely masked”.

This concern is a valid one. However, I think its genesis comes from the use of medications which, indeed, often mask symptoms. By contrast, EFT is not a medication and does not enter an artificial substance into the bloodstream. Thus I am at a loss to conclude that it masks symptoms. Even if it did, some may find it preferable to pain blocking medications.

In my experience, if EFT doesn’t solve the problem by eliminating the cause, then the physical discomfort will re-appear. To me, this simply calls for more rounds of EFT on other aspects and/or referral to a specialist.