What is EFT? And How to Perform It

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as Energy Psychology or Meridian Tapping, is a gentle yet powerful form of Thought Field Therapy. It combines psychology, acupressure, and intention to help release emotional blocks, limiting beliefs, unhealthy patterns, and even physical discomfort.

Today, EFT is used by therapists, naturopaths, healers, life coaches, and energy practitioners. It can be practiced in person, online, or even on your own after learning the steps. It’s flexible, easy to learn, and works beautifully alongside other modalities such as muscle testing, NLP, meditation, talk therapy, and inner child work.

How Does EFT Work?

EFT is based on the idea that emotional discomfort or sabotaging patterns are connected to disruptions in the body’s energy system, whether emotional, mental, or energetic. When a traumatic memory, fear, belief, or problem becomes “stuck” in our meridian system, it can cause:

Negative thinking patterns
Unhealthy habits or addictions
Sabotaging beliefs (“I don’t deserve love…”)
Emotional triggers and reactivity
Physical tension or symptoms

By tapping on specific acupressure points while holding a problem in mind, we shift its energetic imprint. This helps restore balance, release emotional charge, and make space for mental clarity, peace, and improved well-being.

EFT and Psychological Reversal

Sometimes, no matter how much we want to change, we subconsciously resist healing. This is known as psychological reversal, and it shows up as resistance, avoidance, or self-sabotage.

Some examples of reversal thinking include:

“Healing will mean losing a part of my identity.”
“Others need me to stay sick, sad, or stuck.”
“If I change, I’ll lose connection, security, or belonging.”
“I don’t deserve success, love, or happiness.”

This subconscious resistance can block results, even when a person consciously wants healing. Fortunately, EFT helps bring these hidden beliefs to the surface and clear them layer by layer.

How to Perform EFT on Yourself

1. Identify a Main Issue

Begin with a core issue, such as anxiety, food craving, fear of success, self-doubt, pain, or emotional triggers.

Break it into aspects, or smaller pieces of the issue. For example, some issues to consider tapping related to “weight loss” may include:

Food cravings
Lack of motivation to exercise
Emotional eating
Fear of losing identity if weight changes

These aspects are tapped through one at a time.

2. Notice the Emotional Intensity

Traditionally, we use a 0–10 scale (SUDS) to measure emotional intensity. However, if you or a client doesn’t “feel” the level clearly, you can simply notice:

Where in the body the issue is felt (or you feel tenseness or sensation) when you think about it
If there is resistance or emotional charge
Whether the thought or issues still feels “true”

You can tune into sensations instead of numbers if that feels more natural.

I also created an EFT Divination Kit with “blocks are clear” cards so that people using the cards know when an aspect is

3. Create a Setup Statement

Setup statements acknowledge the issue while affirming self-acceptance. The classic formula is:

Even though [problem], I deeply and profoundly love and accept myself.

Example: Even though part of me fears I will lose my identity if I lose weight, I deeply and profoundly love and accept myself.

Repeat this statement three times while tapping (see image for point location):

Karate Chop point (side of hand), or
The Sore Spot (Collar Bone Point)

4. Create a Reminder Phrase

Now, shorten the statement into a “reminder phrase” to keep the issue active while tapping. For example:

“Fear of losing identity”
“I don’t feel safe to change”
“Thank you God that I don’t have to lose my identity to grow”

Positive phrasing can be added when it feels right.

5. Tap Through the Meridian Points

Tap approximately 5–7 times on each point while repeating your reminder phrase (see image further above for point locations):

Top of Head
Eyebrow
Side of Eye
Under Eye
Under Nose
Chin Point
Collarbone
Under Arm

(Hand points may be added if needed.)

6. Reassess and Continue Tapping

After one round of tapping, pause and notice whether the intensity dropped? You can measure again, or simply feel for shifts in:

Emotional charge
Body sensations
New insights
Resistance

Repeat new rounds on any remaining aspects or layers.

7. Optional Gamut Procedure (If Your Issue Feels Stuck)

If you feel stuck or progress is slow, you can include the 9-Gamut process, which adds eye movements and brain balancing exercises while tapping the point on the back of the hand.

One can perform the gamut procedure by tapping the gamut point on the EFT Points image further above (the point is in the dip between the bones going up towards the pinky and forth finger, below the knuckles).

Tap this point while doing the following:

close your eyes
open your eyes
move your eyes hard and down to the right
move your eyes hard and down to the left
circle your eyes right
circle your eyes left
hum for a few seconds
count to ten
hum again for a few second
do the eye movements again
repeat the application of EFT on all the points from the head to under the arm.

Using EFT Responsibly

EFT is safe for most people, but there are important precautions:

Do not encourage exposure to traumatic events when a person feels unready.
Never force emotional processing or confront triggering memories too quickly.
Use gentle methods, and seek licensed or trauma-informed support when dealing with severe trauma or deep emotional wounds.
Hydrate before and after sessions to support energetic flow.

Final Thoughts

EFT is not about forcing change, but inviting it. It encourages the body, mind, and energy to release what no longer serves and make room for what does. Healing happens gently, one layer at a time.

Abreactions

In a small number of cases, EFT can result in what are called “abreactions” which may be experiences as the rise of uncomfortable symptoms due to resistance or emotions rising to the surface. They can be avoided by being cautions by being slow and gentle with the healing process, letting go of force.