The Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) are a group of remarkable emotional clearing techniques that has come into prominence around the world in recent years for their capacity to eliminate or measurably reduce the intensity of negative emotions and feelings, limiting beliefs and painful memories. More often than not (but not always, as persistence is sometimes required), this occurs rapidly.

Since negative emotions, feelings and beliefs are intimately connected with our personal problems, EFT is an extremely important development. At best, they limit us and keep many of us stuck in our comfort zones. At worst, our emotional responses and bad feelings can ruin our lives and relationships. EFT can not only help to resolve emotional issues, it can also be used to help us achieve our goals and dreams (by removing what's getting in the way) and is a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth. It also blends well with and complements many other modalities.

The EFT services available include EFT workshops (see below) and one-on-one private EFT sessions with a skilled EFT practitioner where individuals can work on their own personal issues or to improve performance. There are also EFT practice sessions for those who have done some workshops and also group work where EFT is done in a group setting. There are also (from time to time) EFT workshops that focus on specific issues such as abundance.

Click here for a brief one-page printable Introduction to EFT (in PDF format, 63 KB). And, click here for a more detailed 2-sided printable FLIER What is the Emotional Freedom Technique? (in PDF format, 46 KB). Depending on your printer, you may need to turn the paper around to print side 2 of the flier so that it's not upside-down.

EFT is often called "the tapping technique" and is sometimes also referred to as "emotional acupuncture". The basic EFT technique involves tapping (with one's fingers) through a series of specific acupressure points (that are understood to be related with emotions) while focusing and maintaining attention on a particular (and currently active) emotion, feeling or problem. After going through this sequence a few times, the intensity of the current emotion or feeling usually drops noticeably and often disappears in a matter of minutes.

EFT stands for Emotional freedom Techniques (plural). The same EFT tapping technique (or shortcut version of it) is used as part of ALL the other EFT techniques, such as the Movie Technique which is one of the EFT techniques used to resolve painful memories. When using the movie technique, each of the negative emotions or feelings connected with a painful event get "tapped on" (using the tapping technique) to reduce their intensity.

The Emotional Freedom Techniques have some unique features that make them exceptionally useful.

• Firstly, the basic EFT tapping technique is fairly simple and can be learnt in less than an hour.
• Secondly, this EFT tapping technique can be easily self-applied.
• EFT is extremely effective and has a very high success rate (well over 80%) when correctly used.
• It doesn't take long to do a single application of the tapping technique (minutes), after which there are usually observable changes or shifts in the intensity of the selected feeling/emotion.
• And, it gives you an effective tool that you can use to reduce stress and become more functional and more in control of your life.

EFT may seem like a rather strange technique to some people at first, unless they are already familiar with acupressure, acupuncture or kinesiology. The technique is partly based on the same principles as acupuncture (but does not involve the use of needles) and is believed to re-balance the body's energy system. There are now a number of competing theories that seek to explain its amazing effectiveness with emotional issues, traumas, etc.

The original premise of EFT is that where a person has a negative emotion or feeling, there is a disruption or blockage in that person's energy system (which can often be felt in the body as one or more unpleasant sensations or energies). The theory is that by tapping or rubbing on (i.e. stimulating) certain acupressure points while keeping one's attention on (remaining tuned into) that emotion/feeling, the disruption in the person's electromagnetic field is cleared and the emotion/feeling immediately reduces or collapses. In practice, clients often comment on feeling "energy shifts" inside their body while doing the technique and many mention a feeling of calmness as a result of doing it.

There are many techniques that also work with or seek to balance the body's energy system, such as Reiki, kinesiology and reflexology. Some of them do not require active participation by the client. In other words, the client does not have to do anything or focus on anything and may even daydream while the technique is being done. With EFT, the client is fully engaged and consciously participating in the session, observing what he/she is feeling or experiencing, doing the process and noting when any changes or shifts occur. The client and EFT practitioner work closely together as a team.

An important concept in EFT is that complex problems are usually composed of a combination of negative feelings and emotions, limiting beliefs and attitudes, and painful memories. Each one of these "components" is called one aspect or piece of the problem. Difficult or long term problems often have many aspects. Part of the skill in using EFT is to understand this and to systematically work on and eliminate the specific aspects of that problem. This approach opens the door to resolving even very challenging problems.

The EFT technique gets to the heart of a problem by addressing blockages in the energy system.

• The EFT tapping technique is simple, elegant and easy to learn and use.
• It is very effective and can be easily self-applied.
• It includes tapping on a series of acupressure points while focusing on an emotion, feeling, memory, problem, etc.
• It often works when nothing else will.
• It appears to work at all levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
• Private EFT sessions and training in EFT are available.
• There are three levels of EFT training with ongoing support.
• EFT blends and works well with most other modalities. Consider adding it to your tool kit.
• EFT has many uses from reducing stress in day-to-day living to improving performance to healing deep emotional pain to facilitating profound personal and spiritual growth.

For more detailed information on EFT, its background, some of the research that has been done on EFT and many other interesting articles about EFT, go to the official EFT web site at www.emofree.com. You can even download the 79 page EFT Manual from that site for free.

A search of the internet for EFT related material will reveal many sites that mention EFT and its effectiveness, originated by a wide range of helping professionals of both mainstream and alternative practitioners. One such site is Dr. Mercola's very popular health web site; just click on the "Emotional Health" link or search for "EFT". He emails a twice-weekly natural health newsletter to 275,000 subscribers (also for free).

Dr. Mercola, a leading figure in the field of nutritional medicine, has mentioned EFT many times over the last few years since he came across it in June 2001. He strongly recommends it and says that "Without question, EFT has been the most valuable tool I have ever learned in clinical medicine." He considers EFT to be "far superior to TFT" (which he had studied and used several years earlier). He has also found that EFT is very useful for people with depression (especially when accompanied by his suggested life-style and dietary changes). At his web site www.mercola.com, he states that:

"EFT is a profoundly effective emotional and mental healing approach that is based on the principles of energy medicine. I have taught it to the patients in my clinic for years, and they have experienced truly incredible and permanent results with it.
"EFT instills positive emotions, can ease your pain and suffering, and can eliminate unhealthy cravings. Those phrases only begin to describe the tremendous power and potential of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), the most powerful method of psychological acupressure available.
"If you have any type of emotional/mental issues that may be blocking your health and dietary success, I urge you to consider "The EFT Course" by Gary Craig, the pioneer of EFT that I also learned from. The EFT Course contains over 13 hours of video instruction (on DVD or VHS) on all the EFT basics as well as the "art of delivery," and comes with a 60-day money back guarantee." - Dr. Joseph Mercola.

The Emotional Freedom Techniques are the best known and most widely used techniques of a group of methods commonly called the "energy therapies". Silvia Hartmann (co-founder of The Association For Meridian Energy Therapies) describes EFT as the "the ambassador of energy therapies".

The result is that EFT is much easier to learn and apply and is far more flexible (i.e. can be used in different ways for more things) and is exceptionally effective. Although EFT and TFT are very similar techniques, they are significantly different in a number of ways. I am trained in and use both EFT and TFT, as well as two other "energy techniques", one called Be Set Free Fast (BSFF) which was developed by Dr. Larry Nims and the Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT) developed by Tapas Fleming. Click here for a comparison of EFT and TFT.

As EFT can be readily self-applied, it is worth learning to do it and learning to do it confidently by developing your EFT skills to a functional level (which isn't that hard). It is a tool and, like any tool, it takes some time and practice to become good at using it. The best way to learn EFT is either with private tuition (in person or by phone) or, preferably, by doing some hands-on EFT workshops (and, if needed, re-doing them again or a few times to become comfortable with the concepts and techniques).

There are three EFT workshops available. The first two are the introductory Level 1 EFT Workshop and the foundational Level 2 EFT Workshop. Both of these are recommended for anyone and everyone learning EFT, including those who will only be self-applying it. There is also the advanced Level 3 EFT workshop for those who are really serious about it or who will be using it as a practitioner, which may be a lay (non-professional) or professional practitioner.

For more information on the Emotional Freedom Techniques or if you are interested in doing an EFT Workshop or in having private EFT sessions (in person or by phone), please email me or ring me directly on (08) 9381 4112. My office is in Subiaco (a suburb of Perth) in Western Australia.

Peter Graham

Last revised: 30 June 2008

Copyright © 2007 and 2008 by Peter D. Graham. All rights reserved.