Hi folks, and welcome to another episode of The Art of EFT. Today, I am going to be speaking about niching, something that comes up quite often in my training. So, I did have a niche before I started my journey as a psychotherapist. This was because I decided to get into this field as a result of my binge eating disorder. A few years into my journey, however, I found myself asking whether binge eating was what I was really passionate about. As I started to heal my own binge eating, working with it became somewhat tiresome, and somehow, I'd lost my enthusiasm for the niche.
Whilst I had learned a lot about myself and the issue, I felt pigeonholed because I had other interests. I was fascinated with transpersonal and parapsychology and their role in the healing process. I was also learning about EFT and Matrix Re-imprinting, and I felt inspired again. I remember feeling deeply confused about my niche at the time, especially because I was hearing frequent messages about how important it was to niche. However, here I was, fairly well known for working with binge eating, and yet deeply wanting to be known for something else.
It was at this point that I decided to let go of my obsession with niching. The truth was, I didn't know what I wanted and I was still building skills in other areas. Contrary to the advice that I had been given, I decided to leave things open and see how things unfolded. The truth was that every time I tried to settle on a niche, life presented me with other cases. Interestingly enough, I ended up working with a lot of clients who were experiencing anxiety. I also worked with a lot of trauma cases. I paid attention to what I enjoyed and what I was becoming quite skilled at. I started asking asking myself what inspired me. In short, rather than claiming a niche, I suppose I waited until one claimed me.
I still do not have a single niche today, but I do feel that I have settled into my passions. I really enjoy training EFT and Matrix Re-imprinting, and working with new practitioners - hence this newsletter. I enjoy trauma research and exploring consciousness. And, I am also drawn again towards working with binge eating disorder again. I feel the flow.
So, Is Niching Really that Important?
Overall, I would say yes! Even though I don't have just one niche, settling into my professional passions has been really useful because:
1. Niching has meant that I have refined my skills in a particular area/s. For example, having been both through binge eating disorder myself, as well as working with clients in similar positions, I have learned that there are some essential factors that therapists need to be aware of when they work in this niche. The same applies to working with clients who have anxiety. Niching has allowed me to study and explore an area in depth, which I believe has made me a better practitioner.
2. It has been easier for marketing purposes. I personally found that my message and my target audience were clearer. For example, this newsletter in particular is a direct result of my passion for developing the art of EFT and reflecting on my own practice. The focus of this newsletter is clear and I know where to find my target audience, something that would be far more challenging if I was a general practitioner.
Questions You May Want to Explore to Find Your Niche
So, here are some of the questions that I asked myself about niching as I was developing mine. Perhaps you may find them useful:
1. What issues do I enjoy working with?
2. What topic interests me?
3. Does this work inspire me?
4. Is there any particular type of issue/client that I find myself facing again and again?/ What impact has this had on my practice?
5. What do I have experience in?
6. What am I good at?
7. Is there a market for this?
I hope you have found this post helpful, and do feel free to share your own experiences in the comments section. What is your opinion on niches? Have you found a niche, and if so, how did you go about discovering/deciding on it?
And Finally Guys....
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Thanks for this writing Sunita. I do have a question about EFT: can you market EFT as therapy for anxiety if you are unlicensed (nor counsellor or psychotherapist in the UK). I see loads of EFT practitioners website advertise for depression, PTSD etc but without a formal training or qualifications. Is it legal? In USA where I live it's very strict. Thanks in advance.
Similar things happened to me: once I decided a niche, other cases showed up. I'm still in the process to find it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!