Butterfly Hug Worksheet Overview
The butterfly hug is a way to calm yourself by crossing your arms over your chest and tapping slowly, left and right. Lucina Artigas developed it in the late 1990s while working with hurricane survivors in Mexico, and she and Ignacio Jarero made it part of their group EMDR therapy.
This worksheet shows you how to do the butterfly hug step by step. It helps you plan when to use it, pair it with a calm memory, and track how calm you feel before and after each practice.
In this worksheet, we’ll:
- Walk you through the butterfly hug step by step
- Explain why the slow tapping can feel calming
- Help you plan times when you could use it
- Give you space to pair it with a calm memory
- Provide a log to track how you feel before and after
ChoosingTherapy.com strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our worksheets. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.
-
Artigas, L., & Jarero, I. (2014). The Butterfly Hug. In M. Luber (Ed.), Implementing EMDR Early Mental Health Interventions for Man-Made and Natural Disasters: Models, Scripted Protocols, and Summary Sheets (pp. 127-130). Springer Publishing Company.
-
Jarero, I., Artigas, L., & Hartung, J. (2006). EMDR integrative group treatment protocol: A postdisaster trauma intervention for children and adults. Traumatology, 12(2), 121-129.
-
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Therapist Directory at Psychology.com Find a licensed therapist near you on the Psychology.com directory. Many therapists accept insurance, offer in-person and online appointments, and have immediate availability. List Your Practice on Psychology.com Psychology.com is the therapist directory from the team behind ChoosingTherapy.com. List your practice with your first 30 days free, then $49 a month. Cancel any time.
Related Worksheets
