You’ve found out about the incredible benefits and miracles you can create in your life through EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique, and now you’re ready to take things to the next level by working one on one with an EFT Practitioner. How do you find the practitioner who is right for you?

The following are eleven guidelines to help you make certain that you and the practitioner you are considering are a good match for each other.

1. Treat your search like an audition for the right candidate.

Some clients will bend over backwards trying to say what they think the practitioner wants to hear. This will not serve you. You should be ‘auditioning’ the practitioner as much as s/he is ‘auditioning’ you, so be yourself, and be sure to represent yourself openly and honestly. You’ll be doing both yourself and the practitioner a favor in the long run.

2. Be willing to consider multiple candidates.

Try not to fall into the trap of feeling like you absolutely must be a client of a certain practitioner in order to receive your healing. You’re in a much better position to find the best match if you are open to the possibility of working with the practitioner at the top of your list, but also trusting that Spirit will guide you to the person who is the best match for you at this time.

3. Consider personal recommendations.

Do you know someone who has had great results with her EFT practitioner? Will s/he recommend that practitioner to you? That practitioner may not be your final choice, but is a good person to consider. Also, that practitioner can be a baseline to help you to better understand the differences between various practitioners.

4. Is communication easy?

Can you communicate easily with the practitioner? Do you get a sense right away that s/he understands what you are saying and really hears you? Or do you find that you are saying things over and over but you’re still not sure that the practitioner truly understands you? Good communication with your practitioner is essential. No matter how great or famous a practitioner may be, if you can’t communicate easily your work will be an uphill struggle. Ideally, there should be a feeling of understanding and connection that goes beyond words.

5. Do you feel safe?

Feeling safe with the practitioner is non-negotiable. It is essential. If you don’t have a feeling of safety with the practitioner, trust your gut instinct and move on to the next practitioner on your list. Do not try to reason your doubts away.

6. Is there judgment from the practitioner?

Great practitioners know it’s all energy, and everything that comes up is coming up to be cleared. There should be no judgment from the practitioner on you, your history, your issues, or anything. Being human, of course, that’s easier said than done, and on rare occasion the practitioner may not be able to maintain her/his non-judgment. If the practitioner does have an emotional charge on your issue for whatever reason, then s/he has a responsibility to recommend you to another practitioner.

7. Does the practitioner practice EFT on herself/himself daily? And does s/he demonstrate a readiness to use it?

You want someone who is walking her walk, talking his talk, and using EFT on herself/himself on a daily basis. Most practitioners are living this lifestyle, but there is the occasional person who for whatever reason is reluctant to tap. It baffles me, when you have access to one of the greatest healing tools on planet earth, why would you leave it on the top shelf of a closet?! You want to be working with and learning from someone who is so well practiced that tapping is almost as natural to her as breathing.

8. Do you like what the EFT practitioner is creating in her/his own life?

This gets back to guideline 7 somewhat. You want a practitioner who not only uses EFT on herself/himself daily, but who is personally enjoying the fruits of her success with EFT. If you don’t like what the practitioner is creating in her/his own life, do not stick around, because you are likely to get similar results. Move on to the next person on your list.

9. Be clear about the results that you want from your sessions with an EFT practitioner.

When you are clear about what you want, you will have a much better discussion with your candidate, and s/he can give you more accurate information about what kinds of results you can expect through your sessions together. It’s also much easier to determine if you have a match. If you’re not a good match, you save your valuable time and the practitioner’s.

10. Will the practitioner hold you accountable for your own healing?

Ultimately your healing is your responsibility, and the practitioner is merely a facilitator to help you reach your goals more quickly. The practitioner should not be ‘healing’ you, just helping you with the tools to heal yourself. In addition, the practitioner should make it clear to you that EFT is not a substitute for medical or mental health care, and that you are responsible to seek out the care of those professionals when necessary.

11. What does your intuition say?

What does your intuition have to say about working with the practitioner? Our bodies have this wonderful inner knowing that can often guide us when we’re otherwise off course. When you’ve found the right practitioner for you, you’ll know it. Trust that intuition.

I hope you’ve found this article to be helpful and informative. For more information, please look for my other articles about EFT practitioners as well.

Here’s to Your Transformation!

Teresa Bolen Okamoto