Emotional Freedom Technique is also known at ‘tapping’.

It works using the same energy pathways in the body as are used in acupuncture. By tapping on these points, it is possible to release emotional charge from memories that trouble you, so that they no longer feel so painful.

In my practice I integrate tapping alongside talking about issues, so that it offers an extra way of processing things. Tapping brings out the underlying emotion of an issue in a way that can feel quite powerful, whilst also soothing the nervous system and offering a route through.

Sometimes things feel sticky and emotionally charged, even when we have been aware of them, and the causes, for many years. Emotional Freedom Technique is a somatic approach which can enable stuck emotions to be released through the body.

It can be effective with trauma, phobias, addictions and chronic pain. It can decrease the power of a trigger, or sometimes even remove it completely. By reducing the emotional charge of an issue, people can then find they are able to talk it about more easily.

EFT can be useful in a targeted way for certain issues, such as a phobia or a traumatic memory. I often suggest it in situations where someone feels they have talked about an issue, they understand it, but it is still troubling them quite deeply.

Once you have learned the points and how the technique works, EFT can be an amazing self-care tool for individuals to use on their own. Even if you’re not using it to process a traumatic memory, you can use tapping to self-soothe as an alternative to other grounding techniques.