For nurses and patients experiencing stress and stress-related emotions, such as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, insomnia, or acute or chronic pain, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) may provide effective relief.

Also known as “Tapping,” EFT is a self-administered healing technique that reduces or eliminates negative symptoms and emotions. EFT is based on modern psychology and the principles of acupuncture’s meridian or energy system, without using needles. By tapping on specific meridian points on the face or body, while focusing on a problem, it’s possible to go from the stress response to the relaxation response, often in minutes.

A 2010 study in Integrative Medicine by Dawson Church, PhD, and Audrey Brooks, PhD, on the “Effects of a Brief Emotional Freedom Techniques Self-Intervention on Anxiety, Depression, Pain and Cravings in Healthcare Workers” found that tapping provided an immediate positive effect on psychological distress, pain, and cravings. Other research can be found online.

“Using this self-care energy technique you can be fully present and available to do your best work with patients and colleagues from a state of well-being and presence,” said Bev Nerenberg, EFT Tapping Certified Practitioner and founder of Wellness At Your Fingertips®.

“In the clinical setting, nurses at the Cleveland Clinic have been using tapping for patients with pain and anxiety for a few years with great results,” according to Barb Picciano Caranci, BSN, RN, HN-BC, RM, HTPA, manager of healing services at Cleveland Clinic.

“We put tapping to use with patients at the bedside during holistic encounters by our team of nurses and chaplains,” Picciano Caranci said. “We also teach patients how to do this themselves when we are not present. It’s a great tool to help with empowerment and intermittent intervention in their own care.”

Rose Hosler, RN, Cleveland Clinic, describes how EFT helps a patient reduce fear of surgery in this video. Ready to get started tapping?