Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), often simply called tapping, is a gentle yet powerful technique that can help you work through uncomfortable emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, and shift the thought patterns and beliefs that may be holding you back.
It's a simple process that combines gentle tapping on specific points on the face and upper body with focused attention on your thoughts, feelings and experiences.
The idea is to bring your attention to something that's causing you emotional discomfort while tapping through a sequence of acupressure points. Rather than pushing uncomfortable feelings away or trying to think positively, EFT gives you a way to acknowledge what's coming up and gently work through it.
EFT is particularly interesting because it brings together elements of cognitive and exposure-based therapies with acupressure. Research suggests that this combination may help calm the body's stress response and reduce the emotional intensity associated with certain thoughts, feelings and memories.
There is a growing body of research exploring EFT for stress and anxiety. A 2025 systematic review of clinical trials found that EFT was associated with significant reductions in anxiety symptoms, with results comparable to some established relaxation approaches. Other research has also explored its potential benefits for people experiencing trauma-related stress.
While more research is needed to fully understand how EFT works and who benefits most, the findings so far are encouraging.
What can EFT help with?
One of the things I love about EFT is how many different ways it can be used.
You might come to a session feeling anxious about something happening in your life right now, overwhelmed by a busy schedule, struggling with grief or finding it difficult to let go of something that's happened in the past.
EFT can help you explore these feelings, understand what's sitting underneath them and gradually reduce the emotional intensity surrounding them.
Some common areas we can explore include:
Anxiety, worry and overthinking
Stress, overwhelm and emotional exhaustion
Grief, sadness and difficult life transitions
Fears, phobias and nervousness
Self-doubt and lack of confidence
Relationship difficulties and emotional triggers
Limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns
Feeling stuck, unworthy or not good enough
EFT can also be used alongside other approaches to help people manage the emotional side of living with chronic pain or ongoing health challenges. It's important to remember that EFT isn't a treatment for underlying physical conditions, but it may offer another way to support emotional wellbeing.
Shifting the beliefs that hold us back
One of my favourite things to explore with EFT is limiting beliefs.
Have you ever stopped to consider how many of the things you believe about yourself were formed when you were a child?
As we grow up, we naturally develop beliefs about who we are and how the world works. Some come from positive experiences, while others can develop from difficult situations, things people have said to us or experiences that left us feeling rejected, embarrassed or not good enough.
Perhaps you learnt that you were smart, capable or good at something. But perhaps you also picked up beliefs such as:
"I'm not good enough."
"I'm not lovable."
"I always get things wrong."
"I have to work really hard to earn other people's approval."
"I'll never be successful."
Over time, these beliefs can become so familiar that we don't even question them. They can quietly influence our relationships, career choices, confidence, the way we communicate and even what we believe is possible for ourselves.
This is where I find EFT particularly interesting.
By bringing these beliefs and the emotions attached to them into our awareness, we can begin to explore where they came from and work through the experiences that may be reinforcing them.
As the emotional charge around these experiences shifts, it can become easier to look at ourselves and our circumstances differently. We can start creating space for new perspectives and beliefs that feel more supportive of the life we want to live.
For me, this is about creating more freedom in how we think, feel and move through the world.
What happens during an EFT session?
A session is a relaxed, supportive space where we work together to explore what's coming up for you.
We'll start by identifying something you'd like to work on. This might be a particular situation, an uncomfortable emotion, a recurring thought or a belief you'd like to shift.
I'll guide you through a sequence of tapping points while we talk through the thoughts and feelings associated with that issue.
You don't need to know anything about EFT beforehand, and there's no right or wrong way to do it. I'll guide you through the process and help you find the words to express what's coming up.
Some issues may feel noticeably different after one or two sessions, while more complex or long-standing patterns can take more time and exploration. Everyone's experience is different, and there's no expectation that everything needs to be resolved in a single session.
The aim is to help you feel more comfortable, less emotionally overwhelmed and better equipped to navigate the things that life brings your way.
Where do you start?
Perhaps you already have a few things in mind that you'd love to work through. Or maybe you just have a general feeling that something isn't quite right, and you're ready to explore it.
Either way, you don't need to have all the answers before getting started.
I'd suggest taking a little time to write down some of the things you'd like to change, understand or feel differently about. It could be a particular fear, a recurring worry, something from your past or simply a desire to feel more confident and at ease within yourself.
See which one feels most important to start with.
If you'd like some support working through it, I'd love to help.
Together, we can use EFT to gently explore what's going on beneath the surface, release some of the emotional weight you're carrying and create space for a different way of feeling, thinking and experiencing life.
Sometimes a little shift on the inside can open up a whole new perspective on the outside. Read more about EFT sessions HERE