EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a modality that deals with tapping various points on the body to release stress and negative emotions. The way this works is that the practitioner gets the client to think about a memory or an event that bothers them. We use a scale from 0 to 10 called the SUDS (Subjective Units of Distress Scale); 0 means that it doesn’t bother them at all and 10 means it bothers them a lot.
Once the client feels that emotion, you tap various points of the body and then have the client take a deep breath. So let’s say that when we start the client’s SUDS rating is at a 10, you repeat the process until the rating is at a 0. You repeat until the client is no longer able to make that memory bother them anymore. It happens very quickly.
What Type of Issues Can EFT Be Used On?
- Unforgiveness
- Resentment
- Phobias
- Traumas
- Anxiety
- Relationship Break Ups
- Grief and Loss
- Anger
- Self-Esteem
- Painful Memories
- Cravings
- Abandonment
- Guilt
- Anger
- Hurt
- Stress Management
- PTSD
- Insomnia
- Social Anxiety
- Food Cravings
Being General vs Being Specific
EFT works really well when a specific memory or event can be identified such as the time Mary was embarrassed by Uncle Joe at the BBQ. When working with an EFT practitioner, they are normally going to ask questions to get specific memories and events so that they can break off each of the drivers one by one.
A general issue would be a global statement such as “I am not good enough.” When dealing with a general issue, the practitioner would ask a question such as “how do you know you are not good enough?” That question forces the individual to go inside and name the proof (drivers) that support the problem and then the practitioner and the client can address those individual drivers.
Table Top and Table Legs
Think of a problem as a table top and the table legs are the supporting drivers. Emotional drivers are the events, aspects, or pieces that hold an emotional problem together. A problem may have multiple emotional drivers. Once those emotional drivers are eliminated, the problem disappears altogether or is greatly reduced.
Ex: Mary hates her ex-boyfriend Bob. She goes to see an EFT practitioner. Practitioner asks her how do you know you hate Bob?Mary names 50 things she hates about him. All 50 have a SUDS rating of 10. Tapping down even 10 of these could get rid of the problem without addressing all 50. This is known as the generalization effect. An example of the generalization effect is when the creator of EFT Gary Craig was working with a veteran who had 300 memories of PTSD. Gary addressed about 30 of the 300 memories and then the rest of the memories no longer had any emotional effect on the veteran anymore.
EFT is a very powerful modality that has been shown to be effective in dealing with PTSD, Anxiety, and many other issues. For more information about EFT or if you need assistance with overcoming anxiety, feel free to email me at Vincent.Blow@thegenesishypnosis.com.
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