Resources by Terri

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques, it works with the body’s energy system. Just think about the name, you are literally freeing yourself from negative emotions like hurts or fears. The Chinese discovered, we have a subtle energy that runs through the body carried through tiny pathways called meridians, they call this energy “Chi” and you can access the meridian through its endpoint. Tapping is relatively new as it was in 1979 when Dr. Roger Callahan, a psychologist first discovered success with patients using tapping on meridian points while addressing different issues. Today EFT Tapping has been researched in more than 10 countries by numerous gold standard studies proving its effectiveness in lowering cortisol levels and reducing stress and anxiety and other negative emotions.

Simply stated, it works on the body’s energy system and meridians. Meridians are our body’s electrical circuits. They are the roads our energy uses to travel from all parts of our body to and from our brain. Meridians are what Chinese health practitioners discovered some 5,000 years ago, and form the basis for acupuncture. But with Tapping, we don’t use any needles! You can stimulate these meridian energy points by tapping on them with your fingertips. I like to call these points, “special bundles of energy that can help you feel better”.

You probably already do some of them without even knowing. Have you ever noticed that when you feel stressed or upset about something you might put your head in your hands? Or if you feel a headache you may want to rub you head or neck? Or if something suddenly startles you, you may grab or put your hand on your chest? Those are things we intuitively do to feel calmer and in-control of your emotions. Because EFT is done by literally tapping on specific points with your fingertips, it is commonly called “Tapping” for short.

As Tapping is being introduced to students of all ages, research demonstrates Tapping can improve academic performance, decrease negative emotional states, improve self-esteem and resilience and better solve negative social interactions. According to Harvard Medical School “Tapping is proving to be a powerful, well-researched technique”.

Be open to Possibilities. It’s Time for a New Normal.

It’s easy to do ‘Tapping’! Let me warn you, at first it might look weird because you’re going to be tapping on your face and body with your fingers, but just play with it for a while. You’ll be surprised after Tapping how big-deal things just won’t bother you so much, it’s amazing. Express your feelings as you Tap solidly yet gently on the energy points explained below, using two or three fingers with either hand, or both hands. As long as you stimulate the points, it doesn’t matter. This is why Tapping is called “acupressure for the emotions.” Use the same amount of pressure you would use if you were to tap your fingers on a table, knock, knock, knock … You want to make contact, but not cause discomfort. Tap roughly five to seven times on each point. While there are many more Tapping or energy points you can use, I will just describe the most commonly used points. If one point is uncomfortable to do (like the one under the arm), then just skip it. You can Tap on either the right side or left side it doesn’t matter. The order is not crucial either and you can even do the points in reverse. The good news is, Tapping is very forgiving. A great thing to remember is this, you can’t do Tapping wrong. So, just do it!

Here’s the basic Tapping Points:

Karate Chop – the outside edge of your hand, below your little finger.
Inner Eyebrow – on the end of either eyebrow, near the bridge of your nose.
Side of Eye – the outside of either eye, on the bone.
Under the Eye – about an inch below either eye, on the bone.
Under the Nose – above the lip.
Chin – below your lower lip, where your chin starts.
Collarbone – the inside end of either collarbone, below your throat.
Under Arm or Armpit – about four inches down, on the side of your rib cage.
Top of the Head – in line with your ears on the top of your head.
When you feel like you’re done Tapping take a Deep Belly Breath. (Stick out your tummy and breathe down deep then exhale).

Simply stated, it works on the body’s energy system and meridians. Meridians are our body’s electrical circuits. They are the roads our energy uses to travel from all parts of our body to and from our brain. Meridians are what Chinese health practitioners discovered some 5,000 years ago, and form the basis for acupuncture. But with Tapping, we don’t use any needles! You can stimulate these meridian energy points by tapping on them with your fingertips. I like to call these points, “special bundles of energy that can help you feel better”.

You probably already do some of them without even knowing. Have you ever noticed that when you feel stressed or upset about something you might put your head in your hands? Or if you feel a headache you may want to rub you head or neck? Or if something suddenly startles you, you may grab or put your hand on your chest? Those are things we intuitively do to feel calmer and in-control of your emotions. Because EFT is done by literally tapping on specific points with your fingertips, it is commonly called “Tapping” for short.

As Tapping is being introduced to students of all ages, research demonstrates Tapping can improve academic performance, decrease negative emotional states, improve self-esteem and resilience and better solve negative social interactions. According to Harvard Medical School “Tapping is proving to be a powerful, well-researched technique”.

Be open to Possibilities. It’s Time for a New Normal.

So, what’s it doing to our brain? Research shows Tapping on these meridian energy points communicates with the Amygdala. Science has established that our stress response begins in the amygdala, which is one of the components of the limbic system or midbrain. It is part of what is commonly called our fight/flight response or primitive brain response. This served us well when we had to fight or flee from a tiger in caveman days, but today we don’t have tigers chasing us, we have daily stress and fears whether at school from peers or teachers, or at home. When we experience a negative experience or emotion it puts it in the same physical response as danger from the tiger. The good news is research at Harvard Medical School has shown that stimulation of selected meridian acupoints decreases activity in the amygdala, hippocampus (another part of the limbic system) and other parts of the brain associated with fear thus feeling calmer. It balances the body energy system.

Yes, it is a great do-it-yourself tool. Tapping is simple, effective technique that can be learned by anyone. You can choose to do it anytime or anywhere you feel the need. As young as four-year-old have benefited from tapping. You don’t need to know the theory behind tapping to feel better, happier and healthier. It just works! EFT reminds you that you are in charge of your feelings. Your troublesome feelings are not the boss of you! Life’s supposed to feel good.

We are bodies of energy. Just like Doctors use instruments to record electrical activities in your body, such as EEG or EKG. The energy in your body is just like electricity. It runs through you all the time, powering your body. EFT Tapping uses these energy meridians to clear energy blockages. If you look at the word emotion you will notice that e-motion is actually just ‘energy in motion’. The ‘E’ stands for ‘energy’ and ‘motion’ stands for movement. Think about it, we use words like I’m full of energy today or we may say, “I didn’t have my full energy in the game”. When you feel scared, angry or sad for example, the energy in your body gets stuck or freezes up. This causes a disruption in your body or interference similar to a short circuit “zzzzt” in a television set. By tapping we can smooth out the flow of energy or interference and the negative emotion can go away. At first Tapping may seem weird to you. You may even think it looks and sound ridiculous or silly. Once you try it and get results you’ll not only feel more comfortable about it, but you’ll be enthusiastic about it.

By the nature of their professional training and practice placements, social work students are prone to situations provoking the onset of anxiety. A programmer of academic and placement support, termed the ‘Skills Lab’, provides help and support for students to develop their communication skills and prepare for their practice placements and transition into professional social work practice. Skills Lab evaluations indicated a high level of appreciation, linked with a strong sense of apprehension and anxiety, which some students report has negatively affected their performance. To address student anxiety, a pilot study using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) was developed. EFT is an intervention, which may potentially be effective in reducing academic anxiety and enhancing public speaking. This mixed-methods pilot study measured participants’ (n = 45) subjective distress and anxiety before and after using EFT. Subjective distress/anxiety was invoked through a 15-min assignment lecture. Twelve of the 45 students also participated in one-one interviews to elaborate on their experiences of EFT. Quantitative findings indicated participants reported significantly less subjective distress and anxiety after using EFT. Qualitative findings indicated three themes whereby participants found EFT calming, relaxing and helpful; considered the transferability of EFT in other settings; and proposed some of the mechanisms of EFT’s action.

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Previous studies have demonstrated that Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is an evidence-based method that relieves stress and a variety of psychological conditions. EFT combines techniques drawn from conventional methods such as cognitive therapy with the novel ingredient of acupressure. The goal of the current study was to determine whether or not EFT could quickly reduce stress symptoms in college students, and to compare the efficacy of acupoint stimulation to the stimulation of sham points. Participants were 56 university students randomly assigned to either the EFT (n = 26) or sham group (n = 30). They were assessed for nine common stress symptoms before and after a single 15–20 minute group treatment session. Sessions occurred on campus in groups of five to 10 students. Participants in both groups repeated statements from a script containing eight sets of stressful cognitions centered on feeling overwhelmed and hopeless, and ending with positive affirmations. Those in the EFT group stimulated the points described in manualized form of the method, while those in the second group stimulated sham acupressure points. There were no significant differences in stress symptoms between the two groups at pretest. Posttest, symptoms were reduced in the EFT group by 39.3% and in the sham acupressure group by 8.1% (p < .001), demonstrating that the stimulation of actual points is superior to sham points even when all other components of treatment remain identical. The results of this study are consistent with previous dismantling studies demonstrating that acupressure is an active ingredient in the EFT protocol and not a placebo or inert component of treatment. Clinical EFT is an effective immediate treatment for common stress symptoms.

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Clinical EFT (Emotion Freedom Techniques) is an evidence-based practice that combines elements of exposure and cognitive therapies with the manual stimulation of acupuncture points. The research literature indicates it to be efficacious for a number of psychological conditions in a variety of treatment time frames. Randomized controlled trials demonstrate that EFT effectively treats phobias and certain anxiety disorders in one session. A single session also results in a significant drop in cortisol and normalization of the EEG frequencies associated with stress. EFT has the client focus on specific traumatic memories; the emotional intensity of these memories usually diminishes rapidly during treatment. This makes EFT an efficient single-session treatment for emotional distress associated with episodic memories. For conditions such as complex co-morbid PTSD, combination treatments and longer courses are indicated, though even treatment-resistant clients often experience some relief after a single session. Psychological symptoms of PSTD, depression, and anxiety typically reduce simultaneously, along with physical 2 symptoms such as pain and insomnia. Clinical EFT also offers a suite of techniques developed to address treatment barriers such as dissociation and overwhelming emotion.

This review and case series examines the conditions for which a brief course of EFT treatment is appropriate, when it is not indicated, when it can be taught to the client as a form of self-care, and when professional administration is required. It also cautions against generalizing EFTs rapid efficacy for certain conditions; this may contribute to unreasonable expectations in therapist or client. EFT is recommended as a front line primary care intervention to improve mental health and physical symptoms.

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