Why I Love the Emotional Freedom Technique
AKA “EFT” / “Tapping”
Are you familiar with the “Tapping” – Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) phenomenon? This is a semi-miraculous, ritualized, way of “tapping” with your fingers on specific acupressure points on your body. You do this while speaking about topics that have caused issues for you. These may be health, financial circumstances, emotional pain, or some other theme. It even helps overcome the trauma of sexual abuse, as you will see if you keep reading.
There is nothing I like better than learning about and practicing holistic healing techniques which work without any:
- chemicals
- invasive procedures
- needles
- pharmaceutical drugs
- needles
- surgery
- volatile side effects
The originally-intended use of EFT was to overhaul the psychotherapy profession. What a success! It has reduced therapy time from months or years down to minutes or hours. In that process, we discovered that people also experienced profound physical healings.
That’s why I decided to add to my certifications and learn The Emotional Freedom Technique (commonly nicknamed “EFT” or tapping”) in 2012. I also am certified in Neuro-linguistic Programming and several forms of energy medicine, so tapping was very complementary – as in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 
For a more formal definition, here’s one from the ever-present Wikipedia. “Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a form of counseling intervention that draws on various theories of alternative medicine including acupuncture, neuro-linguistic programming, energy medicine, and Thought Field Therapy. During an EFT session, the client will focus on a specific issue while tapping on “endpoints of the body’s energy meridians.”
Sexual Abuse and Other Forms of Violence Can Be Overcome
I must make the shameful confession here. Because EFT is only one of many “tools in my toolbox,” I have spent more time and emphasis on other pursuits. I’ve even forgotten all about tapping.
Recently, however, someone from the “Left Coast” of the USA found one of my 2013 blogs about tapping. She contacted me for advice about it even though I live on the “Right Coast.” Her name is Romy Maple. She is a survivor of severe and prolonged sexual abuse which occurred throughout her childhood. To make matters worse, the abusers were the leaders of a well-known religious organization to which her family belonged. Having escaped that environment at long last, she has started her own website and non-profit company designed to help others who have had similar experiences as children. Her website is https://www.romymaple.com/. There, she says the following.
On May 29, 2018, my child sexual abuse story was featured on A & E Channel’s “Cults and Extreme Beliefs” series with Elizabeth Vargas. The supportive response from viewers has been enormous. It became clear to me that I needed a website to handle the sheer volume of inquiries and comments.
This website is intended to be a free tool to bring survivors HOPE — that four-letter word that was stolen from us as children with nobody to protect and guide us.
This website is a SAFE place. It can be a fresh start to putting trauma behind us.
This website showcases and links reputable non-profits that I have researched and have personally helped me when I needed help the most. They can help you too! As a community, with your thoughtful donations to these non-profits, we can all find help in recovering from the ravages of abuse.
Tapping or Scrapping – That Is the Question
After talking with me, Romy found resources that she is using to benefit from the Emotional Freedom Technique. That reminded me of just how effective EFT is and that I should add it back into my daily routine of self-care.
After all, so many people have used it successfully that they are teaching it to their clients, who then can use it at home and might need fewer therapy appointments. Examples include:
- Psychotherapists, chiropractors, and physicians
- Teachers and coaches
- Parents and grandparents
- Masseuses and masseurs.
- Spiritual leaders, life coaches, and counselors
- Acupuncturists, homeopathy practitioners, and other holistic health care providers.
Is EFT Safe For Everyone to Do?
Almost all people of every age (including children) can benefit. There is only one exception.
According to the EFT Manual, the only contraindication is that, for people with severe mental illness or emotional traumas, EFT should be administered by a professional medical or psychiatry professional.
In these instances, it should only be applied by a qualified professional with experience in these disorders. Why? Because some of these patients experience “abreactions” whereby they go out of control. During abreactions they can be harmful to themselves and
others and may need to be sedated or hospitalized.
Nick Ortner and The Tapping Solution
Nick Ortner is the founder of The Tapping Solution. It offers all kinds of resources that can help you learn more.
Tapping – Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) {Points)
Here is a depiction of the tapping points to be used in the EFT processes.
Tapping – Emotional Freedom (EFT) Process
For those of you who are unfamiliar, here are the steps.
First, you identify the concern and pay concentrated attention to the emotional and physical sensations that arise, as your mind thinks about the issue and those emotions begin to be expressed in the body. The physical sensations might be subtle, or they might be strong. You could feel tightness, fear, pain, or any number of things.
As you experience whatever the body is communicating to you, you acknowledge it and assign it a number – between 1 and 10 – to describe the intensity of those feelings as you think about the problem.
You then state (usually aloud) that – in spite of this difficulty – you love and approve of yourself. You do this three times, while tapping on the appropriate acupressure point. (In this case, it is called the karate chop point.)
After that portion of the technique Is done, you go through a series of tapping points, using different words to overcome the feelings associated with that issue.
During the process, you stop periodically, to “check in” with your body and see if the sensations have changed. You then re-assign a number between 1 and 10, if the intensity has transformed. Often the number has gone from 10 to a very low number or to 0 after just a few minutes of this exercise; and the issue becomes resolved.
EFT SOUNDS CUCKOO, DOESN’T IT?!!
But, guess what! IT WORKS
Here is a link where you can learn much more about the science, get instruction, purchase CD’s, and read testimonials about how great it is: http://www.thetappingsolution.com/.
I’d love to hear about how and whether the Emotional Freedom Technique helped you overcome a personal challenge.
DISCLAIMER: neither I, nor EFT practitioners make any claims that we can diagnose or heal diseases. Check with your medical services provider for medical treatments and diagnoses.
Let’s Get Well, Stay Well, and Live Well Together NOW!