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Home ? Articles ? Mental Illness & Retardation ? EFT, Sever Mental Illness and a Murderous Impulse
EFT, Severe Mental Illness and a Murderous Impulse
Gary Craig's Introduction:
There is much we don?t know about EFT, including its use with severe mental illness. Even though we are frequently delighted with the speed and efficiency with which EFT appears to work with the vast majority of ?normal? people, we must still consider EFT to be in the experimental stages and proceed with normal caution and common sense.
With this in mind, EFT Master Dr. Patricia Carrington outlines in great detail one of her cases regarding a man who was previously diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia. While EFT appeared to readily resolve an anger issue regarding his daughter, it also appeared to ?open the door? for a decision to murder a co-worker.
While no one was actually harmed and it is difficult to say just how, if at all, EFT actually opened the door, this case merits our attention. It is particularly appropriate for professionals who deal with this very small percentage of our society.
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From EFT Master, Patricia Carrington
Today, I?d like to build upon the theme introduced by on her use of EFT with a client who suffered from ?explosions? of anger. The way Lori handled this client?s problem was what I consider to be the approach of choice for such cases and it is the way I have recommended that we use EFT for a problem of this sort. I come to this conclusion because of a hair raising incident (described below) that occurred in my practice several years ago, which taught me an unforgettable lesson about how best to use EFT to deal with uncontrollable impulses ? AND how not to use it.
?Roland? had called me because my name was on his Managed Care Referral list. I knew nothing about him except what he told me on the phone. He was in technical maintenance in a major company in our neighborhood and he wanted to see someone as soon as possible because he had a problem with anger.
When he arrived at my office I saw a very neatly dressed man with a tightened jaw. His eyes had a steely look to them, and I sensed enormous tension beneath his somewhat smooth exterior.
Roland started right in, with a somewhat disarming lack of emotion, to relate to me his ?case history?, using almost exactly the wording a psychiatrist might use to report it ? all the correct medical terms. He had experienced more than one incident when he had been restrained by the Military Police and even placed in confinement, when he was in the service, because of his violent outbursts. He had been a former officer in the armed forces and told me early on in the session, very coolly but very pointedly, that his branch of the service had diagnosed him as a ?paranoid schizophrenic? and dismissed him from the service as not fit to serve any longer.
Hearing this I was immediately alerted. The armed services do not make this kind of diagnosis or decision lightly and it was obvious there had been a major incident to cause it, but it was one which he said he didn?t want to reveal right away. I inquired only indirectly about this at that point, respecting his limits, and he changed the subject.
He told me why he was seeking treatment. He was upset by the fact that two days previously he had experienced an intense rage at his 13 year old daughter for answering him in a way that he considered ?fresh? at the time, although now he thought it was probably just an innocuous teen remark. He had had a powerful urge to pick her up and throw her through the plate glass window in their living room. He clearly took this impulse very seriously, although he related it calmly and matter-of-factly. He told me that he was afraid that one of these days he was going to do just that. He also commented that he found himself getting very angry at some of the ?stupid people? who worked with him ? ?VERY angry! There?s one guy there I hate? he said.
At this point I felt somewhat uneasy. I didn?t know this client. He was self referred. There was no-one else present in the building where I was working (my home office). Roland kept on reporting about himself in a detached, clinical fashion, but would stop every so often to ask me, ?What can you do to help me?? He was pressing for immediate assistance.
Because of his urgency for help right away, I decided to use EFT with him as I frequently do in crisis intervention. I wanted to help him bring down his immediate inner pressure so that he could feel more comfortable and handle his difficult emotional issues more easily. It had been my experience that EFT can be extremely effective in controlling anger, so we commenced with the issue he was talking about ? his impulse to throw his daughter through the plate glass window.
He reported that he was an 8 to start with on the SUDS scale (0 to 10 intensity) when he thought about the incident, but his body was taut as he spoke about it and he appeared almost desperate. I estimated that the actual SUDS level was probably higher ? a 10. He went through all the steps of EFT, following me as I tapped on myself, my usual practice in order to role-model the procedure for him.
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