Conditions Tapping Therapy Treats

Blog Update Conditions Tapping Therapy Treats
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT (often known as Emotional Freedom Therapy Tapping Points or Brain Tapping Therapy), is a tool used by psychotherapists to help clients manage stress and anxiety, as well as release negative emotions and past traumas. EFT or tapping therapy is used for a variety of conditions but is most commonly used to manage stress, anxiety, and other anxiety-related conditions. 

Conditions EFT supports: 

How Does the Central Nervous System Respond to Stress?

The amygdala and hippocampus, which are involved in your body’s flight or fight response, the CNS can react less strongly to stimuli. The amygdala and hippocampus have a major role in emotional regulation and stress responses and are part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

When we are under stress, these brain structures jump into action and prepare for a crisis which triggers the fight or flight response. The amygdala overrides the prefrontal cortex when involved with the fight or flight system. 

The prefrontal cortex is the center for critical and rational thought while the amygdala commands our emotional reactions. Without good prefrontal control, the amygdala hijacks the brain and we react in less rational ways as the brain goes into survival mode.

Blog Update Conditions Brain Tapping Therapy Treats

What is Tapping Therapy?

Brain tap therapy, professionally referred to as EFT, combines cognitive restructuring with tapping on meridians.  This activity allows the brain and body to release stress through the process of regulating the central nervous system (CNS) and releasing negative thoughts and emotions.

The tapping EFT technique is a clinically valid self-help therapy that supports the brain and body to remove stress and anxiety while restoring balance. Research supports that it is very effective in resolving issues quickly by promoting a deeper mind-body connection (Scientific Research on EFT Tapping, 2024).  

What is Meridian Tapping?

Tapping along specific energy points, or meridians, is an integral part of why the EFT tapping technique is so effective. Research indicates that when energy patterns are disrupted due to stressful experiences the path of energy between neurons can be disrupted. When people release negative emotions through the EFT tapping diagram points, it may help the energy flow again.

While tapping meridian points with your fingers, you find it easier to talk through negative experiences, traumatic memories, and a wide range of emotions. Following the EFT diagram for tapping points along the meridian points to release the physical energy combined with cognitive restructuring techniques supports the releasing of negative emotions and memories that may be holding a person back or causing distress.

What is Somatic Tapping?

Somatic tapping is a technique that combines elements of the traditional Emotional Freedom Techniques with somatic experiences, which is a body-oriented approach to healing trauma. 

It involves tapping on specific acupressure points while simultaneously tuning into bodily sensations and emotions to release stored tension and trauma from the nervous system. This approach aims to address both the emotional and physical aspects of trauma and stress, promoting healing and resilience.

Shamanic Tapping vs. EFT Tapping 

Shamanic tapping and EFT tapping are two different approaches to addressing emotional and psychological issues. They differ in their theoretical foundations and the techniques used during the tapping process. Individuals may choose one approach over the other based on their personal beliefs, preferences, and therapeutic needs.

EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique Tapping):

  • EFT tapping is a therapeutic technique that involves tapping on specific acupressure points on the body while focusing on a particular issue or emotion.
  • It is rooted in modern psychology and draws from principles of acupuncture, neuroscience, and cognitive therapy.
  • EFT tapping aims to release emotional blockages, alleviate stress, and promote emotional healing by rebalancing the body's energy system.

Shamanic Tapping:

  • Shamanic tapping, on the other hand, incorporates elements of shamanism, an ancient spiritual practice, into the tapping process.
  • It may involve incorporating shamanic rituals, such as connecting with spirit guides or calling upon the elements, during the tapping session.
  • Shamanic tapping views emotional issues as manifestations of spiritual imbalance and seeks to address them by restoring harmony and connection with the spiritual realm.

What is Tapping Meditation?

The EFT Tapping meditation guide combines both EFT Tapping points with the active process of meditation. Through the action of EFT Tapping, one becomes mindful allowing them to enter into a meditative state. The goal of both EFT Tapping Therapy and meditation is to restore the body and mind to optimal functioning, reducing stress and promoting wellness.   

Mindfulness techniques, like meditation, encourage and develop concentration, clarity, and emotional positivity that allow a calm view of the true nature of things. Meditation means ceasing the thought process or, in other words, stopping your thinking. This state of consciousness frees the mind of scattered thoughts and various patterns, but this takes time and practice to achieve. 

Meditation has clinical proof showing its impact on a broad spectrum of physical and psychological symptoms and syndromes, including anxiety reduction, pain reduction, depression minimization, stress diminishment, mood enhancement, and self-esteem improvement. 

The daily practice of using tapping meditation points is an amazing tool in getting the nervous system to calm down to reduce racing thoughts, which helps the body self-regulate and promote healing.

What is EFT Tapping for Anxiety and Stress?

Not only are the EFT techniques a self-help tool, but when done under the care of a licensed psychotherapist, it becomes a therapeutic tapping technique. As a self-help tool, one can use EFT tapping for anxiety, stress management, and wellness promotion. When done in a therapy session with a licensed psychotherapist following the specified EFT tapping acupressure points for anxiety, this therapy helps address clinical issues.

Many alternative and holistic healing therapists incorporate EFT to support anxiety and stress. ETF research demonstrates that it significantly increases positive emotions such as hope and enjoyment and decreases negative emotional anxiety and stress because it calms the CNS (EFT Science and Research, 2024).  

When someone is stressed, they are often in a constant state of overactivation. Overactivation is when the Central Nervous System is agitated. This agitated state makes the reasoning process in a traditional talk therapy session almost impossible because people can’t access their rational brains and think clearly. 

Feelings of stress and anxiety can be addressed safely and effectively with EFT. If your child suffers from anxiety or stress, it pays to learn how to EFT tap to provide them with immediate relief and comfort. 

What is EFT Tapping for Anxiety and Stress

What is EFT Tapping for PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. The traumatic event that causes PTSD can be big or small. Researchers now know that trauma just doesn’t have to be from war trauma, natural disaster experience, or abuse, but can also result from medical experiences, grief, and a variety of other experiences. 

PTSD symptoms can last for weeks, years, or even a lifetime if not addressed. The disorder affects how the brain and body function. Symptoms may include nightmares or unwanted memories of the trauma, avoidance of situations that bring back memories of the trauma, heightened reactions, poor attention or cognitive functioning, behavioral issues, sensory processing problems, physical pain, anxiety, or depressed mood. Children and adults can experience PTSD. 

While some individuals with PTSD experience extremely high levels of distress causing them to struggle with daily life and relationships, others learn to cope with high levels of anxiety. Since many things can subconsciously trigger anxiety, moving past the trauma becomes difficult. Moreover, exposure to one trauma can make you more susceptible to experiencing heightened stress responses leading to additional emotional trauma.  

When someone suffers a trauma, their CNS becomes agitated. The neurobiological systems that regulate stress responses include certain endocrine and neurotransmitter pathways. Additionally, a network of brain regions regulates fear behavior at both conscious and unconscious levels. 

Although stressors generally activate the HPA axis, which results in increased cortisol, those in a chronic stress state due to trauma live in a constant state of overreaction. Chemical and biological imbalances in the brain can present after trauma impacting the amygdala, hippocampus, and overall CNS regulation. The amygdala can become overstimulated resulting in a highly alert and activated looping state during which it seeks and perceives threats everywhere. 

Excess stress hormones in the hippocampus lead to less effective decision making causing people to remain in reactive mode. Constantly elevated stress hormones interfere with the CNS’s ability to regulate itself. This systemic chronic dysregulation  causes a functional impairment leading certain individuals to be  “psychologically traumatized.” In other words, they suffer from PTSD.

When under the care of a licensed psychotherapist, EFT is a highly effective and valid tool used with individuals with PTSD. The research shows us that individuals suffering from PTSD do well with EFT with 63% of cases remediated in 10 or fewer sessions of EFT. This proves that EFT tapping for trauma release is effective (Church & Feinstein, 2017). 

Following the Sandy Hook tragedy on 12/14/12, Nick Ortner, Lori Leydon, and other certified EFT Practitioners with the Tapping Solution Foundation provided EFT training because they recognized the importance of helping the traumatized community. I had already been using EFT in my Ridgefield, CT clinic. 

Using the specific EFT tapping techniques for releasing trauma was incredibly effective for those impacted. Using it with such traumatized individuals, I realized how effective it was in comparison to straight cognitive behavioral therapy. I learned that I could bring clients relief within a short number of sessions. 

How to Use Tapping With Children

EFT teaches children to learn self-calming and process their emotions. In an increasingly anxious world, the average age of onset of anxiety disorder is now age six. Kids need tools to manage stress. 

When children experience developmental trauma, addressing their issues as early as possible is imperative. Early intervention addresses issues before they spiral. A spiral often leads to increased behavioral issues, interference with emotional, sensory, and behavioral regulation, attachment issues, and later at-risk behaviors. 

Using the EFT tapping chart offers one solution to break the repetitive stress cycle and helps the child learn how to appropriately respond to stress and sensory stimuli in a regulated manner. 

Children often respond quickly to EFT and enjoy the process because body tapping provides active kids with physical activity to go along with talking. EFT is a highly effective method to calm the body and shift the emotional state and more importantly it is also a self-help tool that kids (and adults) can use as a coping mechanism. 

EFT helps children identify issues and put words to emotions, which is an invaluable emotional self-regulation tool. Children’s behaviors often signal their distress. All children are learning how to manage feelings and express themselves in appropriate ways, but this is even harder when they have experienced trauma or under duress.  

When there is a significant issue, EFT along with a psychotherapist engaging in emotionally focused therapy aids the brain and body to release stagnating emotions and negative negative experiences. An expert psychotherapist can help you how to do EFT tapping the right way. 

Many parents use the EFT method with a child before they go to bed, as a way to decompress from the day to aid in falling asleep. It gives children inner peace and helps address issues that can fester and become problems by giving them the tools to manage their emotions.   

For example, after a 10-minute session of following EFT worksheets and EFT scripts, one 10-year-old boy said, “My bad feelings used to wrap all around the world but now they just go to the end of this room.”

What is brain tapping?

Brain tapping is a technique that uses external stimuli like sound or light to synchronize brainwave frequencies, potentially inducing altered states of consciousness or cognitive enhancement. Some of the brain tapping benefits include neurological fitness, relaxation, stress reduction, and meditation aids.

What are the dangers of EFT brain tap?

Brain tapping techniques are generally considered safe for most individuals when used appropriately. However, potential dangers may include the risk of triggering distressing emotions or memories during tapping sessions, particularly for those with unresolved trauma or psychological issues.  

What are the side effects of EFT tapping treatments? 

Side effects of EFT tapping can include temporary emotional intensity and physical sensations such as tingling or fatigue. These effects are typically part of the healing process and tend to be temporary.

Is there a tapping therapy for PTSD? 

Yes. EFT is commonly used as a complementary approach for addressing symptoms of PTSD. EFT involves tapping on specific acupressure points while focusing on distressing memories or emotions. It may help reduce PTSD symptoms such as anxiety, flashbacks, and hypervigilance.

How do you do tapping to calm nervous system?

Manual EFT tapping involves tapping specific acupressure points on the body while focusing on a particular issue or emotion. The tapping sequence typically follows a pattern outlined in an EFT tapping diagram, starting with the karate chop point and moving through points like the eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, chin, collarbone, under the arm, and top of the head, while repeating affirmations or acknowledging the issue being addressed, also known as the EFT tapping scripts.

How to do tapping therapy for kids? 

Following the EFT tapping guide, begin by identifying the issue you want to address. Then, follow an EFT points diagram, tapping on specific acupressure points while stating affirmations or acknowledging the problem. It’s advisable to learn how to do a proper physical tap with an expert.

Why tapping should be avoided by some individuals? 

Tapping may not be suitable if a person has severe psychological issues and requires professional intervention. Additionally, if someone has physical conditions that may be exacerbated by tapping on certain acupressure points, it should be avoided or approached with caution. For example, some people may be intolerant of EFT severe muscle pain techniques. 

Does tapping help with anxiety? 

Yes. Tapping to relieve anxiety also reduces stress hormones, promotes relaxation, and interrupts negative thought patterns associated with anxiety. Targeting the EFT tapping points for anxiety while focusing on the anxiety-provoking issue may decrease anxiety symptoms over time.

How does tapping work for anxiety?

Tapping works for anxiety by engaging both the body and mind simultaneously. It can help reduce the body's stress response, calm the nervous system, and interrupt the negative thought patterns associated with anxiety. 

Why does tapping work?

Tapping is believed to work by engaging acupressure points, which may activate the body's relaxation response and reduce stress hormones. Additionally, the cognitive aspect of tapping, where individuals focus on distressing emotions while tapping, may promote emotional regulation and a shift in perception toward anxiety-provoking situations.

Does tapping really work? 

While research on tapping's effectiveness is still evolving, many individuals report experiencing benefits such as reduced stress, anxiety, and improved emotional well-being. The anecdotal evidence combined with some empirical studies suggests that tapping may offer a viable self-help tool for managing emotional distress, though individual results may vary.

Citations

Church, D., & Feinstein, D. (2017). The Manual Stimulation of Acupuncture Points in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques. Medical Acupuncture, 29(4), 194–205. https://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2017.1213

EFT Science and Research. (2024). EFT International. https://eftinternational.org/discover-eft-tapping/eft-science-research/

Scientific Research on EFT Tapping – Tapping Research – EFT Studies. (2024). EFT Universe. https://eftuniverse.com/research-studies/

Dr. Roseann is a mental health expert in Mental Health who frequently is in the media:

Always remember… “Calm Brain, Happy Family™”

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to give health advice and it is recommended to consult with a physician before beginning any new wellness regime. *The effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment vary by patient and condition. Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, LLC does not guarantee certain results.

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She is the founder and director of The Global Institute of Children’s Mental Health, Neurotastic™Brain Formulas and Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, LLC. Dr. Roseann is a Board Certified Neurofeedback (BCN) Practitioner, a Board Member of the Northeast Region Biofeedback Society (NRBS), Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional (CIMHP) and an Amen Clinic Certified Brain Health Coach.  She is also a member of The International Lyme Disease and Associated Disease Society (ILADS), The American Psychological Association (APA), Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), International OCD Foundation (IOCDF).

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