I am an EFT Advanced Practitioner certified through the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology in the program led, at the time, by Tina Craig, daughter of EFT founder Gary Craig. (Learn more about what that credential means.)
EFT practitioners come from many walks of life and bring a wide variety of strengths and skills to their work. My own studies and life experiences have given rise to a blend of sharp, left-brained, attention to organization and detail, with deep, right-brained, intuitive trust in the EFT process and in each client’s own inner healing wisdom.
The most important skills I bring to my EFT sessions (aside from extensive, ongoing study of EFT itself) are my ability to effectively do the following:
- communicate clearly and be fully present and focused for extended periods of time
- keep track of details while staying within the flow of energy during sessions
- use a “feedback loop” of questions and testing to continually adjust the course of each session and to assure thoroughness
- follow intuitive guidance with trust and confidence while also checking to confirm whether it is accurate
- help my clients clearly track & measure their progress toward their goals and learn how to get the most out of EFT on their own
Background study and experiences that laid the foundation for my skill as an EFT practitioner (The list contains some overlapping and is not strictly chronological.)
- BA degree from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA with a major in Psychology and minors in Biology and Writing
My degree in psychology and study of biology established a lifelong curiosity about the mind, the body, and the connection between the two.
- Certification as Head Instructor for handicapped horseback riders (as then provided through Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center in Augusta, MI) , followed by teaching mentally and physically handicapped riders in a therapeutic riding program
Each of the students in our program had unique speech difficulties, and each was motivated (and demotivated) in ways unlike mainstream riders, and unlike each other. This work required that I learn to listen attentively, both with ears and with heart. Our students had widely different needs and goals, and working with them developed my listening and communication skills tremendously.
During that period of my life I also began deepening my intuitive connection with others. I was aided by the fact that many of my therapeutic riding students could not communicate clearly with verbal language, and none of the horses could.
- Extensive study and application of the following:
- Tellington TTouch, a therapuetic touch modality for animals
- Bach Flower Remedies
- Reiki and other kinds of energy work
When the riding program closed and there were no others in my part of the state, I moved on to other work linking people and animals. When it came to animals I was as interested in healing as in training, and I gravitated to learning about therapeutic touch and “energy medicine” such as the Bach Flower Remedies. I was fascinated by the effectiveness of these modalities.
- Exploration of the principles of quantum physics
I began studying books about quantum physics written for non-physicists. I understood that “behind” the physical level of reality was an invisible realm of energy that held the key to why things like therapeutic touch and flower remedies work on the physical level. Quantum physics is the branch of science devoted to exploring this invisible realm, and holds the key to the non-logical, non-linear way EFT works.
- Extensive study of “clicker training,” or positive reinforcement operant conditioning, a highly specific, science-based approach to animal training
To better serve clients having training/behavioral difficulties with their animal friends, I began in-depth study of “clicker training,” the popular name for positive reinforcement operant conditioning (a branch of learning theory I first encountered in college). This science-based approach to teaching/training is the “hands off” method used with marine mammals, and now in zoos worldwide, as well as with dogs, cats, horses, etc. In a clicker training lesson, the learner always “has a voice” and can always, without negative consequence, indicate disinterest or lack of understanding in what the teacher is conveying.
- Work as a private consultant with families having training/behavioral difficulties with their animal friends, combining technical skills with intuitive abilities
Clicker training relies on extreme attention to detail and precise communication via (usually) an auditory signal. To be done effectively, it requires the ability to both pinpoint the instant in a training session when a shift happens, and to continually adjust the course of a lesson in response to what is happening with the student. Meeting these requirements as I worked with my clients’ animals strengthened my ability to be completely present in the moment and to remain fluid and open to changes of direction throughout each training session.
Once again, the lack of verbal communication between me and the animals I worked with strengthened my trust in and reliance on my intuitive abilities. I became better and better at sensing which way to go when progress within a session slowed down, by following what I was “hearing” from the animal.
Bringing the “left-brain” technical aspect of clicker training together with the “right-brain” activity of sensing subtle changes within a training session was tremendously valuable preparation for facilitating EFT.
- Ongoing use of case-management skills with my clients
During all this work with animals I continually needed to communicate with the assorted members of their human families to establish priorities, map out goals, find the most efficient path, teach the principles and particulars of clicker training, and regularly review progress. These skills transferred directly to my EFT work when I changed careers.
- Success as a writer, both with highly technical grant writing for local non-profit animal-welfare organizations, and articles for the general public on intuitive connections with animals and nature
My love of writing has found various outlets. I have tremendous appreciation for the power and beauty of words, and also an appreciation of their limitations. When applying EFT, word choice can sometimes mean the difference between a mediocre and stellar result. I am aware of this fact in session work, and help my clients understand when and why it matters.
- Developed and led classes and guided meditations on intuitive communication with animals and nature
Feedback from participants in these activities was sometimes startling. Once, following a meditation on dolphins, a woman shared that the connection she felt during the meditation had brought a flow of joyful tears. She went on to explain that she had a medical problem with her tear ducts and hadn’t been able to cry for several years. There was no logical explanation for her tears, but that was fine with her, and with me!
Another time a man who had lost his leg in a motorcycle accident came with his wife to do the Bear meditation. In the sharing afterward he said that for the first time since his amputation he perceived himself as whole and strong.
Similar experiences set the stage for me to easily embrace the often inexplicable healing that comes with use of EFT, and to see no limit to the healing possibilities that lie beyond our linear, logical expectations.
- 30+ years of :
- personal-growth work and practice of various forms of meditation
- ongoing study of the body/mind connection and the function of the subconscious mind
Many years of meditation have strengthened my ability to be present in each moment with my clients, and my awareness of the “sea of energy” that can be thought of as unlimited possibility.
The subconscious mind holds what EFT founder Gary Craig refers to as “the writing on our walls.” It’s the part of us that can easily defeat our most determined applications of willpower. But it can also be “reprogrammed” to support the changes and successes we desire. Understanding the depth and breadth of the influence of our subconscious mind and appreciating how it functions helps me use EFT to fullest advantage.
*******************************************************************************
How my path led to EFT
I was introduced to meridian tapping (in a different form than EFT) and I could see that it provided access to and a means of reprogramming the subconscious mind. I used it, to my astonishment, to dissolve my 35-year dread of public speaking, a problem I’d tackled repeatedly for decades and failed to change. I was immensely impressed.
Then, I discovered EFT. I saw that Gary Craig had taken this incredibly powerful meridian tapping protocol and condensed it, without losing any of its power, into something that even kids could learn. He developed the principles of delivery that assure high-quality results (seeking specific and core events, persistently seeking and clearing aspects, testing thoroughly, being methodical with complex issues), and then he gave it all away to the world.
I fell in love with EFT and decided to pursue a career change. I can’t imagine any work more rewarding than helping people change life-limiting problems with relative (and sometimes amazing) ease and speed. And the icing on this cake is that during the process I can help them learn how to use, for themselves, the tool that accomplishes this seeming magic.