Group Tapping

Many things about Energy Work are so very different from traditional counseling, and Borrowing Benefits is a great example. I am glad that I have training and experience in both modalities, and I often incorporate EFT coaching with regular psychotherapy in my private practice.

Whenever I have set up a traditional counseling therapy group, there are important issues of confidentiality, safety, and consistency. There is a careful process involved in introducing new members to the group, and the participants usually make a commitment to a certain number of weekly sessions.

Because the possibility of anonymity and confidentiality are built into an EFT Coaching Group, new people are welcome to join at any time. And because Basic EFT is so simple to use, newcomers can join in who have no experience with tapping at all. In fact, I encourage people to bring friends so they can witness how it works and easily participate.

So, once a month we gather and the group can be very different each time. I ask everyone to write down 4 or 5 issues that they would like to work on. I ask that they think of simple, specific issues that are: single-faceted, current and measurable.

For example: Last Friday, at 10 to 5, my boss gave me a huge assignment that he wanted done before I left work that day. I felt angry, frustrated and exhausted.

Next to that specific event, I ask the person to write down a number from “0” to “10” to indicate the intensity of the feelings. “Zero” means that it doesn’t bother me at all, and “ten” means that it bothers me as much as anything ever could.

The confidentiality, safety and anonymity issues are all handled by the simple fact that the person can come to the group with these issues and not reveal what they are to anyone (even the facilitator). People can come to the group and just mention their first name. If it is important to the person to keep their issue totally private, they can simply volunteer (or not) to work in front of the group, and simply say:

Even though I HAVE THIS ISSUE, and it makes me feel angry, frustrated and exhausted, I accept myself anyway.

More often than not, people who come to the group feel comfortable and are willing to openly share their issues with the group. But, it is important that everyone has the clear option to remain private.

Everyone in the group has a list of their own issues that they have written down and given an arbitrary intensity level. Then, they put their issues to the side, as one person volunteers to work in front of the group.

Everyone then taps with the volunteer, saying the same words s/he says and tapping the same points at the same time. It is a powerful experience to have a group tapping with you and adding to the movement of energy.

The borrowing benefits part works like this: as a group member, you are totally focused on the volunteer’s issue. You are doing lots of tapping, but not for yourself or your own issues. Then, after you have totally supported the volunteer, you look again at your own list. Very often you will find that the intensity level of your own issues have diminished significantly!

So, the group is “Win-Win” for everyone involved. It is a satisfying experience to support another person by tapping with them, but it is even more satisfying to know that your own issues tend to get resolved at the same time.

If you are in the greater Chicago area, call to reserve your space in the monthly Borrowing Benefits Group, meeting on the north side of Chicago on Sunday, July 31, 2011 between 3:00 PM and 4:30 PM. Call or email Kiya at: (773) 880-5492 or email.

I have been a hopeless optimist many times in my life, and this week was no exception.  I made a common mistake that could have made me terribly upset and “ruined my day,” but instead, I stayed calm and it all worked out amazingly well!

I have a once-a-month EFT Borrowing Benefits Groups at my office in Hinsdale, Illinois.  I arrived early and ran down the hall to take a quick potty break before my group. I got back and discovered that I accidentally LOCKED myself out.  Inside were all of my keys and my winter coat.  For those of you in warmer climates, it is way below zero here in the Windy City!

Amazingly, I didn’t panic, or beat myself up. I knew I could conduct my group in our little waiting room.  As my clients came in, I asked if anyone knew how to pick a lock.  No one did, and I STILL didn’t panic.  Then, more new clients came in, and I asked them the same question.

Here’s the miracle part–one man said:  I am a retired LOCKSMITH!!

Within minutes, the door was open and we continued our group inside.  I hugged the man and thanked him profusely.  He didn’t think it was any big deal, but I certainly did.

In the past, I might have been entirely too upset to conduct my group, and I probably would have cancelled it. My energy might have been so out of balance that I would have created a big drama for myself.

As I always like to point out, there are many, many ways to shift energy. We all do it but most of the time, we are pretty unconscious about it. What’s special about EFT is that it provides a system for moving energy in the moment, anytime you wish.

By the way, please check out my two new programs coming up that I will be teaching with Alina Frank, my EFT colleague from Washington state.  We have created EFTMentors, and on our website: www.EFTMentors.com you can sign up for our 6 month mentorship program and our exciting EFT healing extravaganza on April 10 and 11, 2009.

I encourage all of you to send me topics of interest to you, and I will write about them.

How many of you have experienced Borrowing Benefits? It is something that tends to happen when a group of people get together and tap using EFT.

Simply, you tap for another person and totally concentrate on them and their problem (even if it has nothing to do with you). At the end of the session, you notice that your own issues are greatly relived or totally resolved.

Personally, I have witnessed this occurrence many times. It happens a lot during couple or family sessions, workshops, and my monthly Borrowing Benefits groups. One of the many advantages of being an EFT Practitioner is that every single time I work with a client and tap with them, I benefit with my own issues!

My theory is that there is great power in tapping with a group of people. Energy is moving, even when you are not at all focused on yourself. What a great feeling it is to tap for another person, and realize that your own problems seem to fall away effortlessly!