A key guide to EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

What is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)?

The Emotional Freedom Technique, abbreviated to EFT, is a tapping therapy that offers healing and relief from physical and emotional pain and discomfort. It can be referred to as “Psychological Acupressure”, "Tapping", or EFT Tapping Technique". EFT works by releasing emotional blockages within the body’s energy system. This is done by tapping on key meridian points (acupressure points) around the body whilst focusing on the emotional or physical stresses the individual is experiencing.

It is based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and modern psychology. EFT is in effect an emotional version of acupuncture but without the needles. This treatment sprang from the idea that, “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.”

There are over 100 scientific research papers that talk about the efficacy and effectiveness of EFT, which has appeared in many peer-reviewed medical journals.

What are the benefits of using EFT?

Releases emotional pain very quickly
Provides relief from past trauma
Taps into the Body-Mind Connection
Gets to the energetic root cause
EFT is a tool for life
No drugs or equipment needed
Works in-person and online
Frees up energy for healing

What is the role of an EFT Practitioner?

The role of an EFT Practitioner (also known as 'Emotional Freedom Technique Therapist') is to support and guide the release of emotional trauma held within the body and in subconscious memories in a safe and controlled way.

An EFT Therapist is trained and qualified to be able to support a client navigate and clear both small 't' and big 'T' traumas that they may have experienced in their life. Each trauma is unique and will have its own pain points and nuances to it; a trained EFT practitioner will be able to identify these and work to clear them effectively.

One of the main priorities of an EFT practitioner is to ensure that the individual doesn't relive the trauma and therefore experience all the hurt and pain they would have felt in the past. EFT is very safe therapy when dealing with traumatic memories, whereas more traditional talking therapies can sometimes leave you feeling like you've 'opened a can of worms' at the end of a session. Due to its nature EFT is working on clearing negative emotions so an individual will always feel better.

The aim of an EFT Practitioner is to get an individual to a place where the traumatic event has no emotional charge to them anymore, they look at it from a completely different perspective or they are no longer able to access the memory.

The EFT Tapping Points

The ‘Emotional Freedom Technique’ tapping sequence is the deliberate tapping on the ends of nine meridian points. There are 12 major meridians that mirror each side of the body and correspond to an internal organ. EFT mainly focuses on these nine:

Karate chop (KC): Small intestine meridian
Top of the head (TH): Governing vessel
Eyebrow (EB): Bladder meridian
Side of the eye (SE): Gallbladder meridian
Under the eye (UE): Stomach meridian
Under the nose (UN): Governing vessel
Chin (Ch): Central vessel
Beginning of the collarbone (CB): Kidney meridian
Under the arm (UA): Spleen meridian
Wrists: Links to all finger points below
Thumb (Th): Lung meridian
Index Finger (IF): Large intestine meridian
Middle Finger (MF): Triple Warmer
Ring Finger (RF): Triple Warmer
Little Finger: Heart Meridian

The process begins by tapping the karate chop point while simultaneously reciting a setup phrase which is to do with the specific emotions an individual is experiencing. Then, tapping on each following points, moving down the body in this ascending order. While tapping the ascending points, a reminder phrase is used to maintain focus on the problem area and to help release blockages.

What health areas does EFT focus on?

The ‘Emotional Freedom Technique’ can be used effectively as part of any healing journey. All illnesses, whether physical or mental, have an emotional root to them; we encourage all clients to explore this aspect in our sessions. Once the emotional stress has been cleared the body is able to relax, and enter into a parasympathetic nervous system state this allows the healing process to begin. Often, individuals remain in a stress cycle due to unresolved emotions, which means they are unable to heal.

Areas where EFT is known to be particularly beneficial, are:

Pain Management
Anxiety
Depression
Sexual/Emotional/Physical Abuse
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Stress Management
Childhood Trauma
Phobias
Addictions
Loss and Grief
Self-Confidence/Self-Esteem

Let's focus on some of these areas in more detail:

EFT Tapping helping with physical pain

It is important to understand the mind and the body are one and the same system. What impacts the mind will impact the body and what impacts the body will impact the mind. Therefore, if you have experienced trauma in your life (whether it be big or small) and you haven't been able to process it or have chosen to suppress it, it will have the potential to impact your physical health.

EFT Tapping helping with Anxiety and Depression

EFT has been extensively investigated for anxiety and depression.

In a published research paper on EFT, they stated: "An improvement was found in 90% of patients who received acupoint tapping therapy compared to 63% of the CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) participants. Only 3 acupoint tapping sessions were needed before an individual’s anxiety reduced, while an average of 15 was needed for CBT to show results."

With regards to depression, another research paper looking at EFT also stated: "EFT demonstrated a very large effect size in the treatment of depression." "EFT was more efficacious than physical interventions such as diaphragmatic breathing and as well as psychological interventions such as supportive interviews."

EFT Tapping helping with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is another area that EFT has been proven to be very effective at resolving.

There have been several research papers published which show the benefit of EFT. One paper stated: "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) notoriously is hard to treat. The emotional freedom technique (EFT) is a simple and potentially effective treatment for PTSD."

Another paper looking guidelines around using EFT for PTSD stated: "The guidelines recommend a stepped-care model, with five treatment sessions for subclinical PTSD, 10 sessions for PTSD"

A meta-analysis looking at previous studies mentioned: "The analysis of existing studies showed that a series of 4-10 EFT sessions is an efficacious treatment for PTSD with a variety of populations. The studies examined reported no adverse effects from EFT interventions and showed that it can be used both on a self-help basis and as a primary evidence-based treatment for PTSD."

EFT helping with Stress Management

Stress is the activation of the body's sympathetic nervous system which activates the body's fight or flight response and causes stress hormones to be released into the body. Stress is a response to a trigger in your environment which indicates danger, a lack of safety or a threat. Often triggers are based on previous life experiences and traumatic experiences.

In EFT you are tapping on the specific meridian points (acupressure points) they send an electrochemical message to the brain through the meridian channels to calm down and to signal the stress is over. When this happens the central nervous system switches over to the parasympathetic nervous system which – is the rest and repair phase response.

Therefore, EFT tapping is a very effective technique for stress management and accompanying emotions.

Is all EFT the same? Script-Based EFT vs Energy-Based EFT

EFT has gained popularity worldwide through American organisations such as Rick Ortner's Tapping Solution and Dawson Church's EFT Universe. These organisations can be described as using a script-based form of EFT.

What this means is there is a pre-written script on a range of topics and the individual repeats these statements (both positive and negative) as you tap through the tapping points. Another scenario is that when tapping you focus on the problem at hand and repeat these issues as you tap through the EFT points. In this process, these pre-written statements will invoke emotion in an individual which will then be cleared by tapping on the meridian points. This technique is quite commonly found and used in the USA.

Energy-based EFT is more commonly used in the UK and doesn't involve pre-written scripts. It is more personalised and tailored to the individual. It works on an individual connecting to their own energy, becoming aware of the emotions they feel in their body and connecting to this energy and start then start tapping on the meridian points to clear this energy. The benefit of this approach is the tapping is specific to the individual (a key naturopathic principle) and doesn't involve guesswork. It is specific and targeted. With script-based tapping, you can often be tapping and not feel significant improvement because the statement hasn't resonated with you.

At Higher Healing, we are in favour of the Energy-based EFT approach. The reason is - it is specific to the individual and to the emotions they are feeling. When using a script-based approach some of the statements may resonate which helps but there will be many others that won't and therefore they won't be effective.

With Energy-Based EFT it is accurate, targeted and helps the individual connect with their own energy. As a result, emotions get cleared faster and more effectively.

What are the 2 main types of EFT Tapping?

There are two main approaches to using EFT tapping. These are:

Basic EFT Tapping
Advanced EFT Tapping to clear trauma

Basic EFT Tapping

The basic EFT Tapping, referred to as 'tapping rounds', once properly learned from a qualified practitioner can be used by an individual on a daily basis to help manage and clear any emotions and pain they feel on a regular basis. It becomes a life-long tool that can be used to help prevent to a build-up of negative emotions and help manage day-to-day pains and niggles.

Advanced EFT Tapping to clear trauma

This form of EFT tapping involves going back to traumatic memories in a safe and controlled way to clear the negative energy associated with that traumatic experience. The negative energy is cleared to the extent that the individual will no longer be triggered by that memory and will see it from a different perspective. It is recommended that this technique only be used with a qualified practitioner as traumatic memories need to be navigated in a safe and controlled way and it is important for an individual to feel supported through this process.

Understanding EFT and Energy Medicine

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) will fall under the branch of energy medicine. It is important to recognise that every person has an energy body which overlaps our physical body. It is a matrix of energy EFT allows an individual to connect with their energy body and allow negative, trapped energy to be released. The Emotional Freedom Technique incorporates theories from holistic therapies such as acupressure, energy medicine and neuro-linguistic programming.

What is emotion?

Let's take a close look at the word emotion, it is e-motion, which stands for energy in motion. So an emotion is an energy that is in motion through the body. It flows through our meridian systems which are in effect energy motorways. Whenever an emotion (energy in motion) gets stuck or blocked there is a build-up of energy which translates into emotion or pain being expressed in the physical body.

EFT Tapping and how it is connected to our Energy (Meridian) System

Our energy body consists of 12 meridians that travel all throughout our body. Our life energy (which is also known as vital force, Qi, prana) is distributed through these meridian channels, when they are flowing freely we are said to be in good vital health.

Blockages in our energy body are often caused by big and small traumatic events in our life. As a result of these events, we form negative/limiting beliefs and behaviours in order to protect ourselves but in turn, they don’t allow us to live life peacefully.

These traumatic memories are trapped in our subconscious minds (they are always there but in the background) and when they are triggered (for a number of different reasons) they turn on the stress response in our bodies. As a result, both mental and physical symptoms are experienced, and if experienced for a sustained period of time, these can lead to illness within the body.

From an emotional perspective, often low self-esteem, low confidence, anxiety, depression, or addictive and compulsive behaviours are developed in order to cope with these feelings.

Emotional disharmony is a key factor in physical symptoms and dis-ease within the body. Often if there is underlying emotional disharmony within the body, nutrition and diets won’t work effectively until they are dealt with. This is the reason why, the ‘Emotional Freedom Technique’ (EFT) is being widely used on physical issues, including chronic illness with very positive results.

How does the 'Emotional Freedom Technique' EFT work?

Similar to acupuncture, the ‘Emotional Freedom Technique’ focuses on the meridian points — or energy hot spots — to restore balance to your body’s energy. It’s believed that restoring this energy balance can relieve symptoms a negative experience or emotion will have caused.

Based on Chinese medicine, meridian points are thought of as areas of the body energy flows through. These pathways help balance energy flow to maintain your health. Any imbalance can influence disease or sickness.

Acupuncture uses needles to apply pressure to these energy points. EFT uses fingertip tapping to apply pressure, to allow for optimal energy flow around the energy body.

In EFT, through creating a ‘Set-up Statement’ the client is able to tune in to the emotional energy and then the meridian points are tapped in sequence whilst repeating this statement to clear the blocked energy from the energy system.

How does Higher Healing use Emotional Freedom Technique?

At Higher Healing, all our practitioners are qualified in both EFT and Matrix Reimprinting. Our ‘Energy Psychology Consultations‘ utilise EFT to help clients clear energetic blockages preventing them from achieving their goals. Matrix Reimprinting helps rewrite new belief systems into the subconscious mind which is very transformative.

As a result, we are able to identify the issues at hand, allow an individual to connect to their own energy and provide the necessary energetic clearing. This gives us the confidence and knowledge to support a wide range of life goals and clear traumas an individual may be facing.