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What Is EFT Tapping?
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques. You might also hear it called “tapping.” In plain terms: it’s a research-backed practice of gently tapping on nine specific points on your body — your face, hands, and chest — while voicing what you’re carrying emotionally. The result is a measurable calming of the nervous system. One hour of tapping cut cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, by 43%, more than double the drop from an hour of talk-based education (Stapleton et al., 2020). Reviews that pool many trials have found tapping’s effects to be moderate to large, including for anxiety and depression (Church et al., 2022). In a randomized trial with veterans, 90% no longer met the clinical criteria for PTSD after six coached tapping sessions alongside their regular care, compared with 4% of those on a waiting list who continued their regular care. Among everyone who went through the tapping sessions, 86% were still free of PTSD criteria three months later, and 80% at six months (Church et al., 2013). Tapping in Faith is a practice alongside faith and good care, not a replacement for either. If you’re living with trauma or a health condition, keep working with your doctor or counselor. See our Science page for the full research picture, including what’s still debated.
We didn’t invent it. And we’ve grounded it entirely in Scripture, prayer, and the lordship of Jesus Christ.
A brief, honest history
EFT was developed in the 1990s by Gary Craig, building on earlier work by psychologist Roger Callahan. It combines two things with independent clinical support: cognitive exposure (naming and voicing a distressing thought or emotion) and acupressure (physical stimulation of specific points on the body). Early brain-scan research used MRI to watch tapping change activity in the brain’s craving and emotion centers.
Gary Craig himself was an ordained minister. He always believed there was a spiritual layer to the work. We agree — we’ve just built that layer explicitly in Christ.
The technique was later studied and refined by researchers including Dawson Church, PhD, whose work produced many of the peer-reviewed studies you’ll read about on our Science page. Clinical EFT is now practiced by licensed therapists. Listed by the VA among therapies considered generally safe for veterans. (2017).
We don’t use the original “energy meridian” framing. We don’t need to. The neurological mechanism is sufficient — and more theologically defensible.
The nine points — and what we know about them
Each point sits over an area rich in nerve endings and acupressure points that, when stimulated, produce measurable calming effects in the nervous system. You tap gently with two or three fingers, five to seven times per point, while your guide leads you.
Used during the setup statement. We begin here.
Inner edge, where the brow begins
On the bone at the outer corner
On the bone directly below the pupil
The small space between nose and upper lip
In the crease between lower lip and chin
Just below the collarbone, beside the sternum
About four inches below the armpit
Crown, tapping gently with all fingers
In our sessions, your guide walks you through each point. You never have to remember the sequence — just follow along.
How a session actually works
Name it and rate it (the setup)
Before tapping, you name what you’re feeling and rate its intensity from 0 to 10. This gives you something to measure. Then, on the side of your hand, you begin the setup statement.
In secular EFT, the standard setup is: “Even though I have this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
At Tapping in Faith, we don’t use that statement. We use this:
- “Even though I carry this anxiety… I trust that God is with me.”
- “Even though I feel this fear… I am deeply and completely loved by God in Christ.”
- “Even though I can’t let go… I cast this on Jesus, who cares for me.”
The locus of acceptance shifts from self to Savior. That’s not a minor edit. That’s the whole difference.
Tap through the points
Your guide leads you through each point while you voice honest, specific statements about what you’re feeling. Not denial. Not “positive thinking.” Honest acknowledgment before God — which is half of what the Psalms are.
Receive and re-rate
At the end, you rate your intensity again. Most people find it drops — sometimes dramatically, sometimes gently. We close with Scripture, a breath prayer, or a moment of stillness. The session ends where it was always heading: in His presence.
Do you have to believe in it for it to work?
No. The nervous system responds to what happens in the body — it doesn’t require your theological endorsement.
That said — doing this in Christ’s name, with Scripture as your anchor, with surrender as your posture, is a different experience than doing it as stress management. One is a technique. The other is prayer.
We build our sessions as prayer. But the body will calm either way.
Preview a session.
Tap along — no account needed.
Cast Your Anxiety on Him
Guided by Matthew
Common questions
Is EFT the same as acupuncture?
No. Acupuncture uses needles at specific points; EFT uses fingertip tapping. They share some of the same acupressure points and similar neurological effects, but EFT requires no practitioner, no needles, and no equipment beyond your own hands.
Does it really work?
There are more than 300 published studies of tapping, including nearly 100 randomized controlled trials, covering anxiety, PTSD, depression, chronic pain, and more.
Is it safe?
Yes, for the vast majority of people. EFT is gentle and self-administered. For severe trauma or active mental-health crises, work with a licensed therapist alongside using this app.
How long until I feel something?
Many people feel a shift within the first session — a loosening, a calming, a moment where the breath comes easier. Deeper patterns often take more time. We recommend trying five sessions before drawing any conclusions.
Can I tap on myself, or do I need a practitioner?
You can absolutely tap on yourself — that's exactly what Tapping in Faith guides you to do. Our guided sessions are designed for self-use.
For the deeper theological questions, see our Faith & Tapping page →