Helping children make sense of big feelings.
Children can experience anxiety, frustration, sadness, fear and overwhelm just as adults do — but they don’t always have the words to explain what is happening inside.
EFT Tapping can be adapted into a simple, age-appropriate technique that gives children another way to acknowledge and work with difficult emotions.
Sometimes “I don’t know” really means “I don’t know how to say it.”
A child may not be able to explain why they suddenly don’t want to go to school.
They may not understand why a friendship problem feels enormous.
They may complain of feeling frightened, angry or worried but struggle to identify what is underneath.
Children are also affected by changes within families, school pressure, bullying, confidence issues, separation, bereavement and simply the challenges of growing up.
Something simple they can actually do.
EFT uses gentle fingertip tapping on points around the face and upper body while acknowledging what the child is experiencing.
Sessions with children should not feel like an adult therapy session squeezed into a smaller chair.
We keep things appropriate to their age, personality and level of understanding.
Depending on the child, tapping can be incorporated with conversation, imagination, simple language and other creative ways of expressing feelings.
Reasons parents may consider EFT.
These may include:
- Worry and anxiety
- School-related stress
- Friendship difficulties
- Low confidence
- Fear of making mistakes
- Big emotional reactions
- Changes within the family
- Separation anxiety
- Fears and phobias
- Difficult experiences
- Bereavement or loss
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Trouble expressing emotions
Your child is not a problem to be solved.
Children sometimes begin to believe there is something wrong with them because adults are worried about their behaviour or emotions.
I prefer to approach things differently.
The aim is not to make a child more convenient or tell them they shouldn’t feel something.
It is to understand what they are experiencing and help them develop a safer, more manageable relationship with those feelings.
Working with families appropriately.
Parental or guardian involvement, consent and safeguarding are essential when working with children.
The way this is managed will depend on the age of the child, what support they need and what feels appropriate.
An initial conversation with the parent or guardian allows us to discuss what has been happening and whether EFT is suitable.
A skill that doesn’t belong only in the session.
Once children understand the basic tapping points, they can also learn simple ways to tap for themselves when feelings become difficult.
That might be before school, before a test, following an argument or whenever they need a few minutes to settle.
Support from wherever you happen to be.
All sessions are available online, which means we can work together wherever you live.
Do I need to have tried EFT before?
Do I have to talk about everything that has happened to me?
How many sessions will I need?
Can we work together if I live outside the UK?
Is EFT a replacement for medical treatment or psychotherapy?
Wondering whether tapping could support your child?
You are welcome to get in touch and tell me a little about what has been happening.
We can discuss your concerns and decide together whether EFT may be an appropriate option.
