E Is For EFT – Mental Health Minute

By: Lisa Philippart
As a counselor, I make an attempt to be familiar with many forms of therapies. The more tools I have in my toolbox, the better chance I have of matching helpful techniques to the individual. So, today I would like to introduce you to an amazing healing technique that is easy to learn and can have profound effects. EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, is based on the belief that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system. EFT works by tapping with the fingertips on various body locations. The tapping works to balance energy points, which become disrupted when the client thinks about or experiences an emotionally disturbing event. The memory stays the same, but the charge is gone. The proponents of EFT believe that a negative emotion is caused by a distressing memory creating a disruption in the body’s energy system, which then produces a negative emotion.

EFT is sometimes referred to as EEFT because it is a meridian energy therapy, like acupuncture. But instead of needles, we stimulate the major energy points by tapping on them. Tapping then sends kinetic energy through the energy system, clearing blockages, and allowing energy to flow again, removing negative emotions. To begin, take a rating of the intensity of your distress on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extreme distress. Now let’s take a look at the process in 5 stages:

1.The Set Up: In this stage, you will either rub the lymphatic drainage point or tap the “karate chop point,” while saying your set-up phrase out loud three times. The set-up phrase is a description of your issue in this format – “Even though (problem), I deeply and completely accept myself.”

2.The Sequence: While holding the problem in mind, you’ll tap 7 times in succession on each of the meridian points, and at each point, you’ll repeat a shortened reminder phrase of the problem.

3.The Gamut Point: The gamut point is located on the back of the hand between the knuckle of the ring and little finger. Tapping continuously on this point engages the two hemispheres of the brain and sets your system to working on the problem.

4.The Sequence (again)

5.Adjustment Rounds: If you do not achieve complete relief in a single round, you can repeat the process, adjusting as follows – “Even though I still have some of this (problem) I deeply and completely accept myself.”

At the end of the process, scale the problem again. Has its intensity reduced? For EFT to be effective, you have to learn the correct location of the tapping points. Rather than describe them here, I recommend doing a search for EFT tapping points’ diagrams. Try to keep in mind that your issues are like puzzles. A problem may have many different aspects attached to it. So in some cases, collapsing just a few of these pieces can resolve the entire problem, by discovering the core issue.

The information on EFT is extensive, but I hope I have piqued your interest to further explore this technique on your own.
By: Lisa Philippart
Licensed Professional Counselor