Thinking in Aspects

In EFT, all issues that you want to treat are first divided. First, if you have a general emotion, you try to make it target more specific by dividing it into specific memories. Then you divide such a memory into ASPECTS.  Each aspect has its own "emotional charge."

Aspects
Treating each aspect seperately is a fundamental part of the approach we use in EFT.  Aspects are parts, details or symptoms, any association linked to the target issue or memory. To resolve an issue, one needs to treat all aspects. It is advisable to take notes when people tell you about an issue, to make a list of aspects. Often people themselves don't see that there are multiple aspects of an issue.  A cardinal question in EFT is "how does this (issue) feel?", and this question needs to be asked regularly to keep you on track.

Aspects and intensity of the target issue
When you treat an issue, you use may use the SUDscore to measure intensity. If you ask how intense an issue is, treat aspects of the the issue with rounds of EFT, sometimes you may not get the SUDscore to drop. This may be because you have not yet found the right issue. Sometimes you will notice that the SUDscore of an issue will not drop  until you have found every last aspect. One you have found the last aspect, it usually plummets very quickly.

Shifting aspects
On occasion, when assisting a customer, you will hear that they shift between aspects without even realizing it. When you ask how intense one aspect is of their issue is, treat this aspect with one round of EFT, and again ask how intense the issue feels, the customer will state the issue is still exactly the same. However, when you then ask them what exactly they feel when they think about the issue, you will note the words have changed to another aspect of the issue.

An example of shifting aspects:

C: "the pain in my back"

T: "How intense is it?"

C: "an 8"

Tap a round of EFT

T: "Score?"

C: "the tension is still an 8"

Thinking about aspects helps you to be systematic.

So how do you find these aspects?
As a therapist, think like a detective, and try to figure out how all senses are involved, focus on how an issue feels in the body, where does the body react with subtle signals? Think of synonyms. Each synonym, although it may seem to be the same thing, can hold its own charge. Think about what would aggrevate the issue. Ask what goes through your mind or what do you say to yourself when you think about the issue.

Next, lets put it all together and learn how to do the EFT-intervention technique.