Extract from “Clinical EFT Handbook: A Definitive Resource for Practitioners, Scholars, Clinicians & Researchers: 1” by Dawson Church
Abstract
Many of the standard EFT protocols, such as the Movie Technique or Chasing the Pain, have a fairly straightforward procedure that can be followed to get a defined outcome (such as freedom from a specific trauma or a physical pain). When working with core issues, however, EFT becomes more like an art that develops with experience and often involves persistence, patience, and detective-like skills. Working with core issues can also reap great dividends for your clients. Sometimes a core issue blocks achieving success with a more superficial issue in EFT and so there is a great opportunity to address something deeper and more foundational. It is as though there is something in that moment that is saying, “Now is the time to tackle something really important!” We all experience themes in our lives that replay over and over. These represent what are known as our core issues: fundamental patterns we run that cause continual disappointment, frustration, emotional pain, and self esteem issues, for which we compensate in avoidance and self-defeating behavior patterns. Examples are themes of success and failure, abandonment and aloneness, never feeling good enough, betrayal, chronic illness, feeling a fraud, addictions, and the feeling of always being knocked down every time you get going. Examples of core beliefs that could support the previous are: “I am not good enough,” “Life is a struggle,” “I am a failure,” “I am bad,” or “No one is here for me.” Working with core issues is one of the most powerful ways to use EFT, and the most potentially transformational. This chapter discusses ways to find and treat core issues. Asking the right questions to discover important early events or experiences, thereby tracking down the birth of core issues, is key to success.
The Creation of Core Issues
Core issues tend to come into realization in the life of an individual in the early years (usually pre 7 years old) when the child is absorbing information like a sponge and interpreting life events from a limited context. Within this context, even small upsetting events can lead to the formation of foundational beliefs about life, which become generalized and affect large sections of the child’s worldview. The effect is a form of disempowerment or limited version of reality. As an example, if an adult experiences his mother leaving the room and not coming back for an hour, there is (usually!) no disempowering interpretation. If a 6 month-old baby experiences the same thing, the unconscious effect of the experience could be the creation of such beliefs as “I am not important,” “I can’t trust those close to me for my survival,” “I am alone in the world,” or one of many other possibilities. Once created, these beliefs remain intact, influencing behaviour, coloring outlook, and triggering negative emotional states in specific correlating situations even when the original experience has long been forgotten.
In my work with clients, I find that core issues also often develop at or before birth, with particular focal areas being around conception, at key points during the time in the womb (based usually on what was happening in the life of the parents), and during the birth process. Many clients find themselves going back to traumatic past lives. It is not up to practitioners to judge whether or not such a concept exists, but rather to treat what the client reveals like any other experience. I have had much success with individuals treating their experience of past lives.
There are also many cases in which clients appear to inherit foundational life perspectives from parents and other important authority figures in their early years. I find that these are crystalized in the lives of individuals through key personal experiences. Although those events are good ones to work with, I find it particularly powerful for my client to represent his or her mother, for example, and we do an EFT treatment as if I am treating the mother. This appears to have the effect of releasing inherited issues and beliefs, although there may still be some clearing needed on specific relevant events in the life of the individual.
Core issues tend to take the form of beliefs, but they are deeply rooted and usually feel true to the core, even if only within a specific context or even if to the conscious mind they appear ludicrous. Sometimes a core issue can feel like an identity, as in “I am [intrinsically] unlovable.” Ultimately, core issues are at the foundation of most of our negative reactions and behavior. For example, a core issue of fear of abandonment might cause clinginess in a relationship and generate fear when a partner is “out with his mates” for too long.
Examples of Core Issues:
Core issues can take many forms. Here are some common examples:
- Life is a struggle.
- Life doesn’t support me.
- Life is against me.
- Life has let me down.
- I am alone.
- I am bad.
- I am a failure.
- I am unwanted.
- I have been abandoned (and therefore could be again).
- I am a fraud.
- I am unsafe.
- I am unloved/unlovable.
- I am unlucky.
- I am cursed.
- I can’t have what I want.
- I am responsible for others (and therefore there is no time for me).
- I am special (as in “diva” special!).
- Men/women are not to be trusted.
Summary of Steps to Finding and Treating Core Issues
The following are the key steps for working with core issues in an EFT session (this is a practitioner-client session; self-treatments are possible but can be very hard to administer).
Note that in the example below we make use of the VOC 0-10 scale. This stands for Validity of Cognition and refers to the degree to which something feels true. 0 means it doesn’t feel true at all and 10 means it feels completely true. It is most often used in the context of beliefs. In our case we use it to check the degree to which our client believes a core issue statement as you will see in steps 5 and 6.
- Identify the gateway issue. Identify the presenting issue/challenge to be treated using EFT and, if it is appropriate, work deeply with this.
2. Deepen into the problem. Ask your client to focus on the problem, and report on the feelings, emotions, and body sensations that it brings up in the body.
3. Ask key questions to find a core event. Ask questions to help guide your client back in time to a core event or experience that contains those same feelings.
4. Treat the event while identifying core issues. Use EFT to treat all the emotional layers and aspects from that contributory event/experience and, during the process, become aware of the core issue(s) created or confirmed. The next step will intersect with this step.
5. Identify and treat core issues, beliefs, and other disempowering structures created. Find and release beliefs, vows, decisions, and new “characters” or personalities developed as a result of the event/experience.
6. Test the VOC level (Validity of Cognition) of the core issue. Do not skip this step. If some truth remains, continue with the next step.
7. Treat other similar events. Identify other events that follow a similar theme, and treat these as per the previous two steps.
Working with Core Issues: The Steps in Detail
As we go into detail with each of these steps, let’s use an example client, who we will call Marilyn. In the notes that follow, “P” represents the practitioner and “M” Marilyn. The statement “I deeply…” is short for “I deeply and completely love and accept myself” or whatever you may be using that is appropriate. “Tap, tap, tap” implies a round or more of EFT tapping treatment using basic EFT tapping. This example is typical of a real session. It is important to read through all the steps in advance before actually guiding a client through the process, as things often don’t happen in a sequential order.
Preparation
Suppose that Marilyn comes for a consultation, arriving stressed and wanting to share many things that are bothering her. In this state of being, it is going to be difficult to get clarity on how we are to make a start, much less deepening into a core issue. We need to do some initial EFT to help her feel calm right now.
P: How are you feeling generally, Marilyn?
M: Stressed and overwhelmed.
P: Let’s do some general tapping on this: Even though I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I deeply… Tap, tap, tap.
P: How do you feel now?
M: Much better. I feel calm and centered.
Step 1: Identify the Gateway Issue
Now that Marilyn is in a calm space, we are able to find a starting point. When we have an initial problem to work with, there are two ways we can work. One way is to treat just the presenting issue and the other way is to identify and treat a foundational core issue. As this chapter is about core issues, that is the way we will proceed. It may be, however, that your client will not wish to work in this way, particularly if this is her first experience of EFT, or she is not feeling safe, or if she just came to treat a fear of spiders and has no interest in working with an existential trauma issue from her time in the womb! You need to decide your approach on a case-by-case basis, but explaining in advance a little about the benefits of working with core issues can help clients feel it is worthwhile to explore deeper territory.
P: Great, now tell me, what is your biggest issue or challenge right now, or what you would like to work on?
M: I am really worried about my daughter. She is out a lot with the wrong friends and I am concerned she is going to get into trouble and make a mess of her life.
Step 2: Deepen into the Problem
For the best chances of finding key core experiences quickly and effectively, it is important to help the client become aware of the feelings (e.g., dragging feeling, feeling pushed, heaviness), emotions, and body sensations (e.g. head tension, achy hips) that arise when the client focuses on the problem. Each one of these sensory elements is a window into the subconscious mind, providing a clue about a specific past memory or sense of something that is related. For example, pressure on the shoulder could go back to being led out of the room in disgrace by an angry teacher or it could represent the burden of responsibility a young boy may feel if his father suddenly leaves home.
P: Please bring your attention deeply into your body. When you think about your daughter getting in with the wrong friends and making a mess of her life, what feelings, emotions, and body sensations are you aware of?
M: I feel a shortness of breath, heaviness in my chest, and I feel like a dark cloud is enveloping me. I feel like something is holding me down and I can’t get up.
P: What else are you feeling?
M: I feel ashamed and powerless and like I can never hold my head high again.
Step 3: Ask Key Questions to Find a Key Event
Probing questions and detective work are important here, but there are some simple questions that are consistently effective (list to follow).
P: What would happen if you did hold your head high after that point in time?
M: I would be cut down or rejected.
P: Marilyn, when was the first time in your life you remember feeling shortness of breath, heaviness in your chest, like a dark cloud is enveloping you, feeling held down and powerless, and maybe this came about because you held your head high? (This is a key question to ask.)
M: I was in school, around age 6. I answered a question in class and I was feeling good about myself. Then afterward in the playground these bullies in my class surrounded me and jumped on me and said I was teacher’s pet and a swot [geek or nerd] and that I wasn’t cool.
So we now have an important event to work with. Before continuing, however, let’s look at some other effective questions you could ask to help your client get back to a core event:
- What do these feelings [list feelings] remind you of?
- When was the first time you remember feeling this way?
- What person or event would you like to have missed? Although this is a general question, the subconscious mind will often find something that is directly relevant to the context of the current feelings.
- What event do you never want to remember?
- [If nothing comes to mind] If you were to make up a past event that could have given rise to these feelings, what would you invent? Feel free to use your imagination.
The following questions can elicit greater clarity about the event once there is at least a general sense. Allow some spaciousness and time with each of these:
- What age do you appear to be?
- Who is around you? Are you alone?
- Are you inside or outside? Upstairs or downstairs? What’s the weather like?
- What else are you feeling?
- What else are you aware of?
- What do you need to do?
- What can’t you do?
What happens if, despite asking questions, no event comes to mind? In this case, do some tapping on the feelings, emotions, and body sensations that are present. This will allow a further deepening into relevant material and the arising of new feelings and awareness that could be a closer match to relevant events from the past. You can then again ask the list of questions. I suggest you try this before asking your client to invent a matching event.
What if an event comes to mind, but it is quite recent? Ideally, you are looking for an upsetting event from early childhood, so you could ask if there is an earlier event. If none comes to mind, you can start with the one you do have, start to treat it, and then ask after some time if there is an earlier instance of this same theme.
Step 4: Treat the Event while Identifying Core Issues
The event can now be treated with EFT, using any of the standard trauma protocols: Tell the Story Technique, Watch the Movie Technique (see chapter 27), or Tearless Trauma Technique (see chapter 22), depending on the severity of the trauma. The latter two protocols allow the charge to be cleared from severely traumatic events, with little or no emotional pain. Another way is to ask, “What is the worst thing about what happened?” while tapping away the resulting emotions and feelings, then asking the question repeatedly, tapping away the emotional content between each time.
Telling the Story is important to achieve completion, as it can reveal much more detail about the ongoing effect of this event on the client. This is what we are going to need to bring awareness to and treat the client’s behavior patterns and beliefs, which since the originating event have formed the client’s reality, usually up until the present moment in time.
As the treatment progresses, we are interested in the conclusions drawn by the client (beliefs created and decisions made) as a result of the experience, and which usually represent core issues that we need to treat. These are important structures that affect how the clients see the world and how they behave and react in the world. Although it is written as another step after this one, this information could arise while the charge is cleared from the event. Thus it is as well to keep an eye out for it and jot it down for clearing later.
P: Marilyn, I’d like to work with you to gently release all the upset from this experience. Is that okay with you, and is it something you think you could easily tell me about? If not, that is completely fine.
M: It’s a bit upsetting now I am thinking about it, but I can tell you what happened.
P: Okay, we’re going to use the Movie Technique, which makes things much gentler for you. If this event were a movie, what would its title be?
M: “The End of Marilyn the Swot.”
P: Even though I have this “End of Marylyn the Swot” movie, I deeply… Tap, tap, tap.
See the Movie Technique chapter for details of this technique, and make sure you end up by using the Telling the Story Technique to clear all the charge on every element of the event until it feels peaceful, light, and clear.
Step 5: Identify and Treat Core Issues, Beliefs, and Other Disempowering Structures Created
This is probably the most important step, as it involves identifying the mental structures that are limiting your client the most. You ask questions to bring these to the surface, but usually some are revealed during the previous step when you are clearing the charge on the event. If you spot one, you can highlight it to your client and see if it feels true. For example, your client may be saying, “I don’t feel safe.” You can ask questions to determine the scope of this, for example, whether one core issue is that the world isn’t safe, that is, that the feeling of lack of safety in that specific incident was generalized.
When you are asking questions, make it clear that the question is to be answered not from your client’s present-moment awareness but from the time the event happened.
As there can be different sections to the story of the event, you may need to break it down and ask questions after emotional peak points, as each section will reveal new structures (beliefs, decisions, etc.) created. As the structures arise, write them down to treat later.
P: What beliefs about life or God or the universe did you create from the event?
M: Confusion about whether I should be a good girl and try hard to do well like my parents encouraged me to do or if I should give up doing well and be cool and part of the gang, as no one likes clever people.
P: So what beliefs came out of that confusion?
M: That if I am a swot or try hard, I will be alone and not be part of the group. In order to have friends, I need to stop being too clever.
P: So what was the effect on you of carrying those beliefs from that point on?
M: Not knowing how hard to try. Actually just getting by to keep my parents believing I was doing well, but all the time making sure I never stood out.
P: So that was the decision you made, to just “get by”?
M: Yes.
P: So just for clarity, what core belief about life did you create that has always affected you since then?
M: That life doesn’t like smartasses and will reject them, making them feel alone and isolated.
P: What do you think the effect of that belief was on you as you moved forward in your life?
M: To always hold back from being the best I can. Actually, as soon as I try to learn something, I find it such a struggle—like part of me is rebelling. This explains a lot.
P: Marilyn, I want to check something with you. Please say the following and tell me if you resonate with it: I have to be small to avoid being rejected by Life or people.
M: Yes, I definitely resonate with this.
P: [Asking for a VOC level] How true does that statement feel to you on a 0 to 10 scale?
M: For both Life and people they both feel about an 8/10.
Core Issue: I have to be small to avoid being rejected by Life/people.
What happened is that Marilyn made the decision to hold back her potential because of a fear of being alone and ousted from her peer group. It is possible she had had earlier upsetting experiences of being rejected or alone or isolated, possibly even for the same or similar reason of standing out or expressing herself authentically.
P: Marilyn, [checking the VOC on a potential core issue that comes into the mind of the practitioner] also please say the following and tell me if you resonate with it: I am alone in this world.
M: Yes, that’s true. That feels so painful. (Tears come to her eyes.) With this reaction it is clear that the VOC on this belief must be a 10 or close to it!
Core Issue: I am alone.
This confirms that there is something around this that is an important issue for Marilyn. Another piece of work after this would be to find and treat events that resulted in this feeling of aloneness.
P: What was the effect on you over the course of your life of the decision to be small to avoid being rejected?
M: It has affected me so much I can’t even imagine. Without it I would have achieved so much. I have been so stressed throughout my life. I now realize that I was never able to be myself and had to double-check everything I did to make sure it was never too good. I didn’t realize how much I was holding myself back. Now thinking back I feel really angry with those bullies for destroying all my future potential—I’m getting angrier by the minute! I’m also angry with myself for letting them do that to me. And also, why didn’t I talk to my parents about it?
P: Even though I feel so angry with the bullies for destroying my future, I deeply… Tap, tap, tap.
P: Even though I am angry with myself…letting that happen… Tap, tap, tap.
P: Even though I didn’t talk to my parents… Tap, tap, tap.
P: How are you feeling?
M: Much better.
It’s also good for clients to be aware of the positive effect that a so-called negative experience had on them.
P: Looking over the course of your life, what did you gain out of having such an experience?
M: Nothing!
P: Okay, let’s put it another way. In which way did you become stronger or be motivated to make things better for yourself or others?
M: Funny you should say that. Actually, I am really good at motivating children to achieve their potential. I go round to schools and help the kids enjoy learning. I have got a good reputation. People send me their kids! I love what I do! And I now realize why I was very scared that my daughter is getting in with the wrong crowd. I was scared she would be led by them, and end up losing the chance to make the best of herself, which is what I did. But I can also feel her aloneness, so I can understand why she is doing what she is doing.
P: Yes, we still have some more clearing to do on these elements.
P: Even though I have to be small to avoid being rejected by life, I deeply… Tap, tap, tap.
P: How do you feel now?
M: That feels completely untrue now. In fact, you are more likely to be rejected by life by being small and insignificant. It is about allowing yourself to be yourself.
All the new elements that arise after this would be treated in the same way, including other structures that this example hasn’t highlighted. The following questions can help bring these to light so they can be treated directly with EFT. Some of these may require a complete session, as there could be other important events that were the source of their creation:
- What beliefs about life/God/the universe did you create?
- What beliefs about Self did you create?
- What decisions did you make?
- What vows (if any) did you make?
- What character did you have to become in order to deal with and survive the situation in which you found yourself from that point on? (Example: I had to be an ordinary human being who just got by intellectually.)
- What behaviors did you adopt in order to keep yourself safe in the future? (Example: I had to be just mediocre in order to avoid rejection.)
More questions are asked and more answers are given and EFT is used to treat the elements revealed.
What happens if another event comes to mind while treating the original event? If the new event is earlier in time and represents the same theme, I would suggest shifting to that earlier event, as it is likely to be more foundational. You can ask the client if that event feels more foundational and if it feels right to move to it. The client will usually know what to do. Regardless, return to the unprocessed event later to test it (see next step).
Step 6: Test the VOC Level of the Core Issue
Once again we use the VOC (Validity of Cognition) 0-10 scale to check how your client is doing from the perspective of the core issues revealed and the original presenting issue. It is good to mentally try out challenging scenarios to confirm whether the clearing is complete. The past self who was going through the event needs to be checked as well as the present-day self.
P: Marilyn, from the perspective of the You who was going through the event, how true is the following belief to her, on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most true? I have to be small in order to avoid being rejected.
M: It doesn’t feel true at all for her. I can see her throwing a glass of water over the bullies now and going inside to study!
P: And from your perspective?
M: I do get a slight sense of that, but it definitely feels clearer and I can feel myself wanting to challenge myself more now. That feels quite exciting.
P: There is probably another experience we need to visit to completely release that. Actually, although that would be the deepest way to work, it may not be necessary to reach a cleared state on that belief. You could just tap directly on the belief and potentially clear it completely. The disadvantage is that the belief or feeling could potentially come back in the future in a context that unconsciously reminds the client of the untreated past event. But this may never happen.
P: Let’s try tapping on that directly. Even though I have to be small to avoid rejection, I deeply… Tap, tap, tap.
P: How true does that feel now?
M: Completely untrue. I feel like I’ve shed a layer of suppression and I can’t wait to get out there and study everything I’ve been putting off learning!
P: The feeling “I am alone”—how does that feel to you and the earlier you?
M: Yes, that is still there. Not quite as strong.
P: Would you like to schedule a session to work on that core issue?
M: Yes, please.
P: And how do you feel about the original issue about your daughter mixing with the wrong friends at school? When you think about that, how do you feel in your body?
M: All those negative feelings are gone. I do have some concern and I think it is something to do with her feeling alone like I did. I now understand why I felt so worried. I’m motivated to tell her my story and make sure she feels heard and understood by me, as I wasn’t able to tell my parents about it. Maybe I can do some EFT on her!
P: That would be a great idea if she is willing!
P: I want to check something with you. Imagine you are in an evening class and you have done the best in the class at the exam and everyone is looking at you with nasty angry expressions on their faces. How do you feel?
M: That that is their issue! I feel great that I have studied hard and have reaped the benefits. And even as I say that, I can see they are now looking at me with admiration—their expressions were mock anger, like they were pretending to be jealous when in fact they were delighted for me.
P: So how are you left feeling?
M: I feel great, such a worry lifted. Thank you. Let’s schedule the next session to work on the aloneness/rejection issue that came up.
P: Yes, let’s do that.
Step 7: Treat Other Similar Events
In order for the client to feel completely clear on the core issue, it may be necessary to treat other events in which the theme of the core issue is highlighted. As each event is treated, the now-moment level of reality or truth of the core issue will continue to reduce. It isn’t usually necessary to treat all events that have the core issue theme. At a certain point, your client won’t be able to attribute any truth or reality to the core issue and you know you are complete. It is good, however, to try out future scenarios that stand the greatest chance of
retriggering the beliefs and feelings, as I did by asking Marilyn how she would feel with classmates after getting the best score on an exam.
If the core issue hasn’t completely gone, go through the whole protocol again, but this time use the core issue itself as the gateway issue (focusing on the core issue and becoming aware of all the feelings, sensations, and emotions) to find other contributory events. As many core issues could arise from a specific past event, this could need a series of sessions.
Summary
Finding and treating core issues is rewarding work. Any good practitioner and willing client should be using these techniques to effect profound, foundational shifts in behavior, outlook, and even what clients perceive as their identity or personality. Working in this way dramatically increases the likelihood of a more permanent solution to the client’s specific life themes. Though more involved than using EFT in its more superficial form, it is a highly efficient way to work. Using EFT to help find and treat core issues is one of its most transformational applications and is when its true power can be harnessed, with deep results for your client.
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