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Deepak Chopra, MD
"EFT offers great healing benefits."
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques®) Where emotional relief brings physical health
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Two at-risk teenagers simultaneously resolve severe phobias with EFT in one session
Note: This article assumes you have a working knowledge of EFT. Newcomers can still learn from it but are advised to get our Free EFT Get Started Package or our Affordable DVDs for a more complete understanding. For more, read our EFT Info and Disclaimer Document.
Hi Everyone,
Here's an interesting two-for-one use of EFT by Baerbel Froehlin. She says, "Personally I embrace any possibility to help young people, to plant the seeds for "emotional freedom" and watch them use the tools I taught them."
Hugs, Gary
Hi Gary!
This story comes straight from my heart to all of you, to encourage you to not ever miss out at an opportunity to 1) work with at-risk kids and; 2) do it for free. The joy you will experience in the process of facilitating their empowerment is precious.
Recently the teacher of a school for at-risk children contacted me to find out if I would consider working with two of her students. They wanted to get rid of their individual phobias by doing hypnotherapy. I explained to her that I work with a form of "waking hypnosis" only (EFT), not the traditional form of hypnosis that people usually refer to, and she agreed to bring both of them to my office for a free group session.
Both students had to write a report on their experience; they agreed to send me that report as well, so I could publish it and maybe pave the way for others who have that sort of problem. I will include some of what they have written in their reports for better information, and also because it will make you smile big time!
Personally I embrace any possibility to help young people, to plant the seeds for "emotional freedom" and watch them use the tools I taught them. As the teacher told me, I had not been the first therapist she called about this project. But I was the first one to accept the challenge and even loved doing it. Several other therapists had refused to work with them, obviously because they are at-risk kids and couldn't pay a lot. So sad!
I had no clue first what at-risk meant in these cases. It turned out they were both very angry kids. "Jimmy", the tall 19-year-old boy had severe rage attacks that once made him throw a table at his teacher. "Annie", the 17-year-old girl had been loaded with anger for many years because of problems in her family. They both told me these things freely when I asked questions about their backgrounds and family history. When I understood more I decided to work with both phobias at the same time for approximately 90 minutes, with their teacher present.
Jimmy's phobia was about clowns. "Clowns are killing people. They smile to your face and when you turn around they stab you in the back", he said. Annie had been bitten by a spider and had developed a phobia with anxiety attacks after that incident. "They are 8-legged freaks. If they get bigger, they will take over the world," she said.
The following phrases, or as much as I can remember of them, is what I used to simultaneously address both of their phobias, based on the expressions they gave me for their feelings. As we went through the tapping rounds, Jimmy would think of grinning clowns with sharp teeth and Annie would think of brown, 8-legged spiders.
Even though I am so afraid of (spiders, clowns) because they are evil … evil … evil … and you can't trust them…
Even though they scare me … they are evil … evil … evil … I hate them with a passion … and you never know how and when they will attack you…
Even though they don't like people … if they would get bigger they'd take over the world…
Even though I'm freaking out if only I think about them … they scare the hell out of me … I hate them…
Even though I just can't feel safe when they are around … you can't trust them …you just can't be safe…
They are evil … you never know what is going to happen … and when they will hit you again … You have to be on guard always … can't be safe … can't trust. We finished with:
I am going to accept myself … and support myself … and all of my fears. No matter what. I'm 100% behind me… I'm cool anyway.
After about 3 rounds we finished with:
Even though I hate (spiders, clowns) I now choose to understand that I am getting stronger and stronger all the time … I am growing and growing, becoming smarter and smarter every day.
I choose to trust that I can take good care of myself … I can make myself feel safe! … After all … they are just (clowns, spiders) … not real strong people like myself … I'm capable of feeling safe if I want to … I'm a smart kid and I know how to do that!
“I feel clowns are only evil in the movies, but in real life they are not as bad as I thought", said Jimmy. “I could even look at a spider now, even hold one and not freak out and stay relaxed", Annie said.
After some testing and noticing that their level of intensity was down to "maybe a one or two" they left. We met for a short second session ten days later. Both reported they had felt no anxiety about clowns or spiders. Jimmy had "maybe a one" come up when I asked him to go back into his most scary memory. He trustingly closed his eyes and reported back to me what he "saw" in his mental movie. We reframed his movie by letting him go over to the clown and talk to him, instead of just looking at the clown and be scared.
So here is what Jimmy said to the clown: "I used to be scared of you punk-ass, but now I can shake your punk-ass hand and tell you to leave. I'm much taller and stronger than you'll ever be. Now that I think about clowns … they are stupid and I don't know why I was afraid of them … I realize they are not real people … this has changed my life … so in the summer me and Annie are going to have a group with Baerbel so I encourage all (my friends) to come."
When he opened his eyes Jimmy was done with his clown phobia. Another example of the powerful combination of EFT and hypnosis, in this case hypnosis is just simply Guided Imagery.
Here is a quote from Annie's report: "My goal was to be able to see a spider and not to freak out … In the end I got much more out of it and I think; Jimmy did too. I can now honestly say I am not in fear of spiders. I believe that I could … even hold a spider … Jimmy now can go see a clown and not want to punch it. I also highly recommend this to others out there who read this … This process really works."
Both were excited about the many other possibilities to apply EFT in their life. They had already started using EFT in the classroom whenever they felt the need to calm down. We discussed starting group sessions with more students in the summer.
Peace and Love to all!
Baerbel Froehlin, CHt./HypnoCoach, EFT-ADV
