Gary Craig’s 2009 Certification – an GoE Trainer’s Perspective

(Please note, the following reflects the personal experiences and opinions of Mary Jones and does not necessarily represent the views of the GoE as a whole.)

Mary writes:

As many readers will know, Gary Craig introduced his own Classic EFT Certification program last year. This is something that he resisted for many years, and the resulting vacuum led to the creation of several organisations offering training and certification schemes to satisfy the demand from people who wanted to take some kind of “official” Classic EFT training. The GoE was one of the organisations which was formed early on (1999) and it quickly developed its own practitioner and advanced practitioner trainings.

But now that Gary is offering certification, what does this mean for existing GoE practitioners and trainers like me? Is there any point running any more GoE practitioner trainings? Do we even need the AMT?

To help me answer my own questions – and because I personally wanted to achieve a certification based on “the source” – I became Classic EFT Certified through Gary Craig’s program in February 2009, and am amongst (I believe) the first half dozen UK practitioners to do so.

I have been asked by some other practitioners what I think of Gary’s program and whether they should do it too. Often these are already experienced practitioners who don’t quite see the need to get yet another certification and are wondering whether to put in the considerable time and effort required to study the DVDs and sit the exam.

Undertaking any training is ultimately a personal decision, based on what you want to get out of it. Do you want a piece of paper to put on your wall or letters to put after your name? Do you want something which is “official” or “recognised”? Or do you want to make sure you have the best training available at the time, so that you can be the best practitioner you can be for your clients?

Personally, I wanted a bit of all three! (If you are already qualified in a “recognised” therapy such as hypnotherapy, counselling or psychotherapy, the recognition aspect may not be so important to you.)

The decision is made harder in the UK’s generally unregulated environment, where it is largely down to the personal ethics and motivation of individual practitioners to seek any training at all, and then to keep that training as up to date as possible.

I have full professional liability insurance of course. But my opinion has always been that the best insurance a coach or therapist can have against a lawsuit is to ensure that you have satisfied clients! And for me that means being the best practitioner I can possibly be, by taking the best available training to me at any given time.

Back in 2002, I had just completed my coaching training and did not have any other “therapy” qualifications. I had also just finished studying Gary Craig’s three training videos that were available then: The Classic EFT Course, Steps Towards Becoming the Ultimate Therapist and Palace of Possibilities. Studying these convinced me that I wanted to use Classic EFT with clients. I started looking around for training options and came across the AMT’s Practitioner training, which I undertook and completed in the summer of 2002, with my excellent trainer Ananga Sivyer. I then took the Advanced Practitioner training, again with Ananga, in the autumn.

I little later I also took the Classic EFT-CC (Certificate of Completion) and Classic EFT-ADV (Advanced Certificate of Completion) then available from PACE trainings and which were based on studying Gary’s videos. (Yes, I had to study them a second time!)

Having studied Gary’s trainings, and using Classic EFT on myself, friends and family, I felt that I wanted to start working with paying clients. In terms of my understanding and proficiency with Classic EFT, I felt pretty confident. What I felt less sure about was whether I was ready to handle clients who might be coming to me for all kinds of issues. My coaching training meant that I already felt confident handling any type of life coaching situation – but that does not generally include people with extreme phobias, trauma, depression and so on.

And that’s where the GoE practitioner training was so valuable to me. It assumed a working knowledge of the mechanics of Classic EFT. It then focused on the practical aspects of working with clients.

• What’s the best way to physically tap a client – and how do you approach the issue of touching a client?

• How do you avoid triggering an abreaction in a client – and how do you deal with one if it happens?

• How can you help avoid the Apex effect and ensure that a client appreciates the progress that has been made during a session?

• How do you track a client’s state, beyond the 0-10 rating scale?

• What other non-Classic EFT energy techniques might you use to assist the process and to help you stay calm and detached as a practitioner?

All these issues, and many more, were (and are) covered by the GoE practitioner training. And the practical techniques and advice it provided saved my bacon with clients on more than one occasion!

In addition I got direct and personal feedback from an experienced Classic EFT practitioner about actual Classic EFT work I was doing during the training. And I had ongoing trainer contact and support available to me after the training.

I completed my GoE training feeling confident that I could handle pretty much anything a client might throw at me – and that I had somewhere to go if I ever did need extra advice or assistance.

Being a member of the GoE then gave further benefits. Inclusion in the AMT’s free online practitioner listing was perhaps the most tangible benefit. Not to mention the GoE website as a resource for information and articles. But being part of a community of practitioners has been immensely useful to me, particularly when I occasionally feel the need to talk confidentially about a particular client’s issue (with client permission of course).

So when Gary announced his new certification program, I was by now an experienced and confident practitioner, running GoE practitioner trainings myself.

So why on earth would I feel the need or desire to watch Gary’s DVDs for the third time and sit another exam?

Maybe I’m an exam junkie. Maybe I simply have a high respect for Gary Craig as “the source” when it comes to Classic EFT. Or maybe I have an eye on the future and anticipate that, one day soon, the Classic EFT profession will develop to a point where it becomes accepted and recognised as a technique in its own right (not just an “add-on” for hypnotherapists and counsellors) – at which point I want to have a track record as having keep my knowledge and skills as up to date as it was possible to do.

Ultimately, I can’t be sure – it simply felt right to do it. And, while it certainly took some time to look at those videos yet again, I loved seeing them all from the viewpoint of a practitioner with 7 years experience under my belt. Actually, studying the DVDs is the hard part. If you use the Study Guide as instructed then doing the actual exam is a cinch.

So, having been through the Classic EFT Certification process, what do I now think of the GoE practitioner training and how do the two trainings compare?

Here in a nutshell are the benefits that I personally feel apply to Gary’s certification and the GoE practitioner training:

Benefits of Gary Craig Classic EFT Certification program

• Academic certification – requires deep understanding of Classic EFT concepts and technical aspects of applying Classic EFT.

• From “the source” and therefore easy to understand by potential clients. (Gary Craig invented Classic EFT. I am certified by Gary Craig. Simple!)

• Establishes worldwide standard for Classic EFT knowledge.

• A step forward (in my opinion) for the development of Classic EFT as a professional discipline in it’s own right.

• Based on DVD study. No travel required and you own the DVDs forever - they are a reference resource whenever you want them.

• Online practitioner listing. Currently this is free and Classic EFT Certified practitioners are specially marked. Eventually only Classic EFT Certified practitioners will be listed.

• Requires renewal every 5 years, ensuring up-to-date skills.

Benefits of GoE practitioner training and membership

• Addresses practical client handling and safety issues.

• Direct feedback from experienced trainer during the training.

• Ongoing post-training support.

• Challenging written test including case studies.

• Online practitioner listing.

• Access to community of other practitioners for advice and support.

Overall, as you can probably guess, I have found a high level of value in both trainings and I believe there is a role for both.

Gary’s certification provides a level of technical understanding that is impossible to obtain from a few days course attendance.

On the other hand, the GoE training provides a level of practical knowledge and direct contact with trainers and other practitioners which I feel you really need to build your confidence to handle clients safely and to provide ongoing support as an active practitioner.

In my view, any serious Classic EFT practitioner should be seeking to do both trainings, to make themselves the best practitioner they can be. I will certainly be continuing to offer the GoE practitioner training – but I will also be encouraging all serious prospective Classic EFT practitioners to get Classic EFT Certified with Gary Craig.

Mary Jones is author of The Classic EFT Coach for Professionals, and The Classic EFT Coach Workbook for Complete Beginners, available from www.eftcoach.com