^{EFT is a ground breaking technique combining psychotherapy and acupressure, bringing together elements of exposure, cognitive therapy and somatic stimulation. Commonly known as ‘Tapping’, EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques. EFT’s developers see it as being similar to acupuncture but without the needles, and it has been referred to as ‘psychological acupuncture’. As with acupuncture, EFT stimulates various pressure points on the face and body to relieve stress, which then alleviates many psychological based concerns.
EFT is a powerful self-applied, stress reduction method based on extensive research that shows emotional distress contributes greatly to illness. EFT can address a range of issues by simply focusing on the issue you would like to address with an acceptance statement, along with a simple two finger tapping technique.}

_{How does EFT work in our brain?}

_{So how exactly does EFT work on our minds and in our brains? It’s a surprisingly simple technique. By stimulating pressure points on the body with this two finger tapping technique, Emotional Freedom Techniques result in a calming effect on the amygdala (the stress centre of the brain) and the hippocampus (the brains memory centre), both of which play a role in the decision making process to determine if something is, or isn’t a threat, and in the fight or flight response.
EFT also seems to have the same calming effect on cortisol – the stress hormone. High cortisol levels can be caused by a variety of things, including biological stressors, and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety and psychological stress.
Clinical trials have shown that EFT is able to rapidly reduce the emotional impact of memories and incidents that trigger emotional distress. EFT has an immediate calming effect and can be used by children as young as 3-4 years old.}

_{What else can EFT help with?}

<sub>EFT has been scientifically proven to be a useful technique in weight management and research trials have shown the remarkable and positive effects of Tapping on PTSD, anxiety, depression and phobias, as well as chronic pain, fatigue, and its successful use in the cessation of smoking has also been established. In addition to weight loss related studies, most recent EFT research has included:
* Brain changes after EFT for overweight adults with food cravings (using fMRI)
* Teaching EFT for Healthy Food Choices and Physical Activity in 14 year olds
* EFT for Academic Fear and Difficulties in 15 year old high achieving students
* EFT versus Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression in Adults
* EFT for Chronic Pain
* EFT for Stress Reduction (using salivary cortisol testing)</sub>