Quite a few years ago, when I was still studying to become a Counsellor, I first saw tapping. At the time, I thought I would never do anything like this. I am ashamed to say, I thought it looked a bit silly. Fast forward to my placement and my mentor told me that she was completing a Certificate in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). My mentor had such a wonderful way of explaining things, that I could not help but examine my first impression. With her guidance, I was able to look past the action of tapping to begin to understand the real benefit of EFT.
The more I began working with clients who experience anxiety with panic attacks, or depression, the more I heard them saying, ‘please don’t tell me to just take deep breaths.’ While breathwork is can be an effective tool for the right person at the right time, there are so many more tools to support people with their mental health and I am thrilled that EFT is an additional tool I can introduce to clients.
EFT works by using your index and middle finger to tap on acupuncture points that over centuries, have shown changes in the way the brain manages stress and processes experiences or information. Typically, you would complete a series of tapping firmly on identified acupuncture points, stating the problem or experience you are feeling that you would like to move on from. By tapping on the acupuncture points, it stimulates those points which help to lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and reduce activity in the amygdala part of the brain that tends to be in overdrive when you are stressed.
In the 1980’s an American psychologist, Dr. Roger Callahan, used his knowledge of acupuncture and kinesiology and on a hunch, asked a client with anxiety, to begin tapping on a specific acupressure point. Dr. Callahan reported that the client soon told him that their anxiety and lowered and continued to do so over time by tapping on the specific point he advised. Dr. Callahan continued to develop a pattern sequence of tapping on acupoints to help people with emotional distress. Since this time, research has continued, and more evidence is telling us that there are multiple presentations where clients can gain some relief from tapping.
Recently, I was moved by a client who told me that tapping was the only tool they still consistently used to support their feelings of anxiety. And while it can seem very obvious and unusual to see someone tapping different parts of the face and upper body, there are ways where people can find a private space, whether it is in your car before you walk into work, the bathroom or another place you can close the door and help relieve some stress.
