Dallas Counseling & Psychotherapy

STEVE B. REED, LPC, LMSW, LMFT

EFT Introduction | What is EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques?

An Introduction to EFT
Emotional Freedom Techniques

What is EFT -
Emotional Freedom Techniques
By Steve B. Reed, LPC, LMSW, LMFT

What is EFT and What Issues Does it Help?
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a brilliant yet simple method for easing emotional pain.  It is both eloquent and effective for a wide range of emotional distress.  The Emotional Freedom Techniques method is clinically effective in treating trauma, abuse, panic, anxiety, fears, phobias, mild depression, some addictions, child related issues, and physical symptoms coming from emotional sources like some physical pain, allergies, headaches, breathing difficulties, and more.

Emotional Freedom Techniques works with fourteen of the acupressure points from traditional Chinese medicine.  For years, people have been recognizing acupuncture and acupressure as a viable means for reducing physical pain.  Now Emotional Freedom Techniques provides a potent and convenient way for self-administered acupressure to ease emotional pain.  The results are frequently astonishing in that the distress can melt away so quickly.

How Is EFT Different?
With traditional forms of psychotherapy, people can spend years talking about what bothers them yet continue to feel their old emotional pain intensely.  Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and related therapies (such as the REMAP process) can often completely eliminate intense negative emotion and stress both comfortably and in far less time than you might imagine.  Those who work diligently with these new methods can compress a year's worth of therapy into just a few months.  Those who have large backlogs of emotional wounding and who are willing to participate in longer-term treatment are finding it is possible to reprocess and resolve a lifetime of hurt and trauma.

Rapidly reducing emotional pain is one of the key benefits that the psychological acupressure methods can provide.  No one likes to linger in an unpleasant emotional state.  Our natural mechanism for coping with painful feelings is avoidance.  Some people will even avoid getting treatment because they have difficulty tolerating upsetting emotions.  Older forms of therapy move at such a slow pace that one is frequently deep in distress at the end of a therapy session.  This is rarely the case with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).  Because it helps to ease the pain so fast, you can see the results and know that your distress will soon ease.  This can help you face even traumatic events with the confidence that you will not be left in a state of overwhelm and that you will find emotional freedom from the issues that bother you.

Why Was EFT Developed?
Gary Craig, the developer of (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques, was an early student of Dr. Roger Callahan, who was the developer of Thought Field Therapy (TFT).  TFT was the first psychological acupressure therapy.  Gary took many of Dr. Callahan's concepts and saw a way to improve and simplify them.  Through his efforts, this type of treatment is now available to many more people. 

The EFT method is so simple that I like to teach it to the people that I work with in therapy.  It is so easy that even children can learn EFT for healing and relief of stress.  By learning the basics of the Emotional Freedom Techniques, you can have a way to help yourselves between therapy sessions.  I believe it to be one of the very best self-help tool available.  It is so empowering to know that at your very fingertips you have the means to ease much of the painful emotion that you experience.  In therapy, when Emotional Freedom Techniques are combined with and enhanced by utilizing the REMAP process, awesome levels of emotional healing become possible.  The REMAP process is a comprehensive treatment method that supercharges (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques and extends its effectiveness into the entire acupressure system.

Why is It Important to Heal Old Emotional Pain?
Some people have asked, "Why is it so important to heal these old hurts?"  I think there are several important answers.  The simple reality is that when it comes to intense emotional pain, out of sight is not out of mind, out of mind is not out of body and out of conscious mind is not out of subconscious mind.  That which is unhealed and harbored hurts us, limits us, dis-empowers us, lowers self-esteem, fuels over reactions, weakens our resistance to physical illness, diminishes the quality of life, contaminates peace of mind, inhibits our capacity to love and blocks our ability to succeed in many endeavors.  Authors write many volumes enumerating the adverse effects of unprocessed and unresolved emotional pain on ones life. 

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and related work is so important because it is so effective in easing human suffering.  It is capable of extracting the negative emotional residue of painful experiences out of the mind-body system.  When the emotional charge is gone, the old experiences will cease to hurt you or to have power over you.  Recent research shows Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) highly effective as a treatment in curing phobias, easing anxiety symptoms, panic attack symptoms, stress symptoms and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.  I also use EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) as a treatment for emotional abuse, overcoming fear, overcoming fear of flying, overcoming depression, relationship help, reducing a wide range of anxiety symptoms, and many other issues. 

Can EFT Be Even More Effective in Therapy?
I frequently employ (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques in therapy sessions.  In treatment, I can guide people through the many nuances of applying Emotional Freedom Techniques most effectively.  It also blends beautifully with many other treatment approaches and it serves as a springboard to working with the REMAP process, which works more comprehensively with the entire acupressure system.  However, even if (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques is being utilized in its most simple and basic form, it provides a powerful means to intervene upon painful experiences, traumatic events and everyday stress.  It can truly enable you to find a level of emotional freedom that you never dreamed possible.

I always recommend that people read articles, books and view videos about (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques, but there is no substitute for live instruction.  It is well worth the time and money to have some hands-on personal training.  There is no replacement for the interaction and ability to have your questions answered.  The opportunity to experience (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques in action is the quickest way to learn.  After some individual instruction, any reading or videos that you may study will make a lot more sense.

For details about individual training or treatment sessions, you can always call me at my office at (972) 997-9955.  I will be happy to help you to schedule an individual appointment.

Gary Craig, EFT Developer and

Steve B. Reed, LPC, LMSW, LMFT

Photo from an EFT Training in Dallas,
where Steve assisted Gary.

Steve B. Reed, LPC, LMSW, LMFT is an internationally known expert in the use of acupressure to ease emotional distress.  He was the first therapist to begin using EFT in the Dallas area back in the mid 1990's.  Steve has trained with Gary Craig, the developer of (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques, Dr. Roger Callahan, the developer of TFT, and other energy psychology pioneers. 

Steve is also the developer of the REMAP process, a comprehensive treatment method that supercharges (EFT) Emotional Freedom Techniques and extends its effectiveness into the entire acupressure system.  He provides professional training in the REMAP process to other licensed mental health practitioners.  In 2006, Steve developed Quick REMAP, a next generation treatment method that proved to be a significant innovation, often providing superior results and even greater effectiveness than EFT.

Steve's private practice is in the Dallas area.  He also provides phone counseling worldwide.  You can reach Steve at 972-997-9955 or through his website at http:/www.psychotherapy-center.com/ to schedule an EFT or Quick REMAP treatment session or instruction.

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