By Sue Beer and Emma Roberts
Addictions and Substance Abuse:
A 5 Stage EFT Recovery program
Stage 1 – emergency measures
Stage 2 – down shit alley
Stage 3 – obstacles to peace and sensing our power
Stage 4 – taking action
Stage 5 – ‘fearless self acceptance’ and The Personal Peace Process
Each Stage uses the Logical Levels of Experience template
to assist client and practitioner in identifying aspects.
Here is a review of the levels and there will be examples of how to use
them later.
The neurological levels at which human experience is processed:
Spiritual/Greater System
Identity
Beliefs and Values
Capabilities and skills
Behaviour
Environment
Introduction
Working with addictions/substance abuse is a vastly complex area.
Using EFT in this area it is possible to minimise the time and pain
involved in treatment and get the client to take personal
responsibility far sooner than has previously been our experience. Our
work with clients in this area has evolved into a 5 stage program where
EFT is the treatment of choice, supported by the guiding structure of
the Logical Levels template. At Stage One, where an addiction may have
really taken hold, quitting may have become a matter of life or death,
and no movement towards true healing/recovery can begin until the
person has survived through this experience. EFT may be the lifeline at
this point, in a very practical sense, and will continue to be in new
and fascinating ways as the client evolves through the Stages
developing a conscious spiritual connection.
Overview of the 5 Stage EFT Recovery Program
At each Stage, a critical skill for the EFT Practitioner is to be
able to assist the client in uncovering new aspects, these will evolve
(may even seem to repeat at different stages of healing/recovery) – and
are essentially all forms of fear, blocking the experience of love,
some obvious and others in different guises. By using the Logical
Levels template at each of the 5 stages we have a guide for working
through this vast complexity. It is a framework within which the
skilful EFT Practitioner will find their intuition and inspiration is
powerfully free. The 5 Stages use EFT to move from problem or dis-ease
state through to increasing wholeness and health. The Program becomes
increasingly Self-directed, as it moves from working with the ‘problem
state’ through the process of change at mind, body and spiritual
levels. It seems to be useful to think about the state of Dis-ease - as
well as Health, having components at all these Levels – and this gives
the EFT Practitioner’s finely honed critical faculties the opportunity
to look at these Levels as if they are separate and
to work systematically with them. In truth, of course, they are in
relationship - like a hologram.
This 5 stage Program can be run alongside a traditional 12 step
program or it
can be used as a treatment model in its own right. It is suitable for
rehab centres, working with individuals, in groups, or you can use it
for working on your own. Anyone familiar with 12 steps will recognise
the connections and hopefully the compatability. The basic idea is
simple, at each Stage each individual will experience specific
challenges, the Logical Levels provides a convenient interface for the
complexity of human experience so we can identify the problem area/s
for that person, then use EFT to treat.
Stage 1
When an addiction has become critical the first thing is to deal
with the emergency, that is getting off the substance. In some cases
this may require hospitalisation or going in to rehab. Many rehabs
divide treatment into Primary and Secondary. Stage 1 equates to early
Primary level treatment.
EFT can provide a lifeline to the addict at this desperate point -
in more than one sense. By using it to deal with cravings, withdrawal
symptoms, raw primary emotions - possibly for the first time a person
may be taking personal responsibility and getting a
sense of their Inner (Higher) Power. Working with the Logical Levels is
not so important at this stage as the main thing is to put out the fire
(and then assess the damage.) At Stage One, whatever the substance or
behaviour involved, there will be key issues to address with EFT:
- Actual Physical/Emotional pain
- Extreme emotions eg terror, anger, fear, panic
- Psychological Reversal - can be all pervasive at this stage and
connected to negative thinking around:
Inner reservations to working the program
Fear of pain involved in ‘working on self’
Pain and grief of healing
- Fear of making a commitment (to change)
Using the Logical Levels
Its important to get all the aspects at each stage, but specificity
becomes increasingly necessary and more complex as the surface layers
of the addiction come away. Using the Logical Levels template is a
simple, elegant way to root out new aspects. It serves the dual purpose
of allowing you to use your intuition and as a guide to make sure you
have given your client access to all remaining aspects.
Any problem (or change) at any of these Levels impacts on all of
those below, so while someone at Stage 1 may have serious issues at the
environment level – very often losing homes, jobs, families as a
consequence of their addiction - which have to be addressed, any change
will not last if for example the person doesn’t believe he or she
deserves to have better (Belief – higher level), or is the kind of
person who is able to make positive changes (Identity and Capability –
higher levels).
Stage Two requires using the Logical levels template to identify
and enter into the ‘problem state’ just as it is now, with the client,
and to begin using EFT to realign from the inside.
Stage 2 – beginning the work
(corresponds to Step One of Twelve Steps)
Its important to begin right where the client is, with their
current experience
What does it look like, feel like, sound like (negative
self-talk) ??–
The client may be very preoccupied with the consequences of
behaviour, what has been lost – raw feelings, anger, rage, fear
As you work through the surface layers using EFT at Stage 2
typically there will be many issues at the behaviour and environment
levels, for example:
- Anxiety and fear stirred up, memories, feeling overwhelmed, guilt
- What happened?
- The need to release the past and old wounds without minimising
what happened
- Realising damage done to self?
- Realising what has been lost?
- Realising have been unable to take care of self?
What is important first will be preoccupying the person and will
present itself for healing first, but the ‘problem state’ will be
expressing itself at all the levels, in various forms of fear, and it
is important to start working on all the levels.
Examples of work with clients at Stage 2
Environmental Level–
Often there are many triggers for the addictive behaviour at the
environmental level (friends, work, family).
What are the external constraints the person has to live
within and react to?
What is he or she willing to change here?
Wherever possible include family members and teach them EFT
There will probably be a great deal of Psychological Reversal
around this Level at this stage, and you may need to begin by clearing
the primary reversals –
“Even if I never get over my (alcohol) problem, I deeply
and completely accept myself”
“Even though I don’t deserve..”
”Even though its not safe for me..”
“Even though I know I feel deprived…”
“Even though I’m afraid to let go of this problem..."
Behaviour Level–
There may be serious ongoing consequences as a result of addictive
behaviours which need to be dealt with eg broken relationships,
financial issues, police etc. However there will also be a great deal
of raw emotion about these issues which can be
released using EFT: fear, guilt, anger, hate.
Capabilities and Skills Level –
“I have spent all my life xing and I don’t know how to…write a
cv…have a relationship”
"I need to x for confidence "
Beliefs and Values Level –
“my life isn’t worth living without x”
“x is exciting, glamorous”
“I can’t stop xing”
“this won’t work for me”
“All creativity comes from x ing”
Identity Level–
“If I don’t x I don’t know who I am”
“All my friends x..I will be alone”
“No one will want to know me without x”
Spiritual/Greater system Level –
Very
often the client will have unconsciously shut down at this level,
although paradoxically there may also be a strong free floating sense
of fear of punishment, of being found out
“I am afraid (God) will punish me…for what I’ve done/who I am”
The key thing at Stage 2 is for the client to emerge with a spark of
optimism and a little willingness. One client summed this up perfectly
when he suddenly laughed out loud and then tapped:
“Even though everything is shit and its all my fault, I choose
to have hope!"
Stage 3
Overview of Stage 3
“Just having the willingness to give it a go - that is,
conceive of something outside myself…for me, using this (EFT)
IS Step Two.”
(a client’s words)
From a 12 Step perspective this Stage encompasses Step Two’s “Came
to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity”.
Just having the willingness to give EFT a go is vital here -
AND this is where fear can really kick in and seem to be all
pervasive. So it is important to be able to get a degree of objectivity
by differentiating fear through the Levels, then you can divide into
aspects where necessary and resolve with EFT. It is possible to
collapse an enormous amount of the negative charge of fear in this way
very quickly – and it is is critical to do so; before EFT many people
would have been overwhelmed by the feelings at this stage, back off
(use or drink again) and the whole cycle starts again.
Paradoxically, having succeeded this far EFT will have freed up
fear enough for the addict to look more closely at issues needing to be
addressed, so there can appears to be more fear but as the surface
layers have been peeled away there may also be glimpses or sparks of
optimism, tiny beginnings of a sense of personal power.
Getting Inside with EFT
The power of EFT is that real healing is going on from the inside
as you work systematically through the Stages.
By working through new layers of fear with EFT at each of the
Logical Levels real healing, not just treatment, is happening on the
inside and the person’s own system, by presenting the next thought ,
feeling, memory etc, will be the guide as to where healing is needed
next. While this may be complex, painstaking work there will also be
times when you get a spectacular Generalisation effect through
resolving a high Level fear - for example at the Spiritual or Identity
Level, and witness that in an instant all the rest below are changed as
a result.
Examples from work with clients using EFT Stage 3
Change
is possible. There is hope as well as a lot of conflicting feelings.
Different forms of fear will present themselves at at all Levels –
begin by 
tapping on the various fears and it will lead you deeper. The
following are typical examples from clients at this stage:
Environment
There may be a real sense of panic as a person
realizes that having moved forward, succeeded this far they cant go
back, the environment (metaphorical as well as literal) has shifted
I feel trapped
I don’t belong
I’ve lost everything
(Note: examples at Behaviour Level missed out here – BL becomes much
more important at Stage 4 where using EFT to change beliefs..leads to
behaviour change)
Capabilities
Having succeeded using EFT so far there may have been a dawning of
the idea that there is a power within connected
to/greater than ourselves. May be a scary thought, or produce false
sense of superiority.
I’m afraid of my own power/success
My mind is out of control/I can’t control my mind
Beliefs and values
7 Vows. The person may
be conflicted by internalized vows, living with a conscious or
unconscious conflict, supported by defiance, embarrassment. This
7 PR as a result of inner conflict
7 Family rules – secrets. Shame, guilt
I would rather die than leave my children
My mother/sister/partner will hate me if…
I deserve to enjoy myself/I can’t trust myself
I am bad
I am useless/I am special
Spiritual/Greater system
7 Doubt, hesitation, not worthy, fear that can open hearts and
minds to a ‘Power greater than ourselves’. Not safe to trust.
7 What other powers have you let you down ? – school, parents,
partners, God, therapists.
7 PR – anger, shame, guilt, embarrassment at ways have looked for
help in the past.
This won’t work for me
There isn’t a higher power for me
I am all alone and I always was
I am lonely
I am abandoned
Stage 4
(Step Three)
Taking Action
12 Steps work as long as a person can sense a true personal or
spiritual connection beyond themself – EFT provides a bridge, some may
say, a direct lifeline to that connection. The energy body may be one
and the same as our spiritual embodiment or system.
Stage 4 corresponds to Step Three where the decision and the
ability to take action is vital –
“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of
God as we understood him”
At this Stage actual behaviour changes are beginning to manifest in
reality as changes in beliefs at all Levels clear the way for a sense
of personal power to emerge – maybe for the first time the person
begins taking action, internally and externally. Now, since so much has
already been cleared it becomes much easier to get at at Core Issues
-by using questioning skills at all Levels– its as if they present
themselves for healing – then you simply divide into aspects where
needed, and apply EFT to each one.
Whenever the person has come to think of EFT connecting him or her
to Higher (Inner) Power (is in effect an interface for communication),
trust grows and lends power to the process of developing positive
choices and manifesting changes in external reality. Stage 4 uses EFT
for belief changes and installing empowering new beliefs at all levels,
but particularly at the Identity Level, where the sense of self expands
and change is now a possibility. There are some examples to follow.
(affirmation) tap on tail enders.
Also, learning strategies can now be put in place in those cases
where someone may have missed out on education, work experiences,
applying for jobs etc – although this is beyond the scope of this
article.
Stage 4 examples through the Levels
Spiritual
Tapping while saying the Serenity Prayer is very powerful.
Even though I still have fears I choose to know I am
protected/comforted
Even though I'm not sure I have a true spiritual connection
I choose to remember my strength/wisdom/courage
Identity
Memories, unresolved issues from the past may surface now
7 Issues of reparenting – EFT feelings as come up
7 Personal Peace Process with all those specific events
Choose a positive specific identity state affirmation:
Eg I am a reliable , loving mother
Use as affirmation and tap with tail enders
Capability
This is a key area now: lack of belief in self being capable in
these areas
7 Fear of making decisions
7 Fear of losing control
I don’t know how to live a normal life
Even though I can’t make decisions I choose to surprise
myself by deciding calmly and wisely
Even though I cant control myself…I choose to know I am
safe and dependable
Behaviour
Right now – old feelings may be surfacing. Also as
the person is beginning to see more clearly there may be intense
feelings about what has happened (sense of humiliation, stupidity).
I have wasted my life
EFT directly on feelings of overwhelmedness, buried pain/rage/shame
– taking the edge off and will lead deeper into the Core Issues.
Becoming aware of negative self-talk will lead you to global
beliefs -
I am no good
…not enough
…not good enough
…not lovable
…abandoned
I am a fraud
- and then skillful questioning will uncover the many specific
unresolved events in the past where catastrophic decisions and
judgments about the self were made, and now can be resolved with EFT.
It is also really important at this Stage to nurture the receptive
place within, the positive response to healing, and deal with any
conlict this creates – for most addicts this will be a strange new
experience and the feeling of being in a battle, of being pitched
against themselves and the world may be more familiar.
Even though it seems strange I choose to take care of
myself
Even though i feel sad about me I choose to allow all my
feelings
Even though I feel profound loss I deeply and completely
accept myself
Stage 5
(Steps Four to Twelve)
Stage 5 is the beginning of a lifetime practice, the beginning of
‘fearless self-acceptance’ as a way of life. This becomes possible as
love for the self grows and so does willingness to commit to a regular
practice.
This stage is where we can use EFT to become co-creator and make
choices about who we want to be, how we want to behave – a process of
becoming, or perhaps of remembering, who we really are?
Logical Levels Process at Stage 5 – belief/life changes
This process is developed from from Don Blackerby’s work with EFT
and belief changes:
Choose a statement that expresses a new choice at the Identity
Level for how you want to be, or want to be more of..
eg I am kind and loving
First of all tap for all the tail-enders (yes buts) that come up
just by saying the affirmation out loud.
Then the aim is to integrate powerful change at the different
neurological levels by responding to each of these questions at each of
the Levels from the bottom to the top. Its important to access the
feelings, images, thoughts and sensations connected to the responses as
fully as possible, in all senses –TAPPING as each tail-ender (yes but,
objection, resistance, fear, need to answer ‘I don’t know’) comes up.
Environment Level - where, when and with whom are you kind and
loving?
Behaviour Level – What specific behaviours or actions show you are
kind and loving?
Capability Level – What mental states or abilities are you using
when you are kind and loving?
Beliefs/Values Level – What values and beliefs are you using use
when you are kind and loving?
Identity Level – What kind of person are you when you are kind and
loving?
Spiritual/Greater System Level – Who else does this serve, or what
greater mission or vision does it serve when you are kind and loving?
Ongoing daily practice
1. Personal Peace Process
Step Four of the Twelve Step Program –
“made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves”
– this equates to the first part of the Personal Peace Process
where you make a list of all the memories which still bother you in
some way. However, with EFT (and specifically the Personal Peace
Process) you work through the list, tapping on each specific past event
to release yourself from any remaining negative investment that you may
have had in it. This is truly what forgiveness is – releasing yourself,
it is yourself you set free by changing your mind about the past.
And so at Stage 5 you can create an extensive ‘moral inventory’ –
include all those negative memories as well as anything you ever said
thought or did ( or was ever said, thought or done to you) and which
still hurts, rankles or is unresolved in some way – follow the
guidelines for PPP - and apply EFT until there is no charge left.
2. Resentments and EFT at bed time
Resentments and addicts have a fatal attraction. It is really
important to deal with these every day and then the frequency and
intensity will start to drop off:
Do a lightning review of the day every night before sleeping and
then tap while focusing your mind on the highlights GOOD and bad. Often
hidden in our responses to the good things are feelings of not
deserving, fear, numbness etc.
Also, especially in the early days more intense feelings may begin
to surface simply as a result of more awareness and honest assessment.
Notice and tap for:
Guilt
Embarrassment
Self-loathing
Shame
Depression
Sadness
Loss
3. Tap while saying the Serenity Prayer every morning
GOD, grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Sue Beer and Emma Roberts
