Fanatical is one way to describe my early unbridled enthusiasm toward EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) tapping. I came to tapping at a low, go lower, a little bit lower now, moment in my life after a near-death experience. I spiraled from “high status” NYC author/editor/writer with an herbalist avocation to near homeless single mom with constant physical pain and emotions like despair, shame, self-loathing and just plain “I can’t do-it” thoughts. I thought something was “wrong” with me on a fundamental level. Boy, was I wrong!
Tapping eased my physical and emotional challenges. It helped me relieve bad memories. It helped make me aware of and change unhelpful, unconscious thinking patterns and deep-seated beliefs driving some of my symptoms, a critical component of tapping.
Now, 18 years on from my early tapping zealotry, I know that tapping is just one of many ways to heal and change one’s life. I practice clinical EFT, and teach, train and mentor. The work is as much about technique as it is about rapport, trust, listening — getting myself out of the way. It is a dynamic partnership, often unexplainable and fascinating how it works so well. I see clearly what the clients do not see because their vision is clouded by distress: their glory, worth and beauty. They have someone who knows they are far more than their difficulties, that on a fundamental level, nothing is wrong with them. That’s where my own personal experience comes in handy. And good things happen. Clients make changes. Life feels hopeful. And I don’t mean clients being just plain neutral about something difficult. I mean coming to complete peace about the past or their lives right now — which can completely transform the present and future.
With whom and on what do I work? All ages and situations — physical and emotional, acute and chronic. An elderly man’s chronic shoulder pain evaporates after he comes to terms with early years shouldering burdens beyond his age in a family of alcoholic parents. A school-age child on the spectrum who cannot sit in class now mainstreamed and feeling good about himself and school. A client with a chronic eating compulsion experiences freedom after addressing the early memories that contributed to the disorder. A formerly straight-A college student flunking out resolves the past issues in the way and is back on track. A debilitating body pain that cropped up after a high achiever is finally getting the romance he longed for dissolves after turning the “love hurts” belief on its head. An overworked parent who experienced sudden loss of loved ones has her life careening out of control and goes on disability, gets back on track, back to her own business, and is living her purpose with peace and zest.
Whether it’s addiction or anxiety, low self-esteem or sabotage, phobia or a serious trauma from an accident or assault, tapping is an option. Areas of specialty include parenting; birth trauma; grief and loss, including abortion, miscarriage, and reproductive issues; ancestral patterns and epigenetic inheritances. I have also recently combined tapping with editorial and creative work, the intersection of two deep loves of mine.
I have earned certifications through various accrediting organizations, including tapping founder Gary Craig’s, from early EFT level 1 and 2s, to the Gold Standard EFT, in which I am one of 28 people worldwide trained at this mastery level. Other holistic techniques I offer include body connection and movement, voicing, somatic attention to all the senses, centering and breathing (pranayama), trance interruption, puppetry, memory shifting, inner child work, Faster EFT, Optimal EFT™, Craig’s latest EFT iteration, which includes no tapping but calls on the “Unseen Therapist”), and herbal support.
Tapping is such a simple technique (view images that show the tapping points): “Even though I have this ‘problem,’ (name the bothersome item) I deeply and completely accept myself.” Just say that phrase one to three times while gently tapping with fingertips on the pinky side of your hand. Then gently tap down eight acupoints on your face and upper torso. It’s simple, but not easy, when you’re wading in the deep stuff of your life. That’s when a skilled practitioner can be of service.
But there’s so much you can do on your own to empower yourself. Consider trying it on your own. Start with the small stuff. Just start.
Kathilyn Solomon will present at the Twin Cities Jewish Community 18th Annual Mental Health Conference from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at Temple Israel, 2323 Fremont Ave. S., Minneapolis. Learn more at www.jfcsmpls.org/event/twin-cities-jewish-community-18th-annual-conference-on-mental-health/
