Below are short descriptions of terms commonly used in EFT Tapping.
Acupoints: Acupuncture points, which are sensitive points along the body’s meridians. Acupoints can be stimulated by acupuncture needles or, in acupressure, by massage or tapping. EFT is an acupressure tapping technique.
Acupuncture Points: A term derived from traditional Chinese medicine referring to points on the body located along the energy meridians. Stimulating these points balances the flow of energy through the meridians and restores normal function to various parts of the body, along with balancing the emotions.
Apex Problem: An EFT term referring to a form of denial that some people experience in relation to subtle energy techniques. Their limited belief systems do not include the possibility that these techniques could produce rapid and profound changes. When the changes occur, these people block out their memories of the former problems.
Aspects: An EFT term referring to a specific part of a problem. An emotional pattern may have one or more aspects.
Basic Recipe: A four-step treatment consisting of Setup phrase, Sequence (tapping on acupoints in order), 9-Gamut Treatment, and Sequence. This was the original EFT protocol.
Borrowing Benefits: When you tap with or on behalf of another person, your own situation improves, even though you aren’t tapping for your own situation. This happens in one-on-one sessions, in groups, and when you perform surrogate or proxy tapping. The more you tap for others, the more your own life improves.
Chasing the Pain: After applying EFT, physical discomforts can move to other locations and/or change in intensity or quality. A headache described as a sharp pain behind the eyes at an intensity of 8 might shift to dull throb in back of the head at an intensity of 7 (or 9, or 3 or any other intensity level). Moving pain is an indication that EFT is working. Keep “chasing the pain” with EFT and it will usually go to zero or some low number. In the process, emotional issues behind the discomforts are often successfully treated.
Choices Method: Dr. Patricia Carrington’s method for inserting positive statements and solutions into Setup and Reminder Phrases.
Core Issues: Core issues are deep, important underlying emotional imbalances, usually created in response to traumatic events. A core issue is truly the crux of the problem, its root or heart. Core issues are not always obvious but careful detective work can often uncover them, and once discovered, they can be broken down into specific events and handled routinely with EFT.
EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique. A series of meridian-based healing processes developed by Gary Craig and Adrienne Fowlie, based on the discoveries of Dr. Roger Callahan.
Energy Toxins: An EFT term referring to energies and substances that irritate the energy system. Energy toxins include substances that are ingested or in contact with the body, along with negative energies in the environment.
Gamut Point: A point located on the back of the hand, which is also known as the brain balancing point. It is used for the Nine Gamut Process and the Floor-to-Ceiling Eye Roll.
Generalization Effect: When related issues are neutralized with EFT, they often take with them issues that are related in the person’s mind. In this way, several issues can be resolved even though only one is directly treated.
Global: While the term ‘global’ usually refers to something that is universal or experienced worldwide, In EFT it refers to problems, especially in Setup phrases, that are vague and not specific.
Intensity Meter: The zero-to-10 scale that measures pain, discomfort, anger, frustration, and every other physical or emotional symptom. Intensity can also be indicated with gestures, such as hands held close together (small discomfort) or wide apart (large discomfort).
Meridians: Invisible channels or pathways through which energy or Chi flows in the body. The eight primary meridians pass through five pairs of vital organs, and twelve secondary meridians network to the extremities. The basic premise of EFT is that the cause of every negative emotion and most physical symptoms is a block or disruption in the flow of Chi, or energy, along one or more of the meridians.
Movie Technique: or Watch a Movie Technique In this process you review in your mind, as though it were a movie, a bothersome specific event. When intensity comes up, stop and tap on that intensity. When the intensity subsides, continue in your mind with the story. This method has been a mainstay in the tool box of many EFT practitioners. It may be the most-often used EFT technique of all.
Muscle Testing: The practical use of Kinesiology. By isolating a specific muscle, you can test its response to access conscious and unconscious information.
Personal Peace Procedure: An exercise in which you clear problems and release core issues by writing down, as quickly as possible, as many bothersome events from your life that you can remember. Try for at least 50 or 100. Give each event a title, as though it is a book or movie. When the list is complete, begin tapping on the largest issues. Eliminating at least one uncomfortable memory per day (a very conservative schedule) removes at least 90 unhappy events in three months. If you work through two or three per day, it’s 180 or 270.
Psychological Reversal (PR): An EFT term referring to the presence of unconscious beliefs and judgments that may prevent an individual from achieving positive results with the EFT tapping sequences. In such cases, the PR must be addressed directly for the tapping sequences to be effective.
Reminder Phrase: A word, phrase, or sentence that helps the mind focus on the problem being treated. It is used in combination with acupoint tapping.
Setup Phrase or Setup: An opening statement said at the beginning of each EFT treatment which defines and helps neutralize the problem. In EFT, the standard Setup phrase is, Even though I have this (problem) ___________, I fully and completely accept myself.
SUD Level: This is a psychospeak term used by therapists when speaking of the 0-10 intensity scale that we often use to measure the severity of an issue. It stands for Subjective Units of Distress.
Surrogate or Proxy Tapping: involves tapping on yourself on behalf of another person. The person can be present or not. Another way to perform surrogate or proxy tapping is to substitute a photograph, picture, or line drawing for the person and tap on that.
Surrogate Muscle Testing: The use of kinesiology to test responses in another individual. This method is commonly used when an individual is not in a suitable condition to test directly and for testing an individual long distance.
Tail-enders: The yes, but statements that create negative self-talk. When you state a goal or affirmation, tail-enders point the way to core issues.
Tell the Story Technique or Story Technique: Narrate or tell the story out loud of a specific event dealing with trauma, grief, anger, etc., and stop to tap whenever the story becomes emotionally intense. Each of the stopping points represents another aspect of the issue that, on occasion, will take you to even deeper issues. This technique is identical to the Movie Technique except that in the Movie Technique, you simply watch past events unfold in your mind. In the Tell a Story Technique, you describe them out loud.
Try It On Everything: A phrase used often by founder Gary Craig. By this statement we are urging you to give EFT a try even if you think the problem is impossible. This is because EFT (properly done) appears to produce benefits for just about everything thrown at it. However, this is not to be taken as an assurance that EFT works on everything (although time may prove that it does).
Writings on Your Walls: Limiting beliefs and attitudes that result from cultural conditioning or family attitudes, these are often illogical and harmful yet very strong subconscious influences.
Visit the EFT Tapping category page for more EFT Tapping articles.
