EFT Tapping is one of only two evidence-based treatments for trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The other is EMDR. Both treatments have been tested using controlled, double-blind studies. These studies suggest improved outcomes for those with histories of trauma.
EFT Tapping helps treat many types of trauma.
What are the types of trauma?
Often people think of trauma as the type of PTSD people suffer after military combat. This is only one form of trauma. PTSD can result from any critical life event when someone experiences a life-and-death emergency.
Trauma is often divided into big T trauma and little T trauma.
In clinical settings, big T trauma often occurs when an event happens that is unexpected, dramatic, isolative, and without a strategy for survival. A person experiencing a big T trauma will feel alone or that no one is there to help. Physically and emotionally intense events like car accidents, plane crashes, burning houses, and natural disasters are common sources of Big T or UDIN trauma.
Small T traumas happen because of emotional, mental, or physical abuse or neglect. These may occur in childhood or adulthood and often result from an abusive or controlling relationship.
What therapies aren’t effective for trauma?
The truth is that cognitive-behavioral therapy and talk therapy do little to help people process and recover from trauma. Neither helps us get to the source of the trauma nor do they help the brain process what caused the trauma.
So, while both may be helpful when treating other mental health disorders, they are not impactful when it comes to trauma.
What treatments are effective for treating trauma?
In peer-reviewed studies, EFT Tapping and EMDR have been found to be effective treatments for all types of trauma. They are effective because treatment helps clients identify the source of the trauma while using movements and acupressure points to help the brain process the precipitating traumatic event.
Trauma is common & hides in other mental health issues.
According to the National Center for PTSD, about 60 percent of men will experience at least one trauma in their lives, while 50 percent of women will. Few of these traumas eventually lead to PTSD, but the impact is lasting.
Trauma, no matter its type, is a common root of mental health issues, not just PTSD. Anxiety. Depression. Grief. Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Phobias. Panic disorder. For many, these common mental health disorders are symptoms of the trauma lurking beneath them.
EFT Tapping helps us heal from trauma.
The truth is that we must decide to do the work to heal and recover. And while some use medication to mask symptoms, medication alone cannot do our work for us.
As mentioned earlier, there are only two evidence-based treatments for PTSD. And the only one that we can self-administer is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping.
In guided EFT Tapping sessions with a trained professional, we can learn why we feel, choose, and act the way we do. This understanding opens the gates to healing our trauma and making lasting change.
This is hard work, especially when we change and those we live with do not. Making new choices and becoming a new person can be both empowering and scary work.
This is where EFT Tapping can be incredibly effective. While EMDR treatment can only be used in a therapy session, the skills of Tapping travel with us. Once we learn how to tap, we can leverage EFT anywhere we go as we navigate our healing journeys.
Get trained in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping.
Anyone can learn EFT Tapping, from therapists and counselors to nurse practitioners to chiropractors to yoga teachers and life coaches. It’s a potent tool in the hands of leaders and healers. And it’s an even more powerful one in our own hands on our journey to a happy, whole life.
Click here to learn about EFT training and tapping for trauma.
