Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT is a healing tool that can provide impressive results for physical, emotional, and performance issues. It operates on the premise that no matter what part of your life needs improvement, there are unresolved emotional issues in the way.

EFT is now widely used and taught throughout the world for a very wide variety of emotional disturbances and physical symptoms which can be triggered by underlying stress. It is already in use in some areas of mainstream care such as hospices, drug and alcohol rehab and PTSD treatment. Also a few schools are beginning to introduce EFT into their activities to help students to deal with exam stress, behavioural issues and general emotional distress.

Some typical conditions for which EFT may provide some relief are:

• Fears and Phobias
• Anxiety and Panic Attacks
• Re-running past memories
• Cravings and addictions
• Low Self-Esteem
• Feeling low and depressed
• Obsessive behaviour patterns
• Unresolved Grief
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Feeling angry
• Feeling stressed out
• Can`t sleep or poor sleep pattern
• Performance issues
• Side effects of medical treatments
• Many aches and pains and other physical symptoms which have no clear medical cause
• And many more!

EFT is simple technique. A series of meridian access points (Tapping points) on the face, chest and hands are tapped lightly while phrases which relate to the problem are repeated. It is so simple that the basic technique can be learned within a few minutes and then used on a self-help basis whenever an emotional issue such as fear or anxiety occurs.

As well as relieving specific problems EFT has a cumulative effect - each issue addressed will help to reduce the overall stress level experienced by a person. Life becomes easier and freer with every session as the fears, anxieties and limitations are resolved.

EFT is a complementary therapy and so is not used to replace normal medical or psychological treatment for any condition but it can act to supplement the healing effect of such treatments. Though EFT is a powerful self-help tool it is advisable to seek help from a qualified professional EFT Practitioner if you are dealing with issues that may bring up big emotional responses. The aim with EFT is always to handle issues as gently as possible. Some of the more advanced applications of EFT produce impressive results with an absolute minimum of emotional pain.

EFT is extremely effective when correctly applied. Modern science has not yet caught up with exactly how it works but there is no doubt that it does. Scientific studies are underway to clarify exactly how the combination of meridian tapping and affirmations interacts with energy flow pathways of the brain and body to give clearance of issues. Early results are promising. The scientific “proof”, when it comes, will only confirm what is already known from the empirical evidence already available.

EFT Sessions are generally 1-2 hours long and include taking a general history for a client, exploration of the issue(s) which are present and then focused work for those issues. Some clients report benefits within the first session. More sessions will be required if the issues are deeply rooted and complex simply because there are more aspects to clear.

As EFT is a fairly new modality it is not yet officially regulated which means that no particular qualifications are required to advertise as an EFT Practitioner. However the professional bodies which deal with EFT are taking part in a process of voluntary self-regulation so that good standards of training and practice are established and maintained.

All professionally registered EFT Practitioners and Trainers agree to abide by the professional codes of conduct and ethics of their organisation.

To receive the best possible care people seeking professional EFT sessions are advised to check that the practitioner whom they choose is registered with one of the following professional organisations:

• AAMET (Association for the Advancement of Meridian Energy Techniques)
• The EFT Guild
• ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology)
• AMT (Association for Meridian and Energy Therapies)

Our Emotional Freedom Technique description was kindly supplied by Christine Sutton.