Butterfly Hug: Guided Butterfly Tapping Exercise

Tap along with two softly lighting circles, slow and steady. Rate how upset you feel before and after, and see the change.

AdultsKidsCalm & regulateEMDR
1–3 minutesIn person and on video
Free interactive tool
Designed by Michael Thompson, MSc

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Use with care

For calming only at home; do not use it to process trauma memories without a clinician.

How to play

  1. Cross your arms so your fingertips rest just below your collarbones.
  2. Rate how upset you feel on the slider (optional), then press Start. Round length is in Settings.
  3. Tap with your fingertips on the side that lights up, slowly, left and right. Breathe. Tapping a circle on the screen also starts the round.
  4. When the round ends, notice your body and rate again.
  5. Tapping your upper arms works too if the self-hug doesn't feel right.

About the technique

The Butterfly Hug is a self-administered form of bilateral stimulation. The person crosses their arms over the chest, rests the fingertips just below the collarbones and taps left and right alternately while breathing slowly and noticing what comes up. Lucina Artigas and Ignacio Jarero developed it in 1998 while working with child survivors of Hurricane Pauline in Mexico, and it became part of their EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (Artigas & Jarero, 2009; Jarero et al., 2006).

Within EMDR, the tapping provides the bilateral stimulation while a memory is held in mind. Used outside a processing protocol, it is taught as a way for a person to calm and ground themselves (Artigas & Jarero, 2009). The evidence comes mostly from field reports in disaster and group settings, where the group protocol was described as a way to reach many children and adults after collective trauma (Jarero et al., 2006). Controlled trials of the hug on its own are lacking, so it is best described as practice-based, and claims about how bilateral tapping works should be held loosely.

It suits children, teens and adults, and its simplicity makes it easy to rehearse on video or practice at home. Keep home use to calming. Tapping while recalling a traumatic memory is trauma processing and belongs in session with a clinician trained in EMDR. Watch for dissociation: if a client drifts, slow down, open the eyes and orient to the room, and stop if distress climbs. Some people dislike self-touch; tapping on the upper arms or thighs is an alternative.

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For therapists: how to run it

Goal

Settle and self-soothe: upset goes down from before to after a round.

In session

  1. Teach the hug: arms crossed, fingertips below the collarbones, eyes closed or looking softly down.
  2. Share this tab (or turn the screen). Tap the client's 0–10 upset rating, press Start and tap along together.
  3. When the round ends, ask "What do you notice now?" and tap the after rating: the card shows the change. Pair with a calm-place image you've already built.

As homework

  1. Open the link when you want to calm down, not to go over hard memories.
  2. Tap how upset you feel, press Start and tap along until the round ends.
  3. Rate again to see the change. Tap Copy for my therapist, then paste it into your therapist's secure messaging (client portal) or bring it to your next session. Nothing you type is saved, so copy before closing.
Mandated reporting

Exercises like this can lead to disclosures of abuse, neglect or risk. Know your reporting duties before you start, and pause if one comes up.

Good to know

The butterfly hug was developed by Lucina Artigas and Ignacio Jarero. Use for calming and resourcing, not trauma processing at home. If tapping brings up distressing memories or images, stop, open your eyes and look around the room.

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Grounding Techniques Worksheet

Grounding Techniques Worksheet

5-4-3-2-1, deep breathing, grounding objects and positive affirmations, with a log of what worked.Adults and teensChildrenAnxietyDepressionEmotionsStress and burnoutTrauma and PTSDMindfulnessSomatic+6Free PDF 2 pagesDeep Breathing Worksheet

Deep Breathing Worksheet

One page with a paced inhale, hold and exhale cycle, plus guidance on when to practice it.Adults and teensChildrenAnxietyStress and burnoutCBTMindfulnessPsychoeducational+4Free PDF 1 pageConquering Avoidant Tendencies Worksheet

Conquering Avoidant Tendencies Worksheet

Map each avoided situation against its short-term relief and long-term cost, then plan around it.Adults and teensAnxietyTrauma and PTSDCBTExposure and ERP+2Free PDF 2 pages

Sources & credibility

Method
Butterfly Hug (self-administered bilateral tapping)
Developed by
Lucina Artigas and Ignacio Jarero
First described
1998
Approach
EMDR
Evidence
Practice-based (limited trials)Developed for survivors after Hurricane Pauline and used in the EMDR group protocol (EMDR-IGTP), mostly supported by field reports. Standalone controlled evidence is thin.

References

  1. Artigas L. & Jarero I. (2009). The butterfly hug. In M. Luber (Ed.), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Scripted Protocols. Springer Publishing. Source
  2. 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. Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

What is a butterfly hug?

The butterfly hug is a self-soothing technique where you cross your arms over your chest and tap with your fingertips just below your collarbones (or on your upper arms), alternating sides, slowly, while breathing. It was developed for use with groups of trauma survivors and is now widely used as a calming skill.

Does the butterfly hug really work?

Many people find it calming, and it is often taught as a grounding and self-soothing skill. Research is limited, so think of it as one coping tool rather than a treatment on its own.

How do you give yourself a butterfly hug?

Cross your arms so each hand rests near the opposite collarbone, then tap left, right, left, right at a slow pace while you breathe. The guide on this page lights each side so you can match its rhythm.

What is butterfly tapping used for?

People use butterfly tapping to calm down during stress or anxiety and to stay present when emotions run high. In EMDR, clinicians may also use it as a form of bilateral stimulation inside the full protocol.

How do therapists teach the butterfly hug?

Cross the arms over the chest so each hand rests below the opposite collarbone, then tap left and right slowly while breathing and noticing. Lucina Artigas and Ignacio Jarero developed it for group EMDR work after disasters, and clinicians use it as a self-soothing and resourcing skill.

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Your game designer
Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

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Table Of Contents
  1. About the technique
  2. For therapists: how to run it
  3. Worksheets that pair with this tool
  4. Sources & credibility
  5. Questions people ask
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Children should use this with a parent, therapist or teacher, not on their own.

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