Frequently Asked Questions

I've written an article covering the science behind tapping and whether we can really say it works here:

By default, generally EFT isn't covered. Your workplace may have a health spending account, where your company gets to choose which types of treatments it will cover. In these cases, your employer can add EFT Tapping to the types of services covered at your workplace. This has been done before with treatments like Reiki, etc. so it's worth an ask.

If it's still not covered - sometimes we don’t want to pay out of pocket for health care. I totally get that. And sometimes it’s just worth it for the result. We don’t expect to have our vacation, birthday, house, wedding, or barbecue covered, but we’ll happily fund those things. We do it because we think it’s important for quality of life. When we put money toward the things that actually improve our quality of life in lasting ways, we’re always getting ahead. And it’s all the more likely that this energy will come back to us!

Yes and, in some important ways, no. I respect your confidentiality, autonomy and inner wisdom the same way that other counsellors and therapists do.

But I take a different approach, and my sessions have a different feel. Usually we work together for a shorter period of time than you would with a counsellor - a few months instead of years.

During our sessions, I challenge you to see what’s in your blind spot more than most counsellors would. These conversations are challenging, but also warm, supportive and caring. That said, you want to be in a place in your life where you can handle that kind of challenge and change. You're at your baseline and you want to thrive. If you feel like you struggle to even find a baseline, it may be more appropriate to work with a counsellor first.

The peer-reviewed literature shows that with tapping, we can make breakthroughs in how you think and feel about things in a few sessions that can take many months (or years) of talk therapy to achieve. Research also shows that EFT tapping produces results on par with EMDR, and faster than Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Tapping and counselling combine really well, actually. You may have quite a bit of self-awareness from counselling, in which case you may find EFT is a great tool to finally change the patterns, from the root. Your self-awareness will help this change go WAY faster!

Often, our patterns originate in childhood experiences, and that’s where we might direct part of our tapping sessions. But this work isn't psychotherapy, or a replacement for it. The goal isn't just to explore childhood or understand how our minds work as a result. The real focus and magic happen in transforming life, right here and now, and into the future. So we always focus on actions you can take right away that make a big difference.

It’s important to note I’m not a licensed health care professional. I don’t provide licensed forms of therapy, counselling or other such treatments. I don't see anyone who's not psychologically stable because coaching conversations work from the assumption that you've got breathing room to try on new (and sometimes uncomfortable) changes in your life. I may refer you to a counsellor or psychologist. It’s a good idea to also connect with one of those folks if you need that kind of help, at the same time that we work together.

If you just knew what was going to break you out of this rut, you would do it. But you have little time, patience and energy left to spend on stuff that doesn't actually deliver.  And there’s a zillion therapists, yoga classes, and healing modalities to choose between.

You just want to know which is actually going to be worth your time, right?

Yup, I’ve been there, and I’ve tried “everything.” What I can tell you is that EFT is hands-down the most effective treatment for completely transforming our life, particularly our emotional world, than anything I've discovered. If I knew of something better, I would recommend that!

There are over 100 peer-reviewed clinical studies to back it up as well – so that’s a really good track record that sets EFT apart from a lot of other treatments out there, if you’re concerned about stepping into complimentary therapies.

And the other part of the equation is you. Are you ready for change in your life? If you keep trying to get there with many different teachers or modalities, but can’t get unstuck, ask yourself if you’re willing to go through the dip. If you’re ready and willing to look under the hood, to feel the feelings, then I’m here to work with you, and support that amazing journey.

Unfortunately, I don't work with children. Not because EFT isn't super effective with younger people, but because I'm way out of my depth there! ;)

If you're a teacher, you may be wondering how to bring it into the classroom. I recommend heading over to the Facebook group: EFT Tapping in Schools - Educators, Nurses, Counselors Support.

If you're a parent of a young child, there's good news here too. There are practitioners out there who specialize in working with kids and they are just awesome at it. They've figured out creative ways of getting kids to tap (singing, making it a game, with toys, etc.) and it's really awesome to see what they've come up with. Try heading over to The Tapping Solution for ideas. A YouTube search will also pull up many tap-along videos. You can also search the EFTi directory specifically for someone who works with children.

Peta Stapleton, PhD recently created a Tapping Bear. How cool is that!

EFT has shown very promising and consistent results with PTSD, depression, anxiety, phobias, public speaking and performance. And I've received training to help people with symptoms that could fall under those categories. Things like worry, negative thinking, automatic behaviours, memories from traumatic events, insomnia, nightmares, burnout, fears, relationship troubles, cravings, physical pain, fatigue, etc.

However, it's important for me to share that because I'm not a licensed healthcare professional, I'm not actually allowed to "treat" PTSD, major depression, GAD, CFS, etc. Basically anything with a diagnosis attached to it is the realm of a medical doctor. EFT can compliment the things you're already doing to help yourself, but my work can't replace professional medical treatment. If I think you are out of my scope, I'll refer you to someone who can go the distance with you.

So, to answer the question of who I can and can't work with:

• I can work with you if you're a mentally stable person. That means you could be going through a rough patch, but you aren't having suicidal thoughts, you don't have a personality disorder, and you haven't been hospitalized. We're all a little nuts, I get that. No worries there. You can also have a physical disability and it's OK, as long as you're not coming to me to treat that disability instead of seeing a doctor.
• Think of me as the physiotherapist, not the ER doctor. I can't help you transform your life if you're in serious crisis (frequent panic attacks, unable to work, at risk of violence, unable to find housing, etc.). It's all about stabilization until the storm passes and you've got the bandwidth to do deep work again. But stabilization isn't what I do. That's what a therapist is for.
• It's not safe for me to use EFT with you if you're unstable because part of it may involve revisiting to the thing that's bothering you. You could get emotionally flooded by memories of the past, and not have the skills or safety to bring yourself back between sessions.
• If you're in a grey area, I recommend you talk to your doctor or counsellor and let them know you'd like to try EFT.

If you are in crisis right now or feeling unstable, big, big love to you. There are people who can help you in this crazy world of ours - many licensed healthcare professionals have EFT training and they are allowed to see you. There is hope. If I were a client walking in to my practice, at points in my life I probably would have been out of my scope to work with. Check out this directory of EFT Practitioners and try doing a keyword search for "psychotherapist" or "counselor" or "clinical psychology" to pull up the practitioners who are also licensed therapists.

If you need to speak with someone right now, please phone: 1-833-456-4566.