May 12, 2018 5 min read

Joan Kaylor, MSEd, LPC, DCEP, a Peters Township-based clinical therapist, compares tapping, or Emotional Freedom Technique, to acupuncture without needles.

And though I have yet to experience what acupuncture feels like, I now understand its raving reviews, especially if the end result feels like my recent tapping session.

“Tapping is a meridian-based therapy that releases negative emotions and self-sabotaging thinking,” Kaylor said. “It employs the same acupressure points of acupuncture, but without needles.”

Kaylor explained that tapping on acupressure points sends a subtle electric current through the electrical pathways inside the human body, known as meridians. Tapping clears the meridian of the charge from the negative emotion, which is energy in motion. When that energy is released using tapping, the emotion is released.

The tapping may have to be done several times for permanent change. The more specific a person is about their negative emotions, the better the results.

A relatively newer technique for managing negative emotions, tapping was developed in 1993 by Gary Craig, a Stanford-trained engineer, who studied with Roger Callahan, Ph.D., the creator of Thought Field Therapy. Craig created an easier system that stimulates all 14 meridians and releases the perturbation, or disturbance, from the meridian system.

Tapping is now widely used as a top self-help tool around the world.

My session began when Kaylor asked me to think of a person, event or situation that was causing me feelings of unease. And though tapping can help relieve a multitude of negative feelings, from anxiety and depression to various phobias, I chose to focus on a job opportunity that was causing me some guilt about what I viewed as leaving motherhood behind to pursue something just for me.

Kaylor showed me where to tap – places like the outside of my palm, my head, the inside of my eyebrows, the sides of my nose, under my nose, my chin and collarbone – and asked me to repeat several affirmations while tapping in each of these spots. She also asked me to explain where I felt the most amount of guilt, which, in my case, was my stomach, and if there was a color associated with that guilt. I told her it was dark green.

We continued the tapping process for about 20 to 30 minutes, throughout which she would stop to assess my feelings to gauge my progress in relieving this guilt.

When my session was over in an hour, I felt immensely better than I had when I arrived. The guilt in my stomach was nearly gone, and I felt better about making a decision that had previously caused restless nights.

“Tapping can help any situation, no matter if it’s emotional, mental or physical,” Kaylor explained. “Doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners teach tapping to their patients for pain management because tapping increases the flow of energy or chi, as its known in the Chinese language. Tapping on a daily basis can increase health and vitality by increasing chi.”

Kaylor said that most people report feeling stuck, having low energy, feeling anxious, depressed and often hopeless prior to their tapping session, but then are renewed with feelings of calmness and hopeful for a positive future immediately after.

“Tapping doesn’t work every single time, but when it does, it’s very effective,” she said.

This coping technique works because cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, is reduced, and the amygdala, or the part of the brain known for it’s “fight, flight or flee” response, is calmed. And, the body’s “feel good” neurotransmitters known as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins are released.

Kaylor explained that when people feel hopeful, they attract abundance into their lives. Tapping out anxiety and the belief of “This won’t happen for me,” “I don’t deserve abundance,” “I am a failure,” or “I don’t want to change because my life will be different, and I am not ready for different,” can be done, but it must be done everyday for success.

“For effective tapping resolutions, people need to find an experienced certified practitioner,” Kaylor said. “Someone who has watched YouTube, read a book or who has taken one workshop does not have the experience and training to teach tapping. In addition, the more specific a patient can get about their situation, the better the results. But only a trained tapping practitioner knows how to get specific.”

Kaylor, who teaches workshops and trains other therapists in tapping, notes that anxiety is perhaps the most common condition for which people seek her help. And it can be anything from separation anxiety, school anxiety and test anxiety to performance anxiety, fear of failure, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

“If anxiety is not treated, it will lead to depression,” Kaylor said. “Counseling and medication help, but will not alleviate the root cause of the anxiety. Tapping will release the cause of the anxiety, and together with counseling and cognitive behavior therapy, can help bring about change, many times without medication.”

The benefits of a tapping session vary, but a phobia can typically be released in two sessions. More complicated situations may take more time. For the benefits to last however, the person must practice tapping at home.

For more information about tapping or the services that Kaylor provides, call 724-413-0964, email Joan@JoanKaylor.com, or visit www.TappingWithJoan.com.