In EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUES (EFT), we use gentle finger tapping to stimulate acupuncture points.  EFT was originally designed to help people living with difficulties such as fears, phobias, depresion, and trauma.  The theory about why EFT can help (with trauma, for instance) is that when the trauma occurs, it causes a disruption in the energy system of the body.  That disruption results in painful emotions.  During a session of EFT, you think about the trauma while doing the work, but the experience is very gentle.  Reliving the trauma is not necessary.  Once the energy is balanced, you still can remember that the trauma occurred, but you are no longer compelled to think about it often, and when it does come to mind, you no longer feel the emotional intensity.  EFT is also helpful for people living with pain and other physical ailments, insominia, motivational issues, and for those wanting help to move beyond compulsive behaviors.  If you desire, you can learn to do EFT on yourself, often gaining significant help from sessions of only a few minutes in length, which you can do whenever the need arises. 

If EFT is so effective and you can easily learn to do it by yourself, why might you want to work with a professional?  While you can often get excellent help by doing EFT on yourself, you may find it useful to have a practitioner help you get started.  Or you may find that, even though you've gotten good results before, you've hit a block and don't seem to be making much progress.  A practitioner can take a fresh look and will have new ideas about how to approach what you're working on.  Or you may hold the intention of making change in your life, but find that you keep putting it off.  You may feel more comfortable with another person holding a safe space while you work, and having the structure of scheduled appointments may help you stay focused and motivated.  If you're going through an extra stressful time in your life, or attempting to do something you've failed at before (like losing weight or making smoking a thing of the past), you may want the added support of a "co-worker" as you do your work.  Many people find augmenting one or more professional sessions with self-help to be the most useful strategy.  For more information on why it is sometimes desireable to work with a practitioner, see www.emofree.com/Articles2/need-eft-practitioner.htm

For more information about EFT, see www.emofree.com/Press-Releases/chronic-illness-robins.htm

For a scholarly look at EFT and other energy psychology therapies, see www.innersource.net/energy_psych/downloads/Research_in_EP.pdf