Emotional Freedom Technique
(EFT)

What is EFT?

EFT is a Meridian Therapy.  This means that it recognizes that there is an energetic component responsible for optimum health and well-being.  The treatment is focused at the energetic level and by releasing disturbances within the energy system, physical and emotional inbalances can be corrected.

Gary Craig in America developed EFT.  He stated “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system”.

So when our energies are flowing smoothly we feel calm and peaceful.  When the energy system is disturbed we become out of balance and emotional.  Balances within the body’s energy can lead to all manner of negative reactions and experiences.  Energetic disturbances can limit functioning, creativity and potential.

These disturbances can be likened to boulders in a stream creating blockages so the water is prevented from its usual free flow and has to struggle around the boulders.  Removing these boulders allows the balance and equilibrium of the body to return.

Energetic disruption, or disturbances, can be caused by a variety of stimuli that trigger a painful or upsetting memory or thought.  For instance: various sounds, smells, sights, objects, animals and even trigger words.  These may then lead to anxiety, phobias and disruption of sleep as well as many other forms of “dis - ease” in the body.  Thus the body is no longer in harmony and balance.

The History of EFT

An American Engineer, Gary Graig, who had a life long interest in helping people to overcome their limiting emotions, developed EFT.  He investigated many different psychological treatments and came across a revolutionary technique developed by a clinical psychologist Dr Roger Callahan Ph D.

Roger Callahan had devised a complete system of psychological healing based on the meridians and called it Thought Field Therapy (TFT). The inspiration for this method came from Acupuncture combined with the modern day practice of Kinesiology.   Callahan had been treating a client, Mary, who had suffered from an intense water phobia since childhood, which included rain, puddles and even seeing water n television! In an attempt to alleviate her suffering Callahan had tried every form of psychotherapy he knew including hypnotherapy.  A little progress had been made so she could sit by his swimming pool during sessions, as long as she did not look at the water.

Then at a session Mary described, “an awful feeling in her stomach” whenever she thought about water.  Callahan knew about the meridians of the body and so suggested that she tap under the eye, which is the stomach meridian.  No one could have predicted what happened next.  Not only did Mary lose that awful feeling in her stomach, but also her fear of water completely vanished and within an instant her life-long phobia had disappeared.  Mary immediately rushed over to the swimming pool ad started splashing her face with water.  Mary’s phobia and nightmares never returned.

Over a couple of decades Callahan refined the method to incorporate tapping points on the body relating to all the major meridians.  This enabled many psychological problems to be addressed.  Callahan tended to use the specific meridians associated with the given problem.

Gary Craig trained under Callahan and became proficient at using TFT.  He went on to develop a system of his own – The Emotional Freedom Technique – which he felt simplified the process and made it easily accessible to everyone to use and apply.  As each meridian is linked to many others in a continuing energy loop this means that by removing a blockage from one meridian, then the entire circuit would automatically clear.  Craig felt that there was no need to locate specific meridians so as there were 14 points in total he suggested that if they were all used the same results could be produced as well as giving the entire energy system a complete overhaul at the same time.  Thus he produced a revised treatment plan that could be used for all problems – physical, emotional and psychological.

His work was put to the test when treating traumatized Vietnam Veterans.  Gary Craig’s own account of this work shows the power of EFT.

They had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is among the most severe form of emotional disorders known.  Every day these men relive the catastrophes of war ... like being forced to shoot innocent civilians (including young children) ... burying people in trenches ... and watching their own dear friends die or be dismembered.  The sounds of gunfire, bombs and screams ricochet in their heads day and night.  Sometimes only drugs ease the ever-present aches of war.

“They sweat. They cry.  They have headaches and anxiety attacks.  They are depressed and in pain.  They have fears and phobias and are afraid to go to sleep at night because of their nightmares.  Many have been in therapy for 20 years ... with very little relief.

“I still remember how thrilled I was when the Veterans Administration invited Adrienne Fowlie (she helped Craig develop EFT) and me to bring EFT to our soldiers.  They gave us free rein to counsel with these men in any way we wanted.  This would be the ultimate test regarding the power of EFT. I f all it did was make a modest, but noticeable, difference in the lives of these severely disabled men, most people would have considered it successful.  In fact, it did much more. One of the video cases was about Rich, who had been in therapy for 17 years for his PTSD. He had:

	Over 100 haunting war memories, many of which he relived daily.
	A major height phobia, aggravated by having made over 50 parachute jumps.
	Insomnia - it took him three or four hours to get to sleep every night, even under quite strong medication.

“After using EFT with him, every trace of those problems vanished.  Like most people, Rich had a hard time believing that those rather strange-seeming procedures would work.  But he was willing to give them a try.  We started with his height phobia and after about 15 minutes with EFT it had gone.  He tested it by going several storeys up in a building and looking down over a fire escape.  To his amazement, he had no phobic reaction whatsoever.  We then applied EFT to several of his most intense war memories and neutralized all of them within an hour.  He still remembers them, of course, but they no longer have any emotional charge.  We taught the techniques to Rich so he could work on the rest of his war memories by himself. Within a few days they were all neutralized.  They no longer bothered him.  As a result, his insomnia went away. Two months later I spoke with Rich on the phone. He was still free of the problems.  That's real emotional freedom. It's the end of years of torment. It's like walking out of a prison.  And I had the privilege of handing him the keys! This is the promise of EFT.”

How can EFT help me?

People use EFT to:

	Relax and be calm
	Cope with any stressful situation
	Reduce anxiety and fatigue
	Improve self-esteem
	Be a non-smoker
	Reduce weight
	Improve health
	Promote recovery and healing
	Overcome phobias
	Improve self-esteem
	Gain freedom from life-long limitations

EFT can be used on its own or in conjunction with Hypnotherapy as they compliment each other, and reinforce the desired outcome, extremely well.

What happens during an EFT Session?

EFT is a type of acupuncture that uses tapping, instead of needles, on many meridian points.  The wonderful thing is that you can do it to yourself.

You will be taught the EFT Formula which is made up of four distinct stages:

1.  The Set Up
2.  The Sequence
3.  The Gamut
4.  The Sequence again

It is very easy to learn and it only takes a few minutes.
You are given information sheets so the procedure can be practiced at home.  It needs to be constantly repeated in order to ensure that the energy of the body continues to flow freely. 

By having learnt the procedure there is no limit to what it may be used for and so you now have an incredible tool to use for the rest of your life, whenever you feel that the flow of energy in your body can be improved.

A metaphor to illustrate the frequent use of EFT

The cause of a poor self-image is an accumulation of negative emotions about one’s self.  Our image is the centerpiece of our emotional strength and the quality of our lives often depends on it.

Consider that each negative emotion, or specific event, is like a tree in a negative self-image forest.  They might be reflective of your past like rejections, abuse, failures, fears, guilt, etc.  There may be hundreds of them and they may be so thick as to resemble a jungle.

There could be 100 diseased trees in this self-image forest.  If you cut down one of them (by neutralizing it with EFT) you still have 99 left.  While you will get some noticeable emotional relief from removing that one tree, you may not have made much of a dent in the self-image forest.

So if you methodically cut down one tree every day then the forest would gradually thin out.  You would be able to move within the forest and it would be a freer place in which to live.

Eventually, with persistent use of EFT, all the trees disappear and in their place is a much more emotionally free you, feeling, and being, confident and with a good self esteem.  The world looks so different when the forest (or jungle) is gone and a new self-image emerges.

Costs

In general all EFT sessions are 60 minutes, as it is used in conjunction with the Hypnotherapy, and are charged at £60 per session.

Cash or cheques accepted

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