Learn to tap into your own natural healing abilities (quite literally)!
What is Emotional Freedom Technique?
Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT, is a complementary alternative healing technique which entails lightly tapping on certain acupressure points within the 12 meridians throughout the body, releasing and clearing out emotional blocks.
- In Chinese medicine, acupuncturists have identified 365 acupressure points (just like there are 365 days in a year!). And just like there are 12 months in a year, the human body contains 12 acupuncture energy meridians (paths through which life-force energy flows in the body).
- Just like acupuncture uses needles to open and stimulate acupressure points, EFT uses tapping which is enough pressure to release the “stuck” emotions!
History of EFT
EFT was started by Gary Craig in the 1990s, but it actually stems from acupuncturist Dr. Roger Callahan’s “Thought Field Therapy” (TFT) which was originally developed in the 1980’s based on the acupressure points and meridians in traditional Chinese medicine.
Both EFT and TFT have been extensively researched in the last 20 years and have been proven to be a great success for improving depression, anxiety and much more! Being certified in EFT and TFT, and practicing both daily on myself and others, I can confidently agree that either of these tapping modalities (especially when practiced consistently) can do wonders for our mental & emotional wellbeing.
EFT tapping benefits
First and foremost, I love EFT because it’s…
- Easy to learn
- Simple to practice
- Empowering (once you learn EFT, you can do this for yourself anytime, anywhere)
- Safe (no harmful side effects)
- Non-invasive
- Natural
- Low-cost (you’ll save boatloads on psychiatric treatment copays, deductibles, and/or medications)
- Environmentally savvy (less pharmaceutical waste getting dumped into the ocean)
- Highly effective and evidence-based!
EFT tapping for depression
There are now over 100 studies showing EFT is effective for depression! (1) Fifteen years of evidence-based research from 2000 to 2015 concluded EFT is “highly effective in reducing depressive symptoms in a variety of populations and settings” (2).
EFT tapping for anxiety
In Turkey, a study done on nursing students stated “EFT is associated with the release of opioids, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, lowering heart rate and decreasing anxiety levels” (3).
In the first-ever large scale EFT study which took place in 11 different clinics over a 5 year period, just THREE EFT sessions were shown to improve anxiety in 90% of study participants… compared to 15 cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment sessions in combination with medications which yielded improvement in only 63% of CBT participants (1).
To boot, complete relief from anxiety was reported in 76% of people who received EFT by the end of the study, compared to only 51% of people who received CBT reporting complete relief (1).
That’s a big deal in the mental health world if you ask me! 😉 (If you’re wondering why this information isn’t more readily available, it’s because it doesn’t benefit the “bottom line” of the pharmaceutical industry. There’s definitely a time and a place for medicine, but it’s not always as necessary or helpful as we’re programmed to believe.)
EFT tapping for other mental health conditions
Emotional freedom technique tapping sessions can also be used effectively as part of the treatment protocol for conditions such as anger, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, addictions, phobias, and even physical pain (1).
EFT tapping sessions
During EFT 1:1 sessions (held in-person or over Zoom), certain tapping sequences are accompanied by customized statements and mantras which serve to bring up and then clear out the client’s particular mental/emotional states or blocks throughout the session.
In my experience, clients respond extremely quickly and can have major breakthroughs even in the first session! For this reason we can address multiple emotional blocks in just one hour.
- Clients may then keep a private Zoom recording of our EFT sessions and practice often to amplify the results and clear out emotions as needed.
If this resonates and you’d like to learn more about how EFT can help you to heal emotionally, I invite you to grab your EFT starter package today!
References:
- Bach, Donna et al. “Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health.” Journal of evidence-based integrative medicine vol. 24 (2019): 2515690X18823691. doi:10.1177/2515690X18823691
- Nelms, Jerrod A, and Liana Castel. “A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Nonrandomized Trials of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for the Treatment of Depression.” Explore (New York, N.Y.) vol. 12,6 (2016): 416-426. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2016.08.001
- Berna DİNCER, Semanur Kumral ÖZÇELİK, Zülfünaz ÖZER, Nefise BAHÇECİK. “Breathing therapy and emotional freedom techniques on public speaking anxiety in Turkish nursing students: A randomized controlled study.” Explore (2020): ISSN 1550-8307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2020.11.006.