The Tapping Solution Foundation - Our Projects Archives

Tapping with Our Communities

The Tapping Solution Foundation Works With Communities

The Tapping Solution Foundation spreads its support worldwide by providing free resources for families, schools, and communities in need. Here is a look at some of our work:

Western Connecticut Regional Safety Crisis Team

Dr. Maria Ortner from The Tapping Solution Foundation presented to the Western Connecticut Regional Safety Crisis Team, which is comprised of personnel, administrators and community members from different CT school districts. This crisis team mobilizes when a school or other institution in the area suffers a crisis. The level of intervention varies and depends on the organization requesting help. The Foundation’s intention was to discuss the implementation of Tapping as one type of tool to use in a crisis.

The crisis team has been called to support students and staff after life-changing events, such as the death of a parent and the loss of a middle school student due to suicide. Social workers, counselors, and comfort dogs have also been available as a tool for healing.

Social & Emotional Learning Program in New Hampshire

New Hampshire has been leading the nation with its redefined extensive focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools. The Governor’s School Safety Preparedness Taskforce Report highlights the significant need for SEL in all schools, specifically an explicit comprehensive program, like the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement (JLCL) program that is being implemented in all of New Hampshire’s schools.

The JLCL Movement was created by Scarlett Lewis after her son, Jesse, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Scarlett created the JLCL Movement, alongside many educators, to establish a free and comprehensive SEL program for all schools. From this, the Choose Love Enrichment Program™ was born. It is a no-cost, downloadable, pre-K through 12th grade, evidence-based social and emotional classroom program teaching children how to choose love in any circumstance. Included elements are positive psychology, mindfulness, neuroscience, character values and more.

While creating the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, we realized the importance of including a Tapping aspect to the SEL program. Now teachers can access a free Tapping guide that correlates to the Choose Love SEL program. The Tapping guides are available for early elementary, upper elementary, middle, and high school on the website as a Tapping Extension Program.

The Tapping Solution Foundation has donated over 1,000 books to teachers in New Hampshire. You can learn more about this on our blog post here.

Family & Children’s Aid in Danbury, Connecticut

The Tapping Solution Foundation presented to a group of therapists at Family & Children’s Aid (FCA). FCA is a child-focused 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization offering high quality, innovative mental health care for children and their families.
FCA operates under the belief that children are society’s most valuable assets. For over 200 years, FCA has been providing children with safe homes and therapeutic support allowing children to lead healthier lives. FCA believes that seeking help is a sign of strength. They believe excellent care should be available to individuals and families in all walks of life, whenever needed. Effective and professional mental health care makes our children healthier and communities stronger.

Dr. Maria Ortner introduced EFT Tapping to the therapists, and the Foundation donated copies of “Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs” by Alex Ortner to all staff members.

Quinnipiac University Workshop (Hamden, Connecticut)

After being contacted by Quinnipiac University to learn more about EFT Tapping, Dr. Maria Ortner from The Tapping Solution Foundation conducted a workshop on EFT / Tapping.

There were 75 attendants, including college administrators, professors, secretaries, custodians, and administrative staff. The workshop included an introduction to EFT/Tapping, instruction and directions on how to use the technique, as well as hands-on practice. A number of books and summit packages were also distributed among the attendants.

The event was a great success, and the Foundation was asked to come back and repeat the workshop next year. It’s truly gratifying to see an organization of this caliber allocating resources of time and effort for the well being of their staff and employees. We will be back next year!

The Tapping Solution Foundation Partners with GRACES to Bring Tapping to Children in Guatemala

The Tapping Solution Foundation recently visited Antigua (the ancient capital of Guatemala, now a bustling colonial city) to teach and promote the use of EFT Tapping in the classroom. We visited the “Escuela Integrada de Niños Trabajadores”, a private school dedicated to serving the children of several communities around Antigua. These are children who live in extreme poverty and who, were it not for the efforts of the school, would probably be out working at a very tender age.

The school had learned about EFT Tapping through the outreach efforts of The Tapping Solution. They realized the value of implementing this technique for school children and reached out for help in implementing a program locally. Dr. Maria Laura Ortner, Director of Global Outreach for the Tapping Solution Foundation, replied and, over the course of several months, met over Skype with both their school psychologist and their school counselor, teaching them and guiding them on how to best use tapping with the children. Delighted with the initial results, we eventually traveled to Antigua and spent three days teaching the tapping techniques to the schoolchildren, as well as to their teachers, school staff and parents.

You can read more about our work in Guatemala by clicking here.

Ohio Domestic Violence Network’s Youth Institute

Ohio Domestic Violence Network’s Youth Institute was honored to present a groundbreaking event in 2020 featuring Dr. Maria Ortner, an international expert of the Tapping Solution Foundation. Dr. Ortner partnered with advocates and allied professionals from Ohio, Texas, and Alaska to demonstrate the intervention of Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique). Over 170 advocates learned a new skill set and ways to weave tapping into their daily interactions with survivors during this interactive training.

Participants shared that “…learning the skill set of Tapping will help create windows of opportunity in our work of supporting adult and child survivors of domestic violence. It is a useful technique easily available for survivors to find relief from stress, anxiety, and trauma reactions. I am so glad this training occurred.”

The Tapping Solution Foundation donated books to 75 shelters in Ohio.

The Tapping Solution Foundation partners with One Heart Bulgaria to Coordinate Services and Support for Orphans

One Heart Bulgaria offers orphans a happier, healthier, and more promising future through proper nutrition, medical care, and individual attention. Dr. Maria Ortner from The Tapping Solution Foundation conducted a workshop to support one of their most popular programs that gives children the opportunity to develop relationships with caring adults within the various orphanages. With the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees into this small country, assistance now is as important as ever.

Tapping for Cancer Stress and Trauma

The video below features how Deborah Miller, Ph.D. is using Tapping at a children’s hospital in Oaxaca, Mexico to deal with the stress and trauma associated with cancer and being in a hospital setting.

You can also read more about how Tapping can positively impact an individual diagnosed with cancer by reading our blog post here.

Tapping in Rwanda

The Tapping Solution Foundation has supported the ongoing efforts of Dr. Lori Leyden and Project Light by providing training resources, outreach and funding. Dr. Leyden’s innovative and heart-centered “Create Global Healing” organization introduced Tapping to Rwanda to help bring hope and healing to the survivors of the Rwandan Genocide. Through these efforts, five hundred survivors were trained by the Project Light team, following a “train the trainer” model, to establish the world’s first international youth healing leadership and entrepreneurship program based on Energy Psychology and Tapping. A four week residential program was developed where twelve Project Light Ambassadors participated to heal, work, and learn to lead toward a peaceful future.

“What excites me most about Project Light is that this is truly a new model for humanitarian aid. Tapping is being introduced to help teach young people how to heal from trauma and learn the skills that will help them look forward towards a future of personal and global peace.”

—Nick Ortner

“Project Light stands for heart-centered leadership that will inspire global healing and transformation. In this program, we are using Tapping for every aspect of training. It is a “train the trainer” model, so that these young people will be prepared to train tens of hundreds of other young people in these techniques.” Dr. Lori Leydon

Learn More About Project Light: Rwanda

Tapping for War Veterans

The Tapping Solution Foundation has supported the Veterans Stress Project to help veterans by using EFT Tapping to treat trauma.

After years of persistence and advocacy, EFT has been approved as “generally safe” by the US Veterans Administration. After reviewing the extensive evidence for the safety and efficacy of EFT, a group of experts in the VAs Integrative Health Coordinating Center published a statement approving EFT and several other complementary and integrative health (CIH) practices.

The approval means that VA therapists will be able to use EFT Tapping with their clients suffering from PTSD, depression, anxiety, pain and other conditions.”

Testimonials

“I have been a clinical psychologist since 1970, serving in the USAF at the end of the Vietnam War, where I first encountered combat PTSD…… EFT and the related “tapping” therapies are most useful in anxiety disorders but applicable in most cases where emotional distress is a prime symptom.”

Read the full letter from Jerry E. Wesch, Ph.D. OIC – Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program – Ft. Hood Resilience and Restoration Center – Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center

“I was commissioned as a captain in the US Army Reserve on March 2010, and was deployed to Afghanistan from July 2011 to May 2012. As a psychologist, I was in charge of a forward operating base in Kandahar Province and officially saw 199 individual soldiers (574 sessions)……. After just one round of tapping, soldiers were noticeably more relieved and calmer.”

Read the full letter from Constance Louie-Handelman, PhD CPT, USAR, MS

“I lost eleven brothers on my first deployment alone. If you are at all like me, your first thought – if you are even aware of EFT to begin with – is that this stuff is a bunch of BS. How the hell can tapping on your face and hands alleviate PTSD? But I was wrong, and found this program to be far more effective – and less emotionally invasive – than anything else I have tried for combatting PTSD.”

Read the full letter from Evan Hessel, Former President, Viking Vets -Iraq Nov ’06-Feb ’08; Afghanistan May ’09-June ‘10

The Veterans’ Stress Project offers all Veterans no cost, drug-free EFT coaching.

Emotional pain and mental distress are substantially diminished using Emotional Freedom Techniques. Multiple independent studies also show pain diminishes an average of 68% with EFT. Over 85% of Vets who have participated have resolved most of their PTSD symptoms (insomnia, anger, grief, hyper-vigilance) in six 1-hour sessions. 3 and 6 month followups confirm that the benefits are lasting.

Veterans qualify for 6 free, private sessions (in person, by phone or via Skype) as part of on-going research. Veterans who participate contribute to the mission of helping thousands of other Veterans and their families.

The following is the trailer for the documentary film “The Tapping Solution,” which features one war veteran. EFT Tapping offers numerous important benefits for veterans suffering from PTSD.

Learn more about the Stress Project

Resources

US Department of Veteran Affairs Crisis Hotline

Tapping to Choose Love

The Tapping Solution Foundation has been providing support for The Choose Love Movement and is proud to contribute to The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Enrichment Program which is a social and emotional (SEL) classroom program teaching children how to choose love in any circumstance. The program focuses on four important character values – courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion – which cultivates optimism, resilience and personal responsibility.

The Tapping Solution Foundation has created a Tapping extension to guide teachers in implementing Tapping in the classroom alongside the Choose Love Enrichment Program lessons. The Tapping extension is written by Alison Partridge, TTSF Director of Program Development and co-author with Nick Ortner, of The Big Book of Hugs.

With Tapping for Stress Relief in Classrooms, teachers and students will learn how to use this self-regulating tool to develop an understanding of their emotions and a resiliency to take part in controlling them. The lessons are connected to the Choose Love Enrichment Program and can be taught within each of the four units: Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion in Action. This program was developed, by educators for educators, to ensure you have the tools and resources you need to teach all essential life skills.

The Tapping for Stress Relief in Classrooms Extension program gives teachers the knowledge and language to use Tapping for yourself, with individual children, or your entire classroom as a whole. The entire program can be accessed and download for free by visiting the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement website, jesselewischooselove.org

CHOOSING LOVE

The Tapping for Stress Relief in Classrooms Extension program will give teachers the knowledge and language to use Tapping in the classroom.

Learn More

TAPPING & TRAUMA

Nick Ortner, Newtown resident, worked one-on-one with Scarlett Lewis, mother of Jesse Lewis, to help her deal with the unimaginable trauma of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Learn More

Tapping for Newtown

In December of 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting tragedy struck home, located right next door to Tapping Solution’s Newtown, CT-based company. Twenty-eight lives were lost, including 20 first-grade children, their teachers and principal.

In response to this unprecedented tragedy, Nick, Jessica and Alex Ortner established The Tapping Solution Foundation (TTSF) in collaboration with Dr. Lori Leyden, Founder of Create Global Healing. The Foundation has been delivering EFT Tapping trauma services and professional training for parents, children, educators, first responders, mental health and health care providers in Sandy Hook, Newtown and the surrounding community ever since. TTSF has also developed a powerful network of local, national and international alliances to bring train-the-trainer trauma relief and resiliency services and educational programs to Newtown. This is a sustainable long-term, community-based initiative supporting healing in Newtown and globally.

“While this tragedy will forever be a part of who we are, it is my belief, and my experience in working with people both here in town and around the world that have been affected by traumatic events, that we CAN heal. That we can find ways to lift the burdens, to have it hurt maybe just a little bit less, to find a little more meaning, and hope and purpose.”

—Nick Ortner

Having now worked through The Tapping Solution Foundation for several years to support members of their community heal and regain hope in the aftermath of a tragic mass shooting, the Ortners continue to be committed to helping others choose hope, health and healing, instead of anger and violence.

As our nation continues to experience the tragedy of excessive gun violence, please consider making a donation to The Tapping Solution Foundation to help continue the important work of promoting EFT Tapping to people of all ages around the world.

Tapping for Stress Relief in Classrooms

The Tapping Solution Foundation is currently working to promote EFT Tapping in schools. Our focus is to help reduce stress and anxiety in the classroom in support of students and teachers and to enhance teaching and learning.

Alex Ortner visits New Britain, CT to use Tapping with students.

“A lot of kids come to school with so much burden. Kids are left with this and they don’t know how to regulate. They might not even have conversation when they go home, so this is an acknowledgement of their feelings. Their feelings aren’t bad, it’s how to deal with them. These things let them know that it’s okay feeling what they feel.”

-Robin Pizutto, Grade 1 Teacher, Smalley Academy, New Britain, CT

I don’t know if there’s anyone who doesn’t have some trauma from their childhood. Some little event that really sculpted them and sculpted their beliefs in a direction they might not have wanted. We want these kids to grow up in a different world. To be able to grow up where they can deal with their emotions and traumas and move forward.

-Alex Ortner, Father and Author of Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs

The Tapping Solution Foundation Pilot Program at Pacific Grove Middle School

You can learn more about Tapping at Pacific Grove Middle School in California by visiting here.

Tapping Meditation for Teachers by Jessica Ortner

Tapping For Stress Relief: A Morning & Evening Tapping Process

Tapping in the Classroom Online Training

With an increasing need for EFT Tapping in schools, the new Tapping in the Classroom Online Training gives school personnel the information needed to implement Tapping in their school. While we have an extensive variety of free materials available, this online training gives you additional research, videos, handouts, and resources to apply EFT Tapping in your school. Check out what's included:

This program was developed by Dr. Peta Stapleton who has 22 years experience as a registered Clinical & Health Psychologist. She is deeply involved in research around EFT Tapping and its impact in schools, including recent research that has shown EFT to significantly reduce fear of failure in 15 year old students, and improve their self-perceived difficulties. The program is designed to give school staff an effective tool to help children overcome stress, anxiety and behavioral challenges.

The BEST part is that with your purchase, a portion of the proceeds goes to The Tapping Solution Foundation to support the work being done around the world with trauma relief and bringing Tapping into schools. Not only are you helping the children you work with, but you're helping even more around the world!

Learn more.

Download Your FREE Resources for Educators

Including an Educator Quickstart Guide, lesson plans for Gorilla Thumps & Bear Hugs (a children's book), resources in Spanish, and MORE!

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Articles on EFT Tapping for Anxiety and Stress Relief in Classrooms

Anxiety at School – What Kids and Teens With Anxiety Need Teachers to Know

This article discusses the multitude of anxieties that students face in schools and acknowledges the importance of teachers understanding the concerns of all students. EFT/Tapping allows students the opportunity to work through these stressors with their teacher, social worker, or parent.

“None of us can ‘go it alone’ and we all need the right support from the right people at the right time to discover the remarkable, fiercely capable, and sometimes wonderfully surprising parts of ourselves. That support will look different for everyone. Teachers play an enormously important role, and can make a long-lasting and profoundly positive difference in the life of any child.”

Dealing with Stress at School in an Age of Anxiety

In this article, the physical and cognitive impacts of stress are discussed. With a focus on social interactions and mindfulness, educators can continue to build resilient learners that can self-manage any stressors in their lives.

“The practice of mindfulness has received increasing attention in educational practice recently, and for good reasons. Social connections lead to resilience through social support and socio-emotional learning, but also biologically, as they counteract the stress hormone cortisol.”

Teachers Accessing Peak Performance With the Help of EFT

School Psychologist, Cindy Baker, discusses her work introducing Tapping into her school, including ideas others can use to bring EFT/Tapping to their own schools.

“As I witness an increasing number of stress-related complaints from teachers and students, it is apparent to me that school communities are experiencing an epidemic of stress bred from a culture of fear emanating throughout the general population.”