Regulation / Body Widely used

Try gentle alternating taps

Follow a rhythm you and your clinician have chosen.

This is a reference tool, not a replacement for EMDR therapy. EMDR must be delivered by a trained clinician. If you are using these tools outside of therapy and become distressed, stop, ground yourself, and contact a mental health professional.

Keeps your choices. You can return to this guide at any time.

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Sound Pitch (Hz) 440 Left-right separation 85% Sound style Volume 30%

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Cross your arms over your chest, place your fingertips on your upper arms, and tap gently left-right in time with the wings.

Clinical sources

Butterfly Hug Guide

What the evidence supports

Research on a complete therapy does not establish that an isolated activity or this website produces the same outcomes. EMDR includes assessment, preparation, memory work and follow-up with a trained clinician. Its mechanisms are still being studied.

These pages compile published sources. An independent clinical review of this site and a trial of its tools are not documented here. Labels describe the technique’s use context; they are not an efficacy certification.

VA: EMDR evidence and limitations · NICE: recommendations by age and context

Artigas, L., Jarero, I., Mauer, M., López Cano, T., & Alcalá, N. (2000). EMDR and traumatic stress after natural disasters: Integrative treatment protocol and the Butterfly Hug. Poster, EMDRIA Conference, Toronto. (Technique originated 1998, Hurricane Pauline; first citable presentation 2000.)
Boel, J. (1999). The Butterfly Hug. EMDRIA Newsletter, 4(4), 11–13.

How to use this activity and clinical context

What this is

A guided visual for the butterfly hug: cross your arms over your chest, place your hands on your upper arms or shoulders, and tap gently, left-right-left-right, in rhythm with the visual. It’s a calming, self-administered bilateral technique.

How to do it

Cross your arms over your chest in a soft X.
Place your fingertips on the opposite upper arm or shoulder.
Breathe slowly.
Tap gently, alternating left and right, in time with the visual.
Let your eyes close if that feels right, or keep them soft.

When to use it

Between sets in a session, as an alternative to clinician-administered BLS.
At bedtime if a child is wound up.
Anytime a gentle calming anchor is needed.

Evidence scope

The cited sources describe the technique and its history; they are not trials of this web tool. Use within a protocol does not establish that butterfly tapping alone treats trauma. Choose this practice with your clinician and stop if it feels uncomfortable.