In this interview, MysticMag sits down with Helena Fone, the founder of the EFT & Mindfulness Centre, to explore the origins of this pioneering organization. Helena shares the story behind the Centre’s establishment and its mission to bring structured, high-quality training in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to a global audience. Continue reading to learn more.
What is the story behind EFT & Mindfulness Centre and how was it founded?
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a tapping technique that works by stimulating energetic nerve endings on specific points on the face and upper body whilst focusing on something distressing. This can bring about relief from stress, anxiety, pain, phobias, and much more. It is a very powerful technique that often works very quickly. It can be self-applied for simple issues or administered by a professional EFT Practitioner for more difficult or complex issues. Around 2006-7 I was seeking to train in EFT to incorporate it into my psychotherapy practice and realised there was no formal or generic training or certification process in place anywhere.
It was all very haphazard and when I suggested to my peers that this was needed in order to safeguard professionals and members of the public using it with impunity, I was nominated by them to bring cohesion and uniformity to training. Using my own website (EFT Register) I set up the first EFT Association worldwide and was elected Chair. I wrote the courses/assessment/certification processes and set up a research team etc. During this period I also wrote the book EFT for Dummies translated into several languages. It is a great way to learn about EFT and how it can be used in different settings.
As a psychotherapist and meditator of 40 years, I had studied Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and later heard about a new Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (a programme created by Zindel Segal and Mark Williams and based loosely on MBSR). I loved MBCT and recognised how powerful this would be for those especially who struggled with anxiety and depression. I attended several different courses to become a Trainer of MBCT to adults and children but again there was no simple training pathway so I began structuring a professional training programme for MBCT as I had done for EFT. I wanted to offer courses that were affordable, interactive, and supervised. Over the years, other MBCT training schools have emerged.
As a result of offering MBCT, I decided to rename my website to the EFT and Mindfulness Centre. We are a not-for-profit organisation whose values are honesty, integrity, professionalism, and openness.
We have trained and accredited mental health professionals, medical practitioners, lay people, teachers, pupils, celebrities, complementary therapists, and more from all around the world.
What’s the science behind EFT and what benefits does it offer?
The wide variety of institutions, peer-reviewed journals, investigators, and settings that have found EFT to be efficacious in independent research, are one indication of the breadth of existing research results. In the UK, the National Institute of Clinical Evidence (NICE) were impressed enough to recommend further research into the effectiveness of EFT comparing it to EMDR for post-traumatic stress. EFT appears in The Cochrane Review which is regarded as gold-standard research evidence. It is an independent body that publishes systematic reviews of evidence. More research can be found on the EFT and Mindfulness Centre website.
The benefits of using EFT on adults and children are too numerous to mention and include removing or drastically reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, physical pain, negative beliefs, cravings and addictions, phobias, insomnia, and much more.
How is your training structured and what accreditation do you offer? Can a person be accredited if they haven’t trained with the Centre?
EFT is not regulated in any country so anyone can set themselves up as an EFT Practitioner or Trainer. Using the word ‘therapist’ without being certified can be regarded as unlawful in some countries. The EFT and Mindfulness Centre has tirelessly worked to have EFT regulated without success so the only thing we can do is to make sure that people are trained to the highest standards. Anyone can attend a Foundation course but to attend an Intermediate course and become accredited requires other criteria. To become certified and accredited they have to submit case studies, pass an online test, and meet with their Trainer. They will shortly be required to attend a Trauma Informed Practitioner Course. In order to maintain accreditation, Practitioners, and Trainers must gather a minimum of 6 hours of supervision a year and 30 hours of evidence of Continuous Professional Development which is annually verified. They must also be insured and agree to follow Codes of Conduct.
Accreditation bodies are springing up everywhere who claim to offer accreditation in EFT but almost all of them have no knowledge of EFT or what constitutes safe practice which is very worrying.
We are often asked why we allow lay people to train as Practitioners instead of restricting it to mental health professionals only and we always say that we would rather non-professionals trained with us so we can keep them under observation than be trained elsewhere without observation. It is not surprising though that many ‘lay people’ have become amazing EFT Practitioners and sometimes better Practitioners than a trained mental health professional.
What is MBCT and how does it work?
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy is a therapeutic programme created by Zindel Segal and Mark Williams and based loosely on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme. It is distinct from mindfulness as it integrates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Practicing mindfulness meditation either formally (setting aside the time to sit or lie and practice focusing on the breath or informally (focusing on one thing rather than many) helps you observe and identify your feelings. On the other hand, cognitive therapy teaches you to interrupt automatic thought processes and work through feelings in a healthy way.
When you practice mindful meditation one of the benefits is calming down an area of the brain called the amygdala – responsible for hyper-arousal. By calming down this area, it allows you to choose a considered response rather than an impulsive reaction. It helps to maintain balance in the mind and body. The MBCT is proven to significantly decrease stress, worry, depression, and anxiety as well as being more effective than anti-depressants in preventing the relapse of depression.
To learn more about ‘s work, you can visit www.eftandmindfulness.com
