Journal · EFT · What it is
EFT Tapping Points: The Sequence, Setup Statement and a Sample Script
Karate-chop point plus 8 sequence points, the “even though” setup statement, the 0-10 scale and a written-out 90-second round, taken from our EFT manual.
Valérie Fabre, Founder & Director, Harmonika Institute · September 13, 2026 · 9 min read
Key takeaways
- EFT uses 9 points. The karate-chop point on the edge of the hand for the setup, then 8 points in order: eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under arm, top of head. Some lineages add under the breast.
- The setup statement has a fixed shape. “Even though I have [this problem], I deeply and completely accept myself”, said 3 times while tapping the karate-chop point.
- You rate before and after on a 0-10 scale. A round takes about 90 seconds; 3 to 4 rounds usually bring a 7 or 8 down to 3 or below, which is where our manual says to stop and re-assess.
- Tap about 7 times per point with two fingertips. Firm enough to feel, never enough to hurt; either side of the body, or alternate.
- The most common beginner error is vagueness. “Even though I'm stressed” does little; “even though this knot in my stomach before the 9 a.m. call” does the work.
Two thousand four hundred people a month in the U.S. search “eft tapping points”, and most of the pages they land on show a face with dots and no instructions for what to say. The dots are the easy part. What makes a round work, or fail, is the sentence you say while tapping, the number you give your feeling before and after, and the order you keep. This article gives all three from the manual our EFT students work from, with a full round written out.
If you are new to the method altogether, what EFT tapping is and how it is used gives the background; this page is the technique itself.
What are the EFT tapping points, in order?
One setup point and eight sequence points, tapped top to bottom. The karate-chop point on the outer edge of the hand is used only during the setup statement. The sequence then starts at the inner eyebrow and works down the face, onto the collarbone, under the arm, and finishes at the crown. Our EFT manual describes the points as lying at the ends of the body's meridian lines, a framing from Chinese medicine that Gary Craig kept when he simplified Roger Callahan's Thought Field Therapy in the 1990s. Whether meridians are the mechanism is covered in our review of the evidence; the sequence is the same whatever you believe about it.
| # | Point | Where exactly | Manual's code | Role in the round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Karate chop | Outer edge of the hand, between the base of the little finger and the wrist | SI3 | Setup statement only, 3 repetitions |
| 1 | Eyebrow | Inner end of the eyebrow, just above the bridge of the nose | BL2 | First sequence point |
| 2 | Side of eye | On the bone at the outer corner of the eye | GB1 | Sequence |
| 3 | Under eye | On the bone under the eye, about 1 inch below the pupil | ST1 | Sequence |
| 4 | Under nose | Between the base of the nose and the upper lip | GV26 | Sequence |
| 5 | Chin | In the crease between the lower lip and the point of the chin | CV24 | Sequence |
| 6 | Collarbone | 1 inch below the U-shaped notch at the base of the throat, then 1 inch to the side | K27 | Sequence |
| 7 | Under arm | About 4 inches below the armpit, at bra-strap level | SP21 | Sequence |
| 8 | Top of head | Crown, where lines from the tops of the ears would cross | GV20 | Closes the round; some lineages add under-breast (LV14) before it |
The manual's tapping instructions are short: use the tips of the index and middle fingers, because two fingers cover the point more reliably; tap firmly but without hurting yourself; tap about seven times per point, a number the manual calls approximate; and since the points are bilateral, tap left, right or alternate.
What is the setup statement, and why “even though”?
The setup statement names the problem and pairs it with self-acceptance, in one sentence, said three times while tapping the karate-chop point. Our manual gives the template as: “Even though I have [this problem], I love and accept myself completely.” The two halves do different jobs. The first half keeps the feeling in focus so you are not tapping on nothing. The second half addresses what the manual, following Craig, calls psychological reversal: an unconscious resistance to getting better that the manual estimates affects roughly 40 percent of people on a given issue. The manual adds that you do not have to believe the sentence for it to do its job; you say it, out loud if you can, three times.
Making the statement specific
The manual is blunt about generic phrasing. Starting with “Even though I'm under pressure, I accept myself” has limited effect, it says, because the pressure is rooted in specific experiences. Its worked example: “Even though I feel a knot in my stomach and anxiety when I have to speak in meetings, and I'm afraid of being judged, I love and accept myself completely.” Note the three ingredients: a body sensation, a situation, an emotion. Our faculty ask students to clarify five things before writing a setup statement: the memory or scene, the body reaction, the main emotion, its 0-10 intensity, and the negative belief about yourself that comes with it.
From the training floor
The first setup statement a new student writes is almost always too big: “Even though I have anxiety”. Our EFT instructors send it back three times on average before it becomes “Even though my chest tightens when my phone shows my mother's name”. The intensity drops faster on the small sentence every time, and students stop resisting specificity by the second classroom day.
How do you use the 0-10 scale?
You ask one question before the first round and again after each round: on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no emotion and 10 is the strongest you can imagine, where are you now? That is the manual's wording, and the number (sometimes called SUD, subjective units of distress) is the only measurement EFT has. Write it down. A drop from 8 to 5 after one round is typical; a stall at 4 across two rounds means the sentence has stopped matching the feeling and needs to be more specific. Our second-level manual tells practitioners to run three or four rounds to bring intensity to a tolerable level, ideally between 0 and 3, and, if a client starts above 8, to run preliminary rounds on the body sensation alone before approaching the memory.
A sample round, written out
Here is one complete round for a common issue, using the manual's structure. Rate first. Say you are at 7.
- 1
Setup (karate chop, 3 times)
“Even though I have this knot in my stomach before tomorrow's 9 a.m. call, and I'm afraid they'll see I'm not ready, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
- 2
Eyebrow
“This knot in my stomach.”
- 3
Side of eye
“This 9 a.m. call.”
- 4
Under eye
“Afraid they'll see I'm not ready.”
- 5
Under nose
“This knot.”
- 6
Chin
“This fear of being seen.”
- 7
Collarbone
“This knot before the call.”
- 8
Under arm
“Not ready.”
- 9
Top of head
“This knot in my stomach.”
- 10
Breathe and re-rate
One slow breath. “Where is it now, 0 to 10?” If 4, run the round again with “this remaining knot”. If 3 or under, stop and notice what changed in the body.
The short phrases at each point are reminder phrases. Their only job is to keep attention on the issue; they can be identical at every point or vary. The manual lists “top of head” as optional in the basic recipe and required in later rounds where a positive alternative is introduced; it keeps the first rounds on the problem as stated, and warns that adding positive wording too early dilutes the work.
What mistakes do beginners make?
- Skipping the rating. Without a number before and after you cannot tell whether anything happened, and you will either stop too early or run rounds for twenty minutes on a feeling that left at minute three.
- Tapping on the problem's label instead of the feeling. “Stress” is a label. “Jaw clenched, 6 out of 10, when I open the inbox” is a feeling.
- Going positive on round one. The manual's image is a backpack full of stones: you cannot take them out without opening the bag and looking at them first.
- Chasing every new aspect at once. When a memory shifts from fear to anger mid-round, finish the fear to 3 or below, then start a new setup for the anger. Craig's forest metaphor in the manual: cut branches and nothing changes; pull out one tree at a time and a clearing opens.
- Tapping too hard or too fast. Seven light taps at roughly two per second.
- Stopping at the first drop. 8 to 5 feels like success. The manual's target is 0 to 3.
Self-tapping and facilitating a client: what changes?
The points and the statement are identical; the roles are not. When you tap on yourself you are both the person feeling and the person steering. When you facilitate, the client taps on their own body while you steer, and our manual is explicit that this is the protocol: involve the person by having them tap the points themselves, under your direction, because it builds their autonomy and teaches them to use the technique alone later. You mirror the points on your own face so they can copy you without thinking, you supply the reminder phrases in their words, and you ask for the number.
Three things the facilitator adds. Pacing: if the client's number rises above 8, drop back to the body sensation and slow down. Aspects: keep a written list of what surfaces so nothing is lost or forced. Referral: a memory that will not come below 5 after several sessions, or that involves abuse or self-harm, is not yours to work on alone. Our program's fourth module is trauma-informed pacing, including the “tearless trauma” technique, and its scope-of-practice rules are as much a part of the certificate as the points.
Scope of practice
Tapping is a self-regulation skill, and a certified EFT practitioner teaches and facilitates it. That is the whole claim. A non-licensed practitioner does not treat anxiety disorders, PTSD or phobias; those words describe conditions that only a licensed professional may address, and a client with one belongs with that professional, with tapping, at most, as something they choose to use alongside. Say “stress” and “a feeling”, ask about current care, and keep a referral list.
Does the order matter, and where does acupressure come in?
The order matters for one reason: memory. Top-to-bottom is easy to keep under stress, which is when you will use it. There is no evidence that the sequence does anything a different sequence would not, and at least one trial found tapping on sham points produced similar drops in reported distress. What the order gives you is a ritual you can complete in ninety seconds without a chart. Several of the same points, K27, GV26 and GV20 among them, appear in acupressure with pressure held rather than tapped; the 12 points acupressure practitioners learn first is the companion article. Both use fingers only.
If you would rather learn the sequence with someone correcting your hand position in the room, our in-person EFT program runs 6 classroom days (42 teaching hours), plus about 38 hours of personal study between sessions, for $1,800. The first module is the points and the basic recipe above; the rest is everything that happens once the number stops dropping.
What the evidence shows
Trials of EFT report drops in self-rated anxiety and distress, often large, in small samples with waitlist controls. The mechanism is unsettled: exposure, rhythmic touch and expectation each explain part of it, and the meridian account has no independent support. Useful as a self-regulation skill; no basis for claiming it treats a condition.
Questions on this topic.
How many times do you tap each point in EFT?+
About seven times per point, with the tips of the index and middle fingers, at roughly two taps a second. Our manual describes the seven as approximate: what matters is a steady rhythm and enough time to say the reminder phrase once. Tapping more does no harm and no extra good. Tap firmly enough to feel the contact but never enough to hurt.
Which side of the body do you tap on?+
Either. The EFT points are bilateral, so tapping the left eyebrow or the right gives the same result, and the manual says explicitly that you may tap left, right or alternate. Most people use their dominant hand on whichever side is comfortable. When facilitating a client, mirror the points on your own face so they can copy you without stopping to think.
What do you say while tapping?+
Two kinds of sentence. During the setup, on the karate-chop point, you say the full statement three times: “Even though I have [this specific problem], I deeply and completely accept myself.” During the sequence you say a short reminder phrase at each point, such as “this knot in my stomach”, to keep attention on the feeling. Use your own words, name a body sensation and a situation rather than a label, and change the phrase when the feeling changes.
How long does one round of EFT take?+
About 90 seconds: fifteen to twenty seconds for three repetitions of the setup statement, then eight points at seven taps each with a reminder phrase, then a breath and a re-rating. A full session on one issue usually runs three or four rounds, so five to eight minutes of tapping. Facilitated sessions run 45 to 60 minutes because most of the time goes on finding the specific memory and the right sentence.
Can you do EFT tapping wrong?+
You can do it ineffectively, which is different from harmfully. The common failures are a vague statement, no rating before and after, positive phrasing before the feeling has dropped, and stopping after one round. Tapping slightly off a point makes no measurable difference. The one real risk is tapping alone on a memory that overwhelms you; if intensity climbs above 8 and stays there, stop, tap only on the body sensation, and work with a practitioner or a licensed professional.
What is the sore spot in EFT?+
An alternative to the karate-chop point for the setup statement. It is a tender area on the upper chest, a few inches below the collarbone and to the side, which you rub in a circle rather than tap while saying the setup sentence. Craig's early recipe offered both; our manual uses the karate chop by default and mentions the sore spot for people who prefer it. Neither has been shown to work better.
Do I need to believe in meridians for tapping to work?+
No. The points are named after meridian lines from Chinese medicine, and the founder's explanation involves energy disruption, but the trials that report drops in distress did not depend on participants' beliefs, and one found similar results tapping on sham points. Exposure to the memory, rhythmic self-touch and the pause to rate the feeling are the likelier working parts. You can treat the meridian story as tradition and use the sequence as a self-regulation tool.
Is EFT tapping safe for children?+
The mechanics are gentle and children often enjoy them, but two rules apply. A child taps on their own body, never tapped on by an adult who is not a parent, and the issues stay small and present-tense: a test tomorrow, a fear of the dark. Anything involving a traumatic event or family conflict belongs with a licensed child professional. Practitioners should have a parent present and never market tapping as care for any childhood condition.
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About the author
Valérie Fabre · Founder & Director, Harmonika Institute
Valérie Fabre founded Harmonika Institute in 2025, after a decade seeing clients in private kinesiology practice and, before that, thirteen years in international trade. A French-born polyglot who now splits her time between Dallas and Miami, she sets the school's curriculum and editorial standards and champions ethical, in-person training.
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