WHAT IS EFT Tapping?
EFT Practitioners practice EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as EFT or Tapping for short). Unlike Emotionally-Focused Therapy (also abbreviated EFT), which is essentially a type of talk therapy, EFT Tapping uses a combination of cognitive and somatic (body-based) methods to reduce stress. We use a tapping process with our fingers to stimulate acupuncture points on the face and body that effectively reduce stress. The 250+ published journal articles show EFT Tapping is consistently successful in positively affecting a range of biochemistry in the body (e.g., brain activity, cortisol, and DNA expression).
EFT Tapping can help us interrupt the stress response (Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Faint) that occurs in our body when we think about a stressful event or high-pressure situation. It can therefore help us prepare for and navigate stressful situations with more confidence, calm, and grace by reducing how much thinking about a stressful situation or memory in the past, present our future triggers our body’s stress response. For example, studying for a test or exam, or having a big assignment to complete for school or university can trigger the ‘flight’ response (procrastination behavior) in many students. EFT for study avoidance helps students interrupt their procrastination (‘flight’) stress response to studying for a test or an assignment so that they can stop letting stress be a barrier to sitting down and studying for their exams, assignments, research projects etc.
You can build EFT into your daily emotional self-care routine as part of your self-soothing mindfulness practice to help yourself build resilience, body awareness, and Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Because as we know, our level of Emotional Intelligence is not permanent; our social and emotional skills are negatively affected by a build-up of chronic stress or acute stress. And so stress management techniques like EFT Tapping are essential for taking care of our EQ throughout our lives. They are also valuable for schools that are implementing SEL (Social Emotional Learning) programs for their students and want to get good results out of their efforts.
MEET ELENI
JANUARY-MARCH 2012: Started doing the biological component of EFT Tapping to support my nervous system by relieving my stress in between sessions with a qualified trauma therapist (EMDR) to successfully recover from work-related PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016: Completed a self-study online tapping course to learn how to do both the psychological and the biological components of EFT Tapping for my wellbeing and preventative mental health reasons.
2016-2018: Deepened my EFT Tapping practice for self-care after reading books on tapping and Energy Psychology.
AUGUST 2009-2016: Worked full-time in schools serving in a range of roles (A Level, IB, IGCSE, and GCSE History teacher, IB TOK teacher, TOK Coordinator, etc) and types of schools (British state school, private IB World School). Under my care, the results of my students who were preparing for rigorous academic assessments consistently resulted in good to great performance in external assessments.
JUNE 2016-2018: Re-negotiated my full-time permanent contract with a private IB World School to turn it into a part-time permanent contract so that I could start working to support students with academic success blocks using my academic coaching and teaching skills.
DECEMBER 2018: Started using EFT Tapping as a stress relief tool when coaching young people in my private practice. Noticed most of my clients made quicker progress when we used EFT Tapping than when we used other mindfulness-based tools and types of meditation for stress relief. In awe at the effectiveness and efficiency of the results! So I wanted to get myself certified and learn more about how to apply these tapping strategies to help my clients achieve their goals quicker and with more ease.
AUGUST 2019: Became a certified Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner with EFT International.
FEBRUARY 2020: Became an accredited Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner with EFT International. Qualified to extended my EFT Tapping services to adults. After qualifying, I resigned from my part-time permanent contract working as a classroom teacher in a school to grow my private practice and offer bespoke training for schools as an EFT Practitioner and Educational Consultant.
SEPTEMBER 2020-TODAY: Schools started hiring me to work virtually with their staff for stress management, student and staff wellbeing, and body-based Social Emotional Learning training as an independent Educational Consultant.
FEBRUARY 2020-DECEMBER 2022: Committed to investing in continued professional development. Highlights of my professional development experiences:
- May 2020: Trauma-Focused EFT Workshop, led by chartered Psychologist and accredited EFT and EMDR practitioner, Christina Buxton.
- June 2020: Trauma Summit, hosted by Action Trauma.
- November 2020: “Women, Trauma, and Mental Health: Empowering Women With the Skills and Insight to Thrive“, hosted by PESI UK.
- January 2021: Intergenerational Trauma Conference, hosted by Action Trauma.
- July 2021: Teachers Matter Online Conference, hosted by Karen Fui Boyes.
- October 2021: Young Hearts & Minds Conference, hosted by Action Trauma.
- February 2022: Global Mindfulness in Education Summit, hosted by Dr Helen Maffini and Dr Chris Willard.
- February 2022: “Considerations for Working Safely with Children and Trauma”, led by Dr Amy Gaesser.
- March 2022: “Online Educators Retreat”, led by Amy Burke and Kevin Hawkins.
- March 2022: “I Stress, Eustress, We Stress: Exploring the Evidence for EFT’s Effectiveness in Transforming Stress”, symposium hosted by EFT International.
- March 2022: “Growth Mindset in the Classroom: Online Conference for Educators”, hosted by the Big Life Journal.
- June-July 2022: “Social and Emotional Learning, and Positive Development”, ENSEC (European Network for Social and Emotional Competence) Conference
- June 2022: “Sneaking Up on the Problem (and Away with the Boxing Technique)”, live EFT training teleclass with Dr Peta Stapleton.
- August 2022: “Tearless Trauma Technique”, live EFT training teleclass with Dr Peta Stapleton.
- August 2022: Began working through the advanced EFT training as a member of EFT HQ from Evidence-Based EFT by Dr Peta Stapleton.
- August 2022: “Tapping in the Classroom”, self-paced training for teachers and school counsellors led by Dr Peta Stapleton.
- September 2022: “Tapping with Children”, live training led by EFT Guild member Deborah Sampson.
- October 2022: “Chasing the Pain and Tips from our Clinical Trials”, live EFT training teleclass with Dr Peta Stapleton.
MY EFT PRACTITIONER PROFILE
WHAT HAVE STUDENTS I'VE WORKED WITH IN MY PRIVATE PRACTICE SAID ABOUT TaPPING?
Here are some examples of the kinds of things students (from Primary School level all the way to Uni/College level) in my private practice have said about EFT:
- “I don’t really feel any sadness, because at school in between lessons, to work on that sadness, I tapped during the break. I had some thoughts. I realized I went back to the points of where I felt sad, so I could basically picture that moment in my head…so let’s say maybe that was 10 minutes long, within some of those 10 minutes (of tapping), I realized there might have been something happy happening whilst that sad thing was going on. So there’s nothing to be sad about if there are happy stuff.” – Year 5 student
- “Tapping has helped me create better art. I tap, I think about what I want to draw, and I do it. When you look at my before-tapping drawings and my after-tapping drawings, you can see that it’s on another level. I think EFT helps connect with the human senses. Sports and arts are something human. Tapping is kinda like a booster before you do something. Tapping has also helped me when I wanted to study for an exam because I didn’t want to fail, but I felt boredom, tiredness, and like my brain was completely melting when I tried to remember stuff. Before tapping, I would open the book, but I couldn’t understand what I was reading. So a part of me wanted to play video games rather than study. After tapping I felt boosted so I could concentrate and study.” – Grade 11 student
- “I am feeling a bit stressed about the Maths exam, but I’m feeling comforted knowing that I’m gonna tap. Because I know I’m gonna study, I’m gonna tap, and it’s gonna be okay. Because I have these techniques.” – Year 8 student.
- “Since I’ve been doing this tapping thing, I’ve been thinking, ‘Why should we not do this in schools?’ I think it’s a lot more useful than, like, Pascal’s triangle! It’s a lot more useful.” – Grade 12 student
- “Tapping helped me realize my blockages were fear of failure and not having good study skills. The tapping helped me build a good habit of scheduling and managing my time better and getting things done, so I could make better progress on my dissertation.” – Final Year University student (Undergrad)
- “I was so skeptical of it. I’d watched some videos on YouTube about EFT. I was very skeptical. But 1 hour in, it clearly works. What did it for me was the fast results. Getting relief after only 1 session. Even if it was just something small, it’s still relief. So yeah, I’d say 10/10!” – Year 12 student
- “Woot woot!! It has been a productive, focused like crazy, and mindfully eating day! I just submitted my Masters assignment, over 24 hours before the deadline, and feel great. Thank you for your guidance, and for really inspiring me to look into tapping more.” – Masters Student & full-time Primary School Teacher
To be clear, these come from students who have experienced tapping within the context of a broader ongoing support program; successfully learning and applying new skills takes time. You can learn more about my 4-session and 12-session tapping support packages for students by visiting my Work With Me page. This Student Voice sample is simply intended to give you a general sense of some of the thoughts students have expressed about tapping at different stages of their tapping journey.
EXAMPLES FROM MY WORK COACHING ADULTS USING EFT TAPPING FOR GOALS / PEAK PERFORMANCE
Recordings that demonstrate ways in which EFT Tapping can be applied in both 1:1 and Group EFT Tapping sessions for clearing blocks to achieving goals. All participants gave permission to record these sessions and are happy for these educational resources to be published here on my website and on my social media.
BOOKS THAT INFLUENCED MY PRIVATE PRACTICE & CONSULTING WORK FOR SCHOOLS
Wendy Sullivan & Judy Rees (2008) Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds
Dr Bridget Grenville-Cleave, Dr Gudmundstdottir, Dr Felicia Huppert, Vanessa King, David Roffey, Dr Sue Roffey (2021) Creating The World We Want to Live In: How Positive Psychology Can Build a Brighter Future
Mark Wolynn (2017) It Didn’t Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How To End The Cycle
Charles Duhigg (2012) The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How To Change
Dr Carol Dweck (2017) Mindset: Changing The Way You Think to Fulfill Your Potential
Matthew Syed (2016) Black Box Thinking: Marginal Gains and The Secrets of High Performance
Dr Angela Duckworth (2018) Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Dr Daniel Goldman (1994) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
Dr Daniel Goldman (2002) The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership into the Science of Results
Dr Daniel Goldman (2013) Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence
Dr Mihaly Csikszemtmihalyi (2002) Flow: The Classic Work of How To Achieve Happiness
Sue Palmer (2015) Toxic Childhood: How The Modern World Is Damaging Our Children and What We Can Do About It
Dr Don Dinkmeyer & Rudolf Dreikurs [M.D] (2000) Encouraging Children to Learn
Dr Travis Bradberry & Dr Jean Greaves (2009) Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Sheryl Sandberg (2013) Lean In: Women, Work and The Will To Lead
Paul McKenna (2009) Control Stress: Stop Worrying and Feel Good Now
Arianna Huffington (2014) Thrive: The Third Metric To Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life
Arianna Huffington (2016) The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night At A Time
Clint Ober, Stephen Sinatra [M.D.], & Martin Zucker (2014) Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever!
Simon Sinek (2011) Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action
Simon Sinek (2017) Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
Kevin Hawkins (2017) Mindful Teacher, Mindful School
Dr. Brené Brown (2017) Braving The Wildness: The Quest for True Belonging and The Courage To Stand Alone
Lynn Roulo (2016) Headstart For Happiness: A Guide Book Using Kundalini Yoga and the Enneagram
Dr Christiane Norhtrup [M.D] (2019) An Empath’s Guide To Evading Relationships That Drain You and Restoring Your Health and Power
Rachael Jayne Groover (2015) Powerful and Feminine
Arun Gandhi (2017) The Gift of Anger: And Other Lessons From My Grandfather Mahatma Gandhi
Dr George Simon (2010) In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing With Manipulative People
Dr George Simon (2011) Character Disturbance: The Phenomenon of Our Age
Lindsay Gibons (2015) Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How To Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents
Roger Jahnke [Doctor of Oriental Medicine] (1998) The Healer Within: The Four Essential Self-Care Methods for Optimal Health
Dana Cohen [M.D.] & Gina Bria (2018) Quench: Beat Fatigue, Drop Weight, and Heal Your Body Through The New Science of Optimal Hydration
Dr Patricia Carrington (2008) Try It On Everything: Discover the Power of EFT
Karl Dawson & Kate Marillat (2014) Transform Your Beliefs, Transform Your Life: EFT Tapping Using Matrix Reimprinting
Dr Bruce Lipton (2015) The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles
Dr Gabor Mate [M.D.] (2011) When the Body Says No: Understanding The Stress-Disease Connection
Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk (2015) The Body Keeps The Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma
Marlene Rose Shaw (2019) How Kind People Get Tough: Assertiveness Tools, Tips and Techniques for More Confidence and Happier Relationships
Dr Judith Herman [M.D.] (2015) Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Violence to Political Terror
Dr David A. Treleaven (2018) Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing
Steve Oakes & Martin Griffin (2016) The A Level Mindset: 40 Activities for Transforming Student Commitment, Motivation and Productivity
Dr Daniel J. Siegel (M.D) & Dr Tina Payne Bryson (2020) The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired
Dr Peta Stapleton (2019) The Science Behind Tapping: A Proven Stress Management Technique for the Mind & Body
Dr Peter Levine (2015) Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body In Search of the Living Past – A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic Memory
Dr Fabienne Vailes (2017) The Flourishing Student: Every Tutor’s Guide To Promoting Mental Health, Well-Being and Resilience in Higher Education
Dr Dominique Thompson & Dr Fabienne Vailes (2019) How To Grow a Grown Up: Prepare Your Teen for the Real World
Dr Dawson Church (2014) Epigenetic Medicine and the New Biology of Intention
Dr Judson Brewer (2021) Unwinding Anxiety: Train Your Mind to Heal Your Brain
Adam Grant (2013) Why Helping Others Drives Our Success: Give and Take
Eric Berne, MD (1964) Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relations
Thomas Harris, MD (1969) I’m OK – You’re OK
Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (2020) Educating Mindfully: Stories of School Transformation Through Mindfulness
James Clear (2018) Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones
Dr Elizabeth Boath (2022) Making the Case for EFT and Energy Psychology: Designing, Conducting and Publishing Case Studies
John Baird and Edward Sullivan (2022) Leading with Heart: Five Conversations that Unlock Creativity, Purpose, and Results
Dr Marc Brackett (2019) Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Our Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive
Kevin Hawkins & Amy Burke (2021) The Mindful Teacher’s Toolkit: Activities for 4-18 Year Olds
Dr George Simon & Dr Kathryn Armistead (2021) Essentials for the Journey: Embracing and Living the 10 Commandments of Character
Dr David Feinstein and Donna Eden (2011) Ethics Handbook for Energy Healing Practitioners
Uz Afzal (2018) Mindfulness for Children: Help Your Child to be Calm and Content
Dr Deborah Miller & Jondi Whitis (2022) Emotional First-Aid for Children: Compassion in Action, How to Quickly Help in Times of Trouble
Dr Gabor Mate & Daniel Mate (2022) The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1992) Women Who Run With the Wolves
FAQs
Yes. I’m qualified to work with all ages using trauma-informed Emotional Freedom Techniques. I’ve worked with people ages 8-80.
Every case is different, it depends on what the situation is. Sometimes the way I coach people using EFT Tapping for goals combines my teaching and coaching skills from my previous career as a classroom teacher with the EFT protocol for goals and peak performance. For example, I sometimes coach people to break their big goal down into smaller SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). And we then tap on any emotional, cognitive, or somatic sensation stress blocks that come up to them thinking about achieving one of their SMART goals. This is one way that I structure my work with a child or adult using EFT session packages.
Other times, we need to first start by doing some emotional processing work on any memories from past similar experiences that may still carry an emotional charge, because that could actually affect how a child or adult perceives their ability to achieve their goal in future, if left unprocessed.
Whatever the case may be, as with all my 4-week and 12-week programs, I need to know where we are heading before we start tapping. And so the purpose of the first session with a child or adult wanting to do EFT Tapping for goals / peak performance with me is to work on clarifying and agreeing on what the goal(s) are that the client wants us to work on together.
Yes, EFT Tapping forms a big part of our work together in all of 4-session and 12-session packages, because it works. I do of course also use other activities and techniques from my academic and mindset coaching and teaching skill set that I built up during my classroom teaching career. However, EFT Tapping forms the basis of my work with when supporting school-age and adult students who want to release excess stress and anxiety so that they can make quicker progress. So if you or your child aren’t ready for me to support your child’s goals and work together on clearing their blocks using EFT Tapping, I can’t help you. It’s not a match.
No. About half of the students I work with are Middle School and High School students. The rest are either adult university students of all ages, professionals preparing for an important exam for their career progression, or upper primary (Grade 5 & 6) students who to work with me on their school-related stress or anxiety.
No. My areas of expertise are education and Emotional Freedom Techniques. I’m a UK-qualified teacher and UK-qualified EFT Practitioner specialised in stress, anxiety, and becoming more academically successful.
No. Only Psychologists/Psychiatrists who are licensed mental health care providers with the skills and qualifications to diagnose and treat mental illnesses can diagnose and treat mental illnesses. If you suspect that you (or your child, if you are a parent seeking help for your child) may be experiencing a mental illness such as Panic Disorder, PTSD, clinically diagnosable levels of Depression, or any other medical conditions that may be related to a build-up of stress in the body, you are responsible for seeking advice from appropriate licensed medical professionals.
I have age-appropriate screening tools that even GPs in the NHS (English medical system of public health) use to know whether a child or adult needs to be referred to a licensed trauma therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist because there may be something there that requires diagnosis or treatment. I can’t help with the ‘severe anxiety’ or ‘severe wellbeing issues’ range of stress. For example, I can’t diagnose or treat someone who is experiencing PTSD or an Anxiety Disorder. What I offer are 1:1 preventative care EFT and coaching programs. I can help people change their habits and emotional state when they are still in the ‘moderate’ and ‘moderate severe’ wellbeing issues states, so that they can prevent their problem escalating into something more serious, like a Panic Disorder.
I also have pretty good intuition. So if something feels off and like there’s something there that’s beyond what I can help with, I take that into account as well.
QUALIFIED EFT Practitioner
Eleni is a qualified EFT Practitioner, certified and accredited by EFT International. EFT stands for the Emotional Freedom Techniques, also commonly known as ‘tapping’. Tapping is a relaxation method that combines modern Psychology and acupressure points to gently and effectively release stress from the body. For an example of Eleni working as an EFT Practitioner in action, click here.
WHAT HAVE PEOPLE SAID
