Paul and Val Lynch say they have the p e r f e c t way o f helping people beat their anxieties, phobias and guilt.

They both practice the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), described as a psychological version of acupressure, without the needles.

It incorporates methods from ancient Chinese medicine and modern-day applied kinesiology, which recognises the existence of an inherent energy within each person which is responsible for their overall health.

An EFT session involves gently tapping a sequence of meridian points on the body with the fingertips while the person is experiencing physical pain, unpleasant emotion or tuning in to an uncomfortable memory.

The technique is said to rebalance the energies of the body, releasing unwanted emotions and allowing an inner sense of calm to return.

Val, who runs the Heart Centre in Eastbourne with Paul, says the best way to describe what happens is to consider the energy of the body as being like a river.

She said: "A trauma or phobia is effectively an object blocking the flow of the river and causing a lot of disruption.

"The EFT technique effectively removes that blockage and allows the energy to flow properly again."

The simple aim of EFT is to free people from emotions that stop them from moving forwards and finding happiness.

Traumatic memories, life - long phobias and emotional difficulties can be released in anything from five minutes to half an hour.

Mrs Lynch said: "We had a person who came to us for treatment for their anger.

At the start, we asked them how angry they felt on a scale of one to ten.

During the session, the number they picked halved and, by the end , it had almost disappeared altogether.

"Sometimes, people find it difficult to remember what was upsetting them in the first place because they could no longer connect to the original feelings which provoked the trauma.

" By correcting the disturbances found on an energetic level, you simultaneously correct them on a physical and emotional level.

"As a result, negative emotions and physical discomfort are released and harmony is restored."

Mrs Lynch says one of the best things about EFT is that patients can be dealt with very quickly and do not have to keep on coming back and re - experiencing their negative memories or emotions.

She said: "We have a very high success rate of up to 85 per cent and more and more people are coming to us.

"When we started out, about four years ago, there were only about five people practicing EFT in England and Wales but that number has rapidly increased as demand grows."

EFT can be used to overcome depression and sadness, grief, anger and resentment, insomnia, dyslexia, compulsions and obsessions, panic attacks, nightmares, pain and migraines.

It can also work with physical pain as well as with problems like headaches, which are attached to emotional problems.

The Heart Centre offers spiritual and personal discovery groups and holds regular workshops and courses on a wide variety of subjects.

The couple have also written a book, a self-help guide to the EFT method called Emotional Healing In Minutes.

Mrs Lynch is also a qualified Holistic Counsellor, Professional Healer and Reiki Master.

Paul has been involved in self-development for many years, initially to overcome his own intense shyness, which led to his discovery of EFT.

For more details, call the Heart Centre on 01323 505263.