Is this leading to a cult? It is an unconventional psychotherapy technique during which tapping on the acupuncture points is supposed to release emotions. Does it really work?

[www.emofree.com]

well, I guess it depends upon how you define a cult?

Is it causing damage?
Are you asked/tasked to donate cash or goods?
Is it harmful?
And so on.

On the face of it EFT doesn't appear to trip the warning bells of cults as appear here, however ...

... it's my view that the approach, similar to that in 'the secret', is that it panders to a persons needs to 'fix' whatever is wrong with their life without any constructive introspection to identify why it was happening in the first place.

(and NO I don't believe that child murder, 9/11 or genocide is the 'fault' of the recipient, just bear with me a little longer and I will explain)

To elaborate, my career focus is as a hypnotherapist/life coach and I believe that whatever is happening in our life can 99% of the time be resolved if we change the way we are thinking.

NOTE: I Do Not advocate just adding Positive Thinking, more the removal of negative thinking so that you can re-start 'right thinking'

I contend that EFT is one big fat placebo approach.

I can easily distract a client (though ethically that's only for classwork proofs) so that their problem is 'gone' but it's not, since symptom substitution will kick in and their u/c mind will find another pathway to let the discomfort out.

So I suggest that EFT is simply a placebo to distract the u./c mind, at least long enough for the patient ( or whatever a priest calls their client) to feel it's all cured.

Possibly the inventor, due to a lack of understanding actually believes it works, and those people playing at EFT again due to limited knowledge think it works, but when you follow the forums they all talk about ' ... ongoing tapping ...' in one breath and then ' ... instant cures ...' in another.

THAT is a diachotomy. With hypnotherapy, resolution without fallback is the objective, one that is easily achieved by qualified practitioners.

Because of the legal standpoint in your US, rather than our UK I think many 'caring people' have jumped on this EFT bandwagon, but it's not going to lead anywhere in the end.

HTH