What does EFT stand for?

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as "tapping," is a therapeutic method that combines elements of cognitive therapy and acupressure. It involves tapping on specific points on the body, primarily on the face and hands, while focusing on emotional issues, distress, or trauma. The idea is that by stimulating these energy meridians while verbalizing thoughts or emotions, you can reduce the intensity of negative feelings, relieve anxiety, and promote emotional healing. EFT is often used to help with stress, anxiety, trauma, phobias, and other emotional challenges.

How is this different from talk therapy?

Talk therapy is strictly conversational. Your therapist will ask you questions and will explore thoughts and emotions as they relate to your history and your symptoms.

EFT pairs talking with tapping. Tapping on acupressure points allows for emotion regulation while talking about our issues. It helps our bodies not only feel safe and grounded enough to process material, it also encourages the psyche to bring emotions to the surface to be released. It draws on the wisdom of the body and other modalities such as acupressure/acupuncture/meridians. There is an innate wisdom in incorporating modern psychology with ancient mind-body methods.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been used to help process trauma.

No. Tapping is not taught in graduate school. It is a specialty modality that requires additional training. It should be noted that coaches can learn and utilize EFT tapping. However, the use of EFT to process trauma and resolve mental health-based issues is reserved for licensed clinicians.

I have studied EFT with the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP). This professional organization has been dedicated to promoting research, training, and application of energy psychology methods in mental health and personal development for the last twenty-five years. This EFT program is a specialty program that only trains qualified medical/mental health professionals for the use of EFT for trauma resolution.

I am in the process of full certification with ACEP as of Oct.’24

How is this different from apps or youtube?

There are a lot of great free and low-cost EFT resources out there such as Brad Yates's youtube channel (Tapping with Brad) and The Tapping Solution App created by Nick Ortner.

There is however a difference between doing EFT with an app or a video and doing EFT with your own therapist. While these free/low-cost resources can be especially helpful, they are not tailored to your own memories, issues, or concerns. They are generalized scripts written for the public at large using the language of someone else.

One of the key elements that help us to transform trauma is to ensure we are accessing core language and speaking about our experiences using our voice. During an EFT session with your therapist, like myself, we create the narrative together. It is specific to your trauma/situation as opposed to something that is more “cookie cutter” in nature. If you target the emotion more generally (i.e. - anxiety) you will still get relief, however, you may not get to full resolution on your own.

How is EFT different from EMDR or Hypnosis?

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is very similar to EMDR in a lot of ways. It is also however different in many ways too. To keep it simple EMDR is a bit more intensive and can be a bit more triggering to work through material. It is a powerful tool that I use with clients often. I have, however, found that for some people with a very sensitive nervous sytem (high amounts of dsyregulatioin or perhaps complex trauma) benefit greatly from a more gentle approach to processing.

It is important to know that EMDR, EFT and Hypnosis all help to rewire our memories and experiences. It helps us to shift out of the past and into the present moment with a different perspecitve. We shift from previously held Negative Cognitions (NC’s) to Positive Cognitions (PC’s) with any of these methods.

What makes me different from other therapists is I do not rely on one tool. I do not believe that any client fits perfectly into a specific modality and I like having options. I like being able to know and feel confident that no matter how sensitive your nervous sysetm is I have the tool and the experince and the confidence to help you re-wire these experinces and shift towards the positive- for good.

Learn more about the current state of EFT research by watching the video below.

ALIGNED PSYCHE, LLC