Does online delivery of Emotional Freedom Techniques for Food Cravings work as well as attending treatment in person?

Participants will receive a weekly video email of the treatment program (Dr Stapleton who is a clinical and health psychologist with 22 years experience) which will teach the treatment process (which is the EFT technique) via pre-recorded video for that week (it is self paced for 8 weeks). Weekly handouts and email support from the lead researchers will also be supplied. Therefore the program will be: an online education intervention which is self-guided, but with human-support. Video software will monitor how often participants watch the videos, and the pace at which they move through the program. A few brief questions will be asked as multiple choice questions at the end of each video, taken directly from that video, before a person can progress to the next one. This is to ensure skipping ahead cannot occur. Each person will commit to 1 hour of the video intervention (which is the EFT being demonstrated) per week (to watch it) and a further 20-30 minutes at the beginning, end and followup points to complete the questionnaires. The topics which will be covered in the 8-weeks include: Psycho-education about the treatment and how it works; The nature of food cravings and how they are cognitively formed; Feelings and Food; Cognitive restructuring; Stress and relaxation training; Goal setting; Good nutrition; and Relapse prevention. The technique is EFT - or Emotional Freedom Techniques. EFT is a brief novel intervention combining elements of exposure and cognitive therapy, and somatic stimulation. It is often referred to as ‘psychological acupuncture’ and uses a two finger tapping process with a cognitive statement.