What is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)?

What is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)?

What is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)?

Bel Marshall, an EFT practitioner, explains how it can help heal old emotions

The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or tapping has been in the press a lot lately. While the method has been around for several years its growing popularity has been due to the results clients have been getting. Bel Marshall, an EFT practitioner in Michigan, experienced the benefits herself after her life underwent major changes overnight. In her practice Bel helps clients reframe negative beliefs and remove old emotional residue from the past. She explains her journey with EFT in the following interview.

What exactly is EFT and how does it work?

EFT is an energy modality, sometimes considered energy psychology because it does address both the energetic system and the emotions of a person. This is not to be confused with medical/mental health psychology. The average practitioner is a coach versus a medical professional. (Though, more and more mainstream practitioners and even Chiropractors are integrating EFT into their practice). EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) in simple terms is a form of acupuncture/acupressure without the needles. As we tap on meridian points it lines up the energy in the body which in turn helps us get to the bottom of the real cause of stress, dis-ease, etc... if there is an emotional reason for whatever is going on with you, then EFT will at least bring some reasonability to the situation.


*Disclaimer: Is not intended to replace medical or any kind of professional care but is a wonder addition to most therapies.

How does the tapping change the beliefs that are rooted in someone's unconscious?

The best way for me to answer this is to give an example of one of my own experiences. I grew up being the outsider, the welfare kid, etc... I was not attractive and I didn't have the normal fashions that the other kids wore. I didn't fit in on any level. During a time that I was dealing with my social anxiety in a tapping session, I suddenly found myself being nailed with a memory from Jr. High (it was Jr. High in my day LOL). I remember a boy I had really liked who suddenly showed interest in ME. I was thrilled, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I was over the moon. Until the next day when I was the laughing stock of the school. It was a practical joke that everyone but me was in on. To this day, I find myself worried that people are laughing at me, making fun of me, think I'm ugly, stupid, etc... but because of that tapping session, I have an idea of where it came from (there are many more layers to that but this is one level of that anxiety) and now I can address it from a different perspective. EFT, has a way of peeling off the layers of the emotional onion in a gentle way and helps clear them as you go along. Memories will come up but even when they don't always come up with total clarity as to what, what, where, when, you find that certain things don't bother you in the same way. You have cleared the issue by dealing with bigger issues many times, so they just aren't there any longer.

Hypnosis has been credited with helping change subconscious limiting beliefs. Is EFT similar to hypnosis or does it re-program beliefs in a different way?

I am not an expert on hypnosis so I will only address this from an EFT perspective so I don't toss out inaccurate information based on opinion. What EFT does is gives perspective to those beliefs. Growing up, I remember my mother talking about these really nice people from our church. The wife was this incredibly loving, gentle soul whom I was sure never raised her voice to her children, the husband was this fun loving, kind man. Both were very down to earth and overall just lovely people, no pretension, no ugliness, just good people. My mother used to say "You would never know they are millionaires because they are so down to earth and nice". For me this built a belief into adulthood that millionaires weren't nice or down to earth. As I started looking at this, I realized, that I didn't want to be seen as arrogant, pretentious or not nice. This was a definite limiting belief.

As I tapped on these beliefs, I found myself encountering others in my day to day life who are quite well to do financially, yet some of the most incredible people I have ever met. I also realized in the tapping this was a stereotype without any proof. EFT didn't rewire my thinking per se, but what it did was help me see through others stories and beliefs and accept that they didn't have to be my own. I think was EFT does is gives you a new perspective to clear out the belief and see it for what it really is. It also takes the emotional charge out of these beliefs so we can really see them clearly.

Do you have any testimonials that stand out about the positive benefits of EFT?

I am working on getting some testimonials from clients so I don't have permission to share their information at this time but I think my favorite is actually from my best friend who swears I helped her find her confidence in being a woman and a sensual/sexual being through EFT. She is the basic good girl and was raised in a very conservative home. After a painful marriage and divorce, her self confidence with men has been pretty much non-existent. She went from someone who darn near got sick at the assignment of go out and flirt with someone, anyone, I don't care who to a woman who now notices when someone is flirting with her, she flirts back, she takes risks in putting herself out there with men at one time she would have considered out of reach for her and she is choosy about what she will accept from the men in her life.