Tap Your Way Into Well-Being With Emotional Freedom Technique

In 2003, I attended a workshop on a cutting-edge method called Emotional Freedom Technique. The advertising claimed that this technique could bring immense relief for people suffering from anxiety, phobias, depression, trauma, cravings and addictions, stress and even illnesses. Since then, I have used EFT with hundreds of my psychotherapy clients (both children and adults) and have consistently been amazed at the results.

In the 1990’s Gary Craig, a Stanford Engineer (who I had the honor of studying with in 2004) developed this amazing healing modality. It originated from Thought Field Therapy which was discovered in the 1980’s by Psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan from the University of Michigan. Dr. Callahan’s protocol was expensive to learn and complicated. Craig had the vision to simplify it and make it more accessible to the public

EFT is often referred to as emotional acupuncture. Instead of using needles, people learn to balance the body’s energy system by gently tapping with their fingertips on various acupuncture points that correspond to organs and emotions in the body.

The roots of EFT are from Traditional Chinese Medicine in which a subtle energy system is recognized. Qi energy (pronounced chee) is circulated throughout the meridians. You can think of the meridians as being like a riverbed over which water flows and irrigates the land; feeding, nourishing and sustaining the substance through which it flows. If a dam were placed at any point along the river, the nourishing effect that the water had on the whole river would stop at the point the dam was placed.

So, when the Qi becomes blocked, the rest of the body now suffers. Anxiety, depression and various illnesses are among the things that can result. EFT is a fantastic tool used to restore the flow of Qi. Simply by tapping on various meridian points you are able to clear the blockages that keep your body from fully thriving.

A client, Bob felt unable to go on a cruise because he had an angioplasty two weeks before and was having regular panic attacks. He found that EFT calmed him down enough so he could go on the cruise and had a glorious time.

Another client, Joan was having problems with her knee for over a year. We tapped on the pain in her knee. A year later, the pain had not returned. This is one of the “one minute wonders” that Gary Craig, the founder of EFT often refers to.

Mary’s boyfriend of three years had broken up with her. She came to my office in tears. We tapped on her heartbreak and then instilled hope for the future. She left my office in a state of calm acceptance with hope for the future.

The possibilities of EFT are endless. People are not only using it to heal trauma and stress but to bring abundance, gratitude and joy into their lives. As a therapeutic technique there is little else to equal its simplicity and effectiveness. Many experienced therapists now report typical success rates of 80%. The good news is, it is easily learned and you have a tool for life. Gary Craig states that that we have been given a priceless gift from an ancient Eastern philosophy. I fee very privileged to be able to share this gift with my clients, family and friends.