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Deepak Chopra, MD
"EFT offers great healing benefits."
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques®) Where emotional relief brings physical health
Self help method often works where nothing else will No Drugs Involved ~ High Success Rate
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Tutorial--The "Tell the Story Technique": an important tool for being thorough
(For more info see our Frequently Asked Questions section)
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I have great respect for beginners who have become "mechanical tappers" because they provide a valuable service for themselves and those with whom they come in contact. However, there is much more to learn and thus a rich experience awaits those who choose to graduate from the mechanics to Mastery.
One of the tools I use for Mastery is called the "Tell the Story Technique." I've been using it for years and you can see live examples of it on the "6 Days at the VA" video (included in the EFT Course ).
The idea is very simple. Just have the client narrate a SPECIFIC EVENT (about a trauma, grief, anger, etc.) and stop to tap whenever they get to emotionally intense parts of it. Each of the stopping points represents another aspect of the issue that, on occasion, will take you to even deeper issues. Conceptually, this is about as easy as it gets...AND...it has a tendency to bring up important aspects that would otherwise take sophisticated detective work to locate.
There are a few guidelines to enhance the process and I list them below....
1. After describing the "Tell the Story Technique" to the client, and before actually doing it, ask them how they feel now about the mere thought of telling the story. Often you will get some substantial intensity at this stage and, if so, it is worthwhile to do a few global type rounds of EFT to take the edge off.
- "Even though I'm nervous about telling the story....."
- "Even though I'm afraid what might happen when I tell this story...."
- "Even though I don't like this whole thing....."
- "Even though just starting the story gives me the jitters...."
2. When the client feels comfortable about starting the story (perhaps an intensity level of 0-3), ask them to begin at a time when there is nothing to be concerned about. An example might be having lunch with a friend just before having a car accident. This tends to ease the client into the experience.
3. Instruct the client to STOP THE MOMENT THEY FEEL ANY INTENSITY WHATSOEVER. This is critical to the success of this procedure. Most clients are conditioned by conventional techniques to "be courageous" and to "feel the feelings" and to "be brave and gut through it." Thus, they are likely to go right by an important tapping point without telling you. The CLIENT NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY DON'T STOP, THEY HAVE MISSED A HEALING OPPORTUNITY. Hit this one hard. Emphasize it. Raise your voice a bit to punctuate it. Insist on it. Remind them that we are looking for minimal pain here and that they get no points for bravery.
4. Have the client repeat the story while doing EFT until they can tell it nonchalantly--like it was a shopping trip.
5. Then ask the client to close their eyes and VIVIDLY IMAGINE the whole event and ask them to TRY TO GET THEMSELVES UPSET by exaggerating the sights, sounds and feelings. Chances are they will get through it fine but, if they don't, then you will have uncovered an important aspect or underlying cause. Use EFT for whatever comes up until they cannot get upset about the issue by either imagining it or talking about it.
6. The ultimate test, of course, will be to physically visit the offending scene/person again and see if anything else arises. If there are any remnants left, they will show up during the "real deal."
This "Tell the Story Technique" has several benefits....
1. It is easy to perform and, because the client talks a lot during the process, it often parallels what clients consider "real therapy." Thus the perception of EFT's "weirdness" is minimized.
2. The "story" provides a built in procedure for finding aspects.
3. It can be used either as a primary technique or as a way to test your results.
4. It allows the issue to unfold as gently as possible.
5. The client gives you solid information along the way that allows you to know how you are progressing.
I hope you find this helpful.
Hugs, Gary
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