What is EFT?
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a technique that relaxes us and removes emotional distress.
It is a gentle and safe way to soothe our nervous system - the part of us that responds in difficult situations and may make us feel emotional, physically anxious, making it difficult to make decisions and react calmly.
EFT is an evidence-based stress-management tool that combines physically tapping on acupressure points on the face and upper body with modern psychology tools including exposure, cognitive and somatic therapies.
It works specifically by reducing the activity of the stress centre of our brain (the amygdala) which overall reduces the negative emotions and physical sensations we may be having in relation to stress. It takes us from a distressed/dysregulated state to a calm/regulated state.
EFT can help us reduce or eliminate:
The physical symptoms of stress
Worry and overthinking
The feeling of being constantly wired
Stored survival stress in the body
Specific issues such as anxiety, pain, phobias, insomnia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression
Negative ways of dealing with stress such as alcohol or cigarettes
While supporting us to:
Feel more relaxed
Sleep better
Gain clarity on issues
Let go of old memories/events
See and understand the deep seated beliefs that may be limiting us
Move forward with our goals and intentions
How does EFT work?
EFT is also often known as “tapping” as we are tapping with our fingers on acupressure points on our face and upper body while focusing on a negative emotion and/or body sensation that we want to reduce.
Tapping on these points sends a message of calm and safety to the amygdala and the emotion and/or physical sensation reduces.
The points we use in clinical EFT are:
Side of the hand (not pictured)
Top of the head
Eyebrow
Side of the eye
Under eye
Under nose
Chin point
Collarbone point
Under arm point (not pictured)
What is the evidence behind EFT?
There are over 320 research studies showing the effectiveness of EFT.
This large database shows subjective (people describing positive changes) and physiological (via functional MRI, EEGs and DNA testing) outcomes following the use of EFT.
You can read some of these studies, here.
Dr Peta Stapleton, is a clinical and health psychologist and world researcher in EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) or Tapping. You can watch her TED talk on EFT in this video.