Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

What is EFT really?

A practical, body-based method for releasing emotional patterns.
When insight isn’t enough, your system might need something more somatic.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), often called “tapping,” is a nervous system regulation tool. It blends elements of psychology and acupressure using gentle tapping on specific points while focusing on particular emotions, thoughts, or memories.

It’s not about bypassing or fixing.
It’s about giving your system a safe exit route from what it’s been holding onto.

It's proven to be effective for:-

✅Anxiety and overwhelm

✅Trauma and PTSD symptoms

✅Chronic stress and burnout

✅Emotional regulation

✅Psychosomatic pain and more. 

How I use EFT in my practice?

The body is central to the work. EFT fits naturally alongside nervous system work, parts work, and trauma-informed coaching.

Sessions are guided, collaborative, and tailored to your capacity in the moment.
You never have to push past what feels safe. I’ll meet you where you are.

Depending on your needs, we can use tapping to:

• Regulate emotional intensity (fear, shame, grief, anger)

• Process memories or parts of self that feel stuck

• Build tolerance for emotional discomfort without going into overwhelm

• Clear energetic charge around decisions, relationships, or past events

You don't need to perform, re-live trauma, or know exactly what you’re working on. We move at the pace of your system, not your mind’s expectations.

What a session looks like?

1. Grounding check-in: We identify what’s present or what you’d like to shift.

2. Guided tapping: I lead you through a sequence that gently tracks your experience.

3. Integration: You’ll notice what shifts emotionally, cognitively, somatically.

 It’s calm. Consent-led. And very effective.

EFT can help with:

Emotional & Nervous System Regulation

Ongoing anxiety or worry

Emotional overwhelm and shutdown

Chronic stress, burnout, or overfunctioning

Panic-like sensations (non-medical)

Difficulty calming down after emotional triggers

Somatic & Body-Based Issues

Unexplained physical tension or tightness (jaw, throat, chest, gut)

Feeling “frozen” or disconnected from the body

Somatic responses tied to memories or emotions

Body holding patterns from past emotional experiences

Trouble sleeping or resting due to unresolved emotions

Feeling emotionally “numb” or “checked out”

Grief, Loss & Emotional Holding

Grieving a person, identity, stage of life

Lingering sadness or emotional weight

Suppressed or unprocessed grief

Somatic grief stored in the chest, stomach, or heart

Inner Critic & Shame Patterns

Harsh self-talk and inner judgment

Feelings of not being “enough”

Perfectionism, people-pleasing, or over-editing yourself

Shame, guilt, or regret that feels stuck in the body

Childhood & Relational Wounding

Inner child wounds or unmet emotional needs

Fear of abandonment, rejection, or not belonging

Carrying roles from childhood (caretaker, peacemaker, invisible one)

Old relational patterns repeating in adult life

Resistance, Stuckness & Avoidance

Procrastination with emotional roots

Fear of success, failure, or being seen

Feeling like “I know what the issue is, but I still can’t shift it”

Internal resistance to change even when you want it

Clarity, Decisions & Emotional Noise

Difficulty making choices or hearing your intuition

Feeling conflicted, pulled in different directions

Mental looping, overanalyzing, or fear of getting it wrong

Emotional fog when trying to move forward

This is not a quick fix. But it is a deeply supportive tool for sustainable change.

Is it Research-Backed?

✅ Scientific Support for EFT:

EFT has been studied in over 100 peer-reviewed articles, with growing clinical evidence showing it can effectively reduce psychological and physical distress.

📚 Key Findings:

• Anxiety & Depression: A 2016 meta-analysis (Clond, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease) found large effect sizes for EFT in reducing anxiety. Clond, M. (2016). Emotional freedom techniques for anxiety: a systematic review with meta-analysis. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 204(5), 388-395. 

• PTSD: A 2013 randomized controlled trial published in Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found 90% of veterans no longer met PTSD criteria after 6 EFT sessions, compared to 4% in the control group. Church, D., Hawk, C., Brooks, A. J., Toukolehto, O., Wren, M., Dinter, I., & Stein, P. (2013). Psychological trauma symptom improvement in veterans using emotional freedom techniques: a randomized controlled trial. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 201(2), 153-160. 

• Cortisol Reduction: A 2012 study by Church et al. showed a 24% drop in cortisol (stress hormone) levels after one hour of EFT, compared to talk therapy or rest alone. Church, D., Yount, G., & Brooks, A. J. (2012). The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: a randomized controlled trial. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 200(10), 891–896. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31826b9fc1 

• Pain & Physical Symptoms: EFT has shown benefits for physical pain, tension, and somatic symptoms, especially when linked to emotional or trauma-based origins (Boath et al., 2013; Feinstein, 2012). Boath, E., Stewart, A., & Carryer, A. (2013). Tapping for success: A pilot study to explore if Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can reduce anxiety and enhance academic performance in university students. Innovative Practice in Higher Education, 1(3), 1–13.     Feinstein, D. (2012). Acupoint stimulation in treating psychological disorders: Evidence of efficacy. Review of General Psychology, 16(4), 364–380. 

EFT is believed to work by:

• Calming the amygdala and reducing the fight-flight-freeze response

• Disrupting conditioned stress patterns stored in the nervous system

• Creating new, regulated associations through somatic + emotional pairing

✅ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)?

EFT, also known as tapping therapy, is a research-supported, non-invasive technique that helps release emotional blocks, reduce anxiety, and improve overall mental wellbeing. It involves tapping gently on specific acupressure points on the body while focusing on negative emotions, memories, or limiting beliefs.

Studies suggest EFT may help regulate the nervous system, reduce cortisol levels, and bring emotional relief making it useful for conditions like trauma, PTSD, anxiety, phobias, chronic stress, and low self-esteem.

2. How does EFT tapping actually work?

EFT integrates psychology with somatic stimulation. When you tap on meridian points while voicing affirmations or processing emotions, you're engaging both the mind and body. This helps desensitize emotional triggers and promote emotional regulation.

Research shows that tapping may influence the amygdala, the brain's fear center, promoting parasympathetic nervous system activation (aka the body’s relaxation response). This leads to feelings of safety, calm, and inner balance making EFT a powerful mind-body therapy.

3. What is EFT good for?

Clients often seek EFT for:

• Anxiety & chronic stress

• Depression and low mood

• Trauma and PTSD

• Emotional eating or body image issues

• Panic attacks

• Grief and loss

• Limiting beliefs and self-worth challenges

• Burnout and fatigue

• Somatic symptoms of emotional trauma

• Inner child work and deep emotional processing

It's especially effective when combined with somatic healing practices, nervous system regulation techniques, and holistic approaches to emotional health.

4. What is the difference between EFT and traditional therapy?

Unlike talk therapy, which focuses primarily on verbal processing, EFT is a somatic and energetic modality. It targets the body’s energy system and uses tactile input (tapping) to discharge stress from the nervous system.

This makes EFT more embodied and suitable for clients who:

• Struggle to verbalize trauma

• Feel overwhelmed by cognitive processing

• Have stored trauma in the body

• Need gentle, non-verbal pathways to emotional safety

In many cases, EFT can complement psychotherapy, coaching, or other holistic wellness practices.

5. What is somatic healing, and how does it relate to EFT?

Somatic healing is an umbrella term for body-based therapies that work with the nervous system, muscular patterns, and stored trauma. EFT is inherently somatic—tapping activates tactile feedback, helping people reconnect with the body and regulate their emotional state.

Clients often find EFT a gentler entry point into somatic trauma release, as it combines emotional awareness with physical regulation in a structured, safe way.

6. Can EFT help with physical symptoms or chronic pain?

Yes. Emotional distress often manifests physically—such as in muscle tension, chronic fatigue, headaches, or gut issues. EFT can help address the emotional root causes of physical symptoms. Many clients report:

• Decreased physical tension

• Reduced pain

• Improved sleep

• Better digestion

• Enhanced overall vitality

This makes EFT a valuable tool in holistic healing and energy medicine, particularly for people who want to approach health naturally and integratively.

7. Do you offer online EFT sessions?

Yes! I offer 1:1 online EFT sessions worldwide via Zoom. Remote sessions are equally effective and ideal for those seeking nervous system support, trauma-informed care, or holistic wellbeing from the comfort of home.

Sessions are tailored to each client’s goals and may include:

• Tapping sequences for emotional release

• Somatic tracking and nervous system work

• Inner child connection

• Energy clearing and integration

8. Is EFT right for me?

EFT is suitable if you’re looking for:

• A natural and non-invasive way to heal emotional wounds

• Support for anxiety, trauma, burnout, or emotional blocks

• A practice that integrates body, mind, and spirit

• Something gentler than talk therapy, but still powerful

• Tools to regulate your nervous system and feel more emotionally grounded

Whether you’re dealing with high-functioning stress, complex trauma, or simply want to feel more present, EFT can support your healing journey.

9. Is there scientific evidence supporting EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)?

Yes. A growing body of research supports EFT’s effectiveness for a range of psychological issues:

• A meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on EFT for anxiety found a large effect size (Hedges’ g = 1.23), indicating significant reductions in anxiety symptoms compared to control conditions (Clond, 2016).

• Another meta-analysis on EFT for depression found an effect size of 1.31 across 18 studies, showing consistently strong outcomes (Nelms & Castel, 2016).

• In studies on PTSD, veterans who received six sessions of EFT showed an 86% remission rate (no longer meeting PTSD diagnostic criteria), compared to just 4% in waitlist control groups (Church et al., 2013).

These studies demonstrate EFT's strong potential as an evidence-based approach for mental health and trauma.

10. Does EFT reduce stress hormones like cortisol?

Yes. A landmark study published in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease showed that just one EFT session resulted in a 24–43% reduction in cortisol levels, the primary stress hormone, compared to a 14% reduction in a talk therapy control group (Church et al., 2012). This suggests that EFT can quickly impact physiological stress through both psychological and somatic mechanisms.

✅Book a Free 15-Min Consultation

Let’s see if EFT and somatic work are right for you.

Ethics & Scope

EFT is not a medical or psychiatric intervention. It’s a wellness-based practice designed to support emotional regulation and self-awareness. I do not treat, diagnose, or claim to cure any condition. If you’re experiencing severe mental health concerns, please also connect with a licensed provider.

That said, if you’re looking for a grounded, respectful space to work with your emotions in the body—not just the mind—I’d love to support you.

⚠️ NOTE:

EFT is considered a complementary wellness tool, not a replacement for medical or psychiatric care. But for emotional regulation, trauma-informed work, and body-mind integration—it’s well-supported and increasingly respected in integrative psychology and coaching spaces.