Life Can be Easier
with EFT
Frequently Asked Questions
about EFT Tapping
What is Clinical EFT (Tapping)?
EFT is a combination of three well-studied and scientifically proven techniques. Two cognitive (having to do with thoughts) and one somatic (based in the body). The two cognitive techniques used extensively in EFT are Exposure therapy and elements of Cognitive therapy. The Somatic technique is the tapping on various acupressure points on the body (specifically located on the meridians used in Chinese acupuncture. In fact, EFT has been called “acupuncture, without the needles”). When we tap on these points while thinking about our problem, (an event, issue, physical symptom, or any troubling thoughts and emotions we are having) we are sending a calming signal to the amygdala in the brain. The amygdala is the fear center in the brain, and when we calm the amygdala, we calm our entire physiology! From a place of calm regulation in our body and mind, we can see exciting transformation of a myriad of problems.
What can EFT be used for?
EFT works on the emotional component of anything we are dealing with. Amongst other things, it can be used to relieve the discomfort surrounding: Stress and burnout. Physical discomfort (every physical issue has an emotional component that can perpetuate or make it worse) Chronic ailments Constant worry Depressed spirits Low vitality Obstacles to weight loss Social distress Process and release stressful, potentially traumatic experiences right away Fears and phobias Difficulty with public speaking or performance of any kind The memory of that event, or those events, that play over and over in your head (and that you suspect is contributing to your current difficulties.) Mental blocks that are holding you back from the life you want. Things that children and teens are struggling with. …. In reality, it can be used on anything that is making your life harder! The founder of EFT, Gary Craig, always said, “Try it on everything.”
How is EFT (Tapping) different from talk therapy or other traditional therapies?
One, This is peer-to-peer coaching. I will always aim to lead you through the process of self-discovery using the 48 techniques of clinical EFT. I might share tips, learning and insights I’ve gained along the way. I might offer up optional wording for you to use or not. But this is your journey and YOU are the expert on YOU. I am not a licensed psychotherapist or counselor and I do not diagnose or treat illness. Two, While EFT uses an element of “exposure” to triggers, problems, and memories, this exposure is ALWAYS paired with the calming signals being sent to the brain by the tapping on acupressure points, along with a positive verbal affirmation. This allows the negative material to become paired with a positive signal to your brain (sent by the tapping), which in turn, down-regulates the stress response in your body around this negative event or issue. In other words, in an EFT session, we aren’t just talking. Just talking about negative material and past negative events, is likely to leave you feeling pretty bad. It is the tapping on acupressure points, and taking the negative material very slowly and gently if needed, that makes this an entirely different experience and provides a different outcome. If you have previously done traditional talk therapies or you know the value of venting to a good friend, you might be expecting a free-form talk-type session, however, my job as a clinical EFT practitioner is to look for the “tappable” elements in your story and help you zoom in on an appropriate target. So please be aware that I may stop or pause the conversation, for clarity and/or to begin a tapping sequence, when I recognize a starting point. You will find that slowing down and focusing-in on one thing at a time will yield greater results than tapping on big, general issues. (With EFT we aim to zoom in instead of pan out.)
What if I’m afraid to bring up negative emotions or tap into past traumas?
First, a disclaimer: EFT can complement, but is not meant to replace, medical care from a licensed physician. That said, EFT has very specific techniques, called the gentle techniques, for highly charged emotions or memories. I believe healing can and should be gentle and I always aim to go softly. We can also address your specific concerns about feeling these emotions, using EFT, before you even decide to work on anything that is troubling you. We may have spent a lot of time trying to push away or hold down these emotions (I know I did!). It makes perfect sense that the possibility of feeling them brings up some stress! With tapping we can calm any stress associated with the possibility of “feeling the feels”. Then you will be able to clearly decide from a calm, clear place of reason, whether you want to work on something with EFT. I would be happy to talk to you about any concerns you have around this. EFT does use an element of “exposure” to our problem or trigger. It is a process of turning towards the trigger, facing it with verbal acknowledgement, and then pairing that exposure with the calming signals being sent to the brain via the tapping on acupressure points and a positive verbal affirmation. This is the winning combo for being able to stop running from our emotions, turn around and squarely face the negative stuff that we usually try to avoid thinking about. When we do this, we can finally diffuse and release the negative emotions surrounding our issue, instead of trying to cover them up and soldier on. Note: It is common in EFT for the intensity of our emotions to temporarily go up and then go down as we continue to tap gently on the acupressure points. Note: If you have a history of childhood stress and trauma, and suspect this is at the root of current issues, Or if you are experiencing significant difficulties presently and are unsure why, most likely our work would be a longer process. While traditional EFT has us diving into the roots (ie: past events) of any current issues, in your case, we would begin by working to calm your nervous system by giving you calming practices and working on lower intensity and more current issues. Over time, as we work together, one current issue at a time, you develop more capacity in your nervous system to tolerate working through more triggering issues. And as our relationship becomes more established, and your nervous system feels the safety it needs to feel with me, you can go a little deeper if you want to, untangling the past little by little. You will know when you are ready to address something. You can take your time. There is no rush. I love working with clients over a period of time so that this process just unfolds naturally.
Can EFT be used with children?
Yes! EFT is very effective for children and teens if they enter into it willingly. The skill of emotional regulation is a gift I wish all children were given as the rule instead of the exception! I can work with some children and teens directly OR (and I highly recommend this) work with the parents first, to lower their stress around the childs issue. As I help parents apply EFT to their issues, they are then more confident in their ability to work with their children using EFT. It is always most effective (especially with younger children) if parents are using EFT themselves and tapping openly around their children. Or, making it a pleasant part of their day-to-day routine together. First, because children will observe that and will more naturally be interested (instead of resistant to something being forced on them.) And second, when parents use EFT regularly on their own issues, they are more confident and better able to help their children target their issues effectively and consistently. Eventually, a child who has experienced EFT being used regularly in the family will become adept at managing many of their stressors and big emotions by themselves! Also - gently and lovingly touching the acupressure points on babies when they are distressed, or just in general, is also extremely effective!
What is an EFT session, and working with you, like?
I usually begin with an initial free consultation. You can bring your questions and usually there is time to teach you the EFT acupoints in this consult. IF we agree to work together, I will send you an Intake questionnaire to fill out before our first, full session. In the first session we talk about the intake and usually ease into our work together by tapping on a lower intensity issue to start. (I don’t go into triggering past events until we’ve done at least a couple of sessions together.) Every person has different needs, but I often spend some, or a lot, of time in the first couple of sessions exploring and establishing some practices to regulate your nervous system so that we can always come back to them and calm your system as needed in sessions. I usually start a session with some sort of grounding exercise to help you settle in, calm your system, become aware of your body and better able to focus. This may be new to you and you may feel impatient to dive into the “Big Issue” but I promise, taking time to do this reaps great rewards. At each session we will identify a “target” for our tapping and then aim to stay focused on our target. EFT works best when we get specific and stay focused! It will help if you arrive with your target in mind so we can dive in quickly. I will identify the tappable issues as we talk and lead you through tapping sequences. You just follow where I’m tapping and the words I use (YOUR words that I have narrowed in on.) Please know that I may interrupt you in order to focus you in on one aspect of the issue. Sometimes our brain doesn’t initially want to get focused ; ) but, not to overstate this, EFT works best when we take our time, focus on one thing at a time and get very specific. What happens in a session may vary from week to week! There are a variety of ways to work on any problem and I may pull out different techniques on different days. I will use the EFT techniques I think will best get to the heart of your problem. I also make use of the amazing capacity for imagination that we all have, follow any metaphors or imagery that may come up and use visualization and inner child work where needed. This work can be well, work … but it can also be fun! And, when you commit to this work, you will notice your capacity for joy, love, contentment, faith and the ability to be at peace within yourself will grow, creating ripple effects out into the world and the people around you.
How can a single treatment method address such a wide variety of issues?
Because quite simply, everything we experience has emotions attached to it. And our emotions affect how we experience anything in our life. These emotions can be overt and easy to identify or covert (under the surface) and take a little more effort to uncover. But they are always present and affecting our experience. EFT works beautifully on the emotional component of anything we are experiencing, downregulating the stress response and allowing us to heal and experience more ease. That’s why I love it! It’s so practical and adaptable!
Can I use EFT on my own?
YES! EFT is, at its heart, a wonderful self-help technique. It is cost effective and always at your fingertips. I initially learned the basics from a book and the tapping solution website, and used it successfully on my own before I decided to go deeper. I love helping people learn to use it on their own and always like to give suggestions for how to tap between sessions and moving forward. You can get really good at it without ever going through the training I did! Even with my training, however, I do still choose to regularly work through my trickier issues with another EFT practitioner. this is because we all have blind spots, where we can’t see exactly how to work through something, or issues like trauma that are best addressed in the attuned presence of another. There is definitely something transformative about working closely with a person who has done their own personal work and can be truly attuned to you and present for you while they guide you through the process. I recommend the same for you if possible.
Where can I learn the basics of EFT on my own?
While there are many people making EFT tapping videos on-line, some are more accurate than others. Sometimes people will follow along and get no results, which leaves them thinking “EFT doesn’t work for me.” If you want to give yourself the best start, I recommend going to the source first and learning EFT as it was designed. Then you can be more discerning when watching online videos. Check out the free, fairly brief (66 pages), EFT mini-manual.