A Comparison of EMDR, TFT, NLP and TIR therapy in the treatment of emotionally traumatic events–
A study conducted at Florida State University by Dr. Charles Figley
In 1995 Florida State University conducted a study comparing four of the new leading-edge therapies in the treatment of emotional trauma survivors.
That study was published in the online journal “Traumatology” in 1999. This link will take you to the full details of the study.
The chart below is a summary of some of the key results that shows the average beginning disturbance level for each treatment group, the disturbance level after treatment (approx. 1-4 sessions), the total reduction in units of disturbance for each treatment group and the average treatment time for each group. It also shows the percentage of improvement for each method and the general category that the treatment approach would fall into.
The types of treatment being compared are TFT (Thought Field Therapy), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), TIR (Traumatic Incident Reduction) and an NLP process known as the VK-D (Visual Kinesthetic Disassociation Technique). At the time, these treatments were being referred to as the new “Power Therapies” because when compared to traditional psychotherapy they were much faster and more effective at dispersing intense levels of emotional pain.
| Tx Method | TIR | NLP | EMDR | TFT |
| Disturbance levelBefore Tx | 6.5 | 4.75 | 5.0 | 6.3 |
| Disturbance level After Tx | 3.4 | 5.25 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Total Reduction in Disturbance | 3.1 | -0.50 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| Total Tx Time in Minutes | 254 min. | 113 min. | 173 min. | 63 min. |
| Percent Improvement | 47.69% | -10.52% | 60% | 52.38% |
| Type of Tx | Exposure model | Cognitive model | SSDR model | SSDR model |
Abbreviations: Tx = Treatment
SSDR = Sensory Stimulation—Desensitization Response
TIR = Traumatic Incident Reduction Therapy
NLP = Neuro-linguistic Programming (visual/kinesthetic disassociation technique)
EMDR = Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
TFT = Thought Field Therapy
Below is a comparison of the Figley study in 1995 to the REMAP Pilot study in 2006. This will provide a reasonably good apples-to-apple comparison of the similar measures.
Figley Study at Florida State University 1995 vs. REMAP Pilot 2006
| Tx Method | TIR | NLP | EMDR | TFT | REMAP |
| Disturbance levelBefore Tx | 6.5 | 4.75 | 5.0 | 6.3 | 9.437 |
| Disturbance level After Tx | 3.4 | 5.25 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.187 |
| Total Reduction in Disturbance | 3.1 | -0.50 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 8.25 |
| Total Tx Time in Minutes | 254 min. | 113 min. | 173 min. | 63 min. | 77.5 min. |
| Percent Improvement | 47.69% | -10.52% | 60% | 52.38% | 87.42% |
| Type of Tx | Exposure model | Cognitive model | SSDR model | SSDR model | SSDR model |
Abbreviations: Tx = Treatment
SSDR = Sensory Stimulation—Desensitization Response
TIR = Traumatic Incident Reduction Therapy
NLP = Neuro-linguistic Programming (visual/kinesthetic disassociation technique)
EMDR = Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
TFT = Thought Field Therapy
REMAP = Reed Eye Movement Acupressure Psychotherapy
