TY - JOUR
T1 - Making sense of chronic disease using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
T2 - An existential view of illness
AU - Kalla, Mahima
AU - Simmons, Margaret
AU - Robinson, Anske
AU - Stapleton, Peta
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Objective: This article explores chronic disease patients’ personal symbolic meanings of their diseases, as emergent from their experience of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) therapy. The present study is part of a larger study that explored chronic disease patients’ and EFT practitioners’ experiences of using EFT to support chronic disease healthcare. Design: Eight chronic disease patients who had received EFT were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face to face, or via telephone, or the online videoconferencing platform, Zoom. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology. Results: Three themes emerged, namely ‘illness as an embodiment of unresolved emotional issues’, ‘illness as body's call for time-out and attention’, and ‘illness as a boundary from other people’. Conclusion: EFT offers promise as a suitable therapeutic approach to help chronic disease patients make sense of their life stories and lived experiences, and consequently, symbolic meanings of diseases. The exploration of illness symbology and meaning-making may offer therapeutic value to patients, from both an existential and a health behaviors perspective.
AB - Objective: This article explores chronic disease patients’ personal symbolic meanings of their diseases, as emergent from their experience of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) therapy. The present study is part of a larger study that explored chronic disease patients’ and EFT practitioners’ experiences of using EFT to support chronic disease healthcare. Design: Eight chronic disease patients who had received EFT were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face to face, or via telephone, or the online videoconferencing platform, Zoom. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology. Results: Three themes emerged, namely ‘illness as an embodiment of unresolved emotional issues’, ‘illness as body's call for time-out and attention’, and ‘illness as a boundary from other people’. Conclusion: EFT offers promise as a suitable therapeutic approach to help chronic disease patients make sense of their life stories and lived experiences, and consequently, symbolic meanings of diseases. The exploration of illness symbology and meaning-making may offer therapeutic value to patients, from both an existential and a health behaviors perspective.
KW - Chronic disease
KW - Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
KW - Illness construction
KW - Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
KW - Symbolic disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083586507&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.explore.2020.03.006
DO - 10.1016/j.explore.2020.03.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 32335005
AN - SCOPUS:85083586507
SN - 1550-8307
VL - 16
SP - 214
EP - 224
JO - Explore: the Journal of Science and Healing
JF - Explore: the Journal of Science and Healing
IS - 4
ER -