Commonly referred to as "tapping", Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) has the capacity to do far more than its simplicity may suggest. How can gently tapping on your head, face, and fingertips produce emotional freedom? Before I began my deep dive into a three-phased intensive EFT certification process, I was skeptical. Afterall, my years as a student of psychology at the undergrad and graduate levels were steeped in the “science of the mind” based on research that closely followed the scientific method. I knew of no such research in support of EFT (it exists) but I had a willingness to follow my intuition which told me that studying EFT was a wiser choice than undergoing 5 days of training to become an EMDR practitioner. Furthermore, I knew that EFT has similarities to EMDR. Both techniques involve some tapping and eye movement. Both are given a nod by trauma specialist Bessel Van der Kolk in his world-renowned book, “The Body Keeps the Score”.
I chose to learn EFT because I believed it would give me an opportunity to heal some of my own unresolved emotional wounds and trauma whereas learning EMDR would not. (I was correct!) I also wanted to be able to teach my clients a technique that they could use for themselves without needing a trained mental health professional to facilitate as is the case with EMDR.
After completing Levels I, II, and III and qualifying as a Master EFT Pracitioner, I have become a more effective, well-rounded, mental-health therapist. Clients with strong emotions, including my clients living with ADHD, have benefited from EFT in our sessions as they are quickly able to shift from being stuck in the energy of shame to courage, willingness and acceptance which then enables them to find focus and ability to take positive action and meet their goals successfully. Every person with whom I have practiced EFT is amazed at the relief it brings.
That said, here is my nutshell perspective on EFT as an experienced Registered Clinical Counsellor and Psychotherapist:
EFT is a safe, effective and efficient means of combining Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Compassion and Attachment Therapy, Neuroplasticity, Positive Psychology, Affirmations/Positive Self-Talk, Relaxation Techniques, Mindfulness, and Somatics in one deceptively simple package. It is also my perspective and experience that it is a gentle and powerful (as in effective) technique with many similarities to EMDR. Like EMDR, EFT can be used to heal traumatic experiences though this should only be done with a qualified Master EFT practitioner who has training, education, and experience as a mental health professional.
I often tell my EFT clients that we could talk and talk about EFT and I could point them to studies and articles that detail what it does and how it does it but none of that will mean a thing until they begin to practice it.
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When I use EFT, the client takes an active role in their emotional healing. They experience in real time the positive effect tapping has, even while talking about emotionally painful events. As they tap on acupressure points (see image above), they tell me about the problem they want to resolve - this story gives insight into how and why the person feels stuck. Tapping while talking has a grounding, centring, and calming effect while simultaneously allowing the person to get out of their head where we all tend to rationalize, minimize, catastrophize, and often re-traumatize ourselves. We are thus able to get underneath the story and "pull back the carpet", so to speak, to reveal and release stuck emotion(s).
I heard an EFT practitioner say, “EFT gives the client the wand”, meaning I, as the practitioner, am not the one who holds the key to freeing anyone else of their emotional pain. Each of us has the truth, the answers, and the solution inside of us. Often those answers lie dormant beneath a sort of a snarl ball of negative energy/emotions like shame, grief, guilt, fear, and anger. These are not “bad” emotions – they’re simply feelings we didn’t have the capacity to process at the time we experienced them.
Many of us resist embarking on work like this because change is scary, even positive change. When ready, EFT is a gentle technique, soothing the nervous system as we talk about those stuck emotional experiences. EFT with a skilled practitioner unravels that snarl ball quickly and makes way for exactly what the name implies: Emotional Freedom. I have closely vetted this technique from both sides of the chair and would not use if it if didn’t know how well it works. It healed me of trauma and, as a DIY kind of person, I love to pass this technique on to people who are DIYers and those who prefer healing with a professional. 😊
You have options on your healing journey, as do we all. The universe has bestowed on us infinite resources for our well-being, peace, and freedom. We simply need the willingness and courage to use the tools available to us.
Tara Hope is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Therapeutic Emotion Regulation Coach/Consultant specializing in ADHD, and Master EFT Practitioner in British Columbia. Her coaching and EFT services are available to clients worldwide online or in person at her Comox Valley, BC, office. http://www.tarahope.ca
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