What is EFT?

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), also sometimes called tapping, is a gentle but highly effective type of somatic therapy used to relieve painful emotions and self-defeating patterns in a therapeutic setting. It also deactivates triggers associated with distressing experiences and memories. EFT falls under the umbrella category of Energy Psychology.

There is no issue too big or too small for EFT.

Practitioners apply pressure to specific points (called acupoints) on the body by tapping on them. By stimulating these acupoints while thinking about a particular issue, we’re able to rewire our neurological responses to stressors, meaning our brains get reprogrammed to no longer activate a survival response when confronted with the stressor.

We can’t change the stimulus, but we can change the response.

For example, tapping on a flying phobia often results in a reduced stress response - or none at all - the next time we fly. Tapping through memories of a difficult childhood often leads to less emotional reactivity in general. Tapping through a traumatic memory can de-sensitize our nervous system to flashbacks, sensory triggers, and associated emotions like shame, guilt, and anger.

EFT therapy is great for people who aren’t comfortable talking about issues endlessly; aren’t even sure what their ‘issues’ are; or have tried traditional talk therapy but still don’t feel better.

In fact, if there’s a memory that is too painful to talk about or for military personnel who are prohibited from disclosure, don’t let this be an obstacle! EFT works regardless of whether or not we tell our story. This is called working ‘content-free.’ When you book a Discovery Session, just mention in your New Client Form that you’d like to learn about working content-free.

In EFT ‘tapping’ we aim to actually change or clear our issues, we don’t just learn coping mechanisms or talk about our problems. In fact, we don’t stop until we feel different.

Gary Craig brought EFT to the forefront of alternative therapies in the 1990s by demonstrating extraordinary success in relieving a variety of issues ranging from phobias to PTSD. In recent decades EFT has become highly regarded and is no longer considered alternative. EFT is now mainstream and acknowledged as an evidence-based therapeutic modality.

EFT ‘tapping’ can help relieve, process, and many times eliminate, the following issues and more (see the About page for more about my specialism):

Shame

Phobias

Trauma

Anger

(C)PTSD

Stress

Guilt

Grief

Anxiety

Limiting beliefs

Self-defeating patterns

Cravings