The Butterfly Hug is a self-administered bilateral stimulation method: you cross your arms over your chest and tap your shoulders alternately, left then right. It requires no equipment at all, which raises a fair question for anyone considering a device: if a free technique exists, why would you buy tappers? This guide compares the two honestly, for people practicing at home and for EMDR therapists deciding what to recommend between sessions.
What is the Butterfly Hug?
The Butterfly Hug is a method for self-administered bilateral stimulation created by Mexican EMDR therapist Lucina Artigas in 1998, while she and Ignacio Jarero were working with child survivors of Hurricane Pauline in Acapulco, Mexico. Facing dozens of children at once and unable to deliver individual hands-on stimulation, Artigas asked each child to cross their arms and tap their own shoulders in an alternating rhythm, like the wings of a butterfly.
The method received the EMDR International Association Creative Innovation Award in 2000, presented by EMDR founder Francine Shapiro. It has since become a standard component of the EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP) and is used widely in humanitarian and disaster settings where one clinician needs to work with a large group.
Worth knowing: Artigas and Jarero are explicit that the Butterfly Hug is not simply a self-soothing exercise. In their published guidance it is described as a bilateral stimulation method used within a structured therapy protocol, though it can also be used on its own when other grounding techniques are not working fast enough during high distress.
How the Butterfly Hug is performed
- Cross your arms over your chest, with the middle fingertip of each hand resting just below the collarbone on the opposite side.
- Point the fingers upward and let the hands rest lightly, thumbs interlocked if that feels natural.
- Alternate slow, gentle taps: left, right, left, right.
- Breathe slowly and let whatever comes up simply pass, without trying to change it.
- Continue for a short set, then pause and notice what shifted.
How do EMDR tappers differ from the Butterfly Hug?
Tappers deliver the alternating left-right rhythm through two handheld vibrating pods rather than through your own hands. The practical difference is that the rhythm becomes external and consistent: you are not producing the stimulation yourself, so your attention stays with the process rather than with keeping time.
That distinction matters more than it sounds. Self-tapping requires ongoing motor effort and a degree of self-monitoring, and many people naturally speed up or slow down as their arousal level changes. A device holds the tempo you set until you change it.
| Factor | Butterfly Hug | Handheld tappers |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Paid device (ALMA is $139) |
| Rhythm consistency | Varies with your own state | Fixed until you change the setting |
| Hands | Occupied, arms crossed | Held loosely, or placed in pockets or under a pillow |
| Visibility to others | Visible posture | Discreet and quiet |
| Effort required | Active motor effort | Passive |
| Availability | Always, anywhere | Needs to be charged and with you |
| Fine control of intensity | Approximate | Precise via app (intensity, speed, light, duration) |
What does the research say about self-administered bilateral stimulation?
The most direct evidence to date comes from a July 2025 technical report by Ignacio Jarero, Lucina Artigas and Benito Estrada, which used functional MRI to observe what happens in the brain while trauma survivors use the Butterfly Hug during an EMDR session. Twenty women aged 41 to 68, all with cancer-related PTSD, were scanned before and during a 55 minute session following the EMDR-PRECI protocol with the Butterfly Hug as the bilateral stimulation method.
"The BH triggered simultaneous changes across multiple brain regions, facilitating emotional stabilization." Jarero, Artigas and Estrada (2025), technical report on the neurobiological insights of the Butterfly Hug method
Before treatment, scans showed heightened activity in the amygdala, insula, hippocampus and thalamus, alongside reduced responsiveness in the medial prefrontal cortex, a pattern the authors describe as typical in PTSD. During the session, amygdala activity decreased while medial prefrontal cortex activation increased.
The honest caveats matter as much as the headline. This was a technical report, not a randomized controlled trial. The sample was 20 women with one specific trauma type, only a single session was imaged, and the Butterfly Hug was not compared against other forms of bilateral stimulation such as eye movements, tones or tactile pulses. The authors themselves call for larger and more diverse trials.
What this does not tell us is whether hand-tapping outperforms a device, or the reverse. No study has directly compared the two. If anyone claims a definitive winner, they are going beyond what the evidence supports. For a wider view of how tactile, visual and auditory stimulation compare, see our breakdown of tactile vs visual vs auditory bilateral stimulation.
When the Butterfly Hug is the better choice
The Butterfly Hug wins on availability. It costs nothing, needs no charging, and works in a hospital corridor, on a plane, or at 3am when the device is downstairs. For anyone who wants to try bilateral stimulation before spending money, it is the obvious starting point.
- You want to explore bilateral stimulation with zero financial commitment.
- You are in a group setting where one facilitator is guiding many people at once.
- You value the physical self-contact of the crossed-arm posture, which many people find grounding in itself.
- You are in a situation where no device is on hand.
When a tapper device makes more sense
A device makes sense when consistency, discretion, or hands-free use matter. Because you are not producing the rhythm, the tempo does not drift when your arousal level changes, and your posture is not locked into the crossed-arm position.
- Winding down at night. Crossed arms are hard to maintain while falling asleep. Pods can rest in the hands or beside you.
- Longer sets. Sustained self-tapping becomes tiring; a timer-controlled session does not.
- Repeatability. If a particular speed and intensity works for you, you can save it and return to exactly that setting.
- Discretion. ALMA's pods are whisper-quiet and fit in a closed palm, so they can be used without the visible posture of the Butterfly Hug.
- Sensory preference. Some people simply find a steady external pulse easier to settle into than their own hands.
The ALMA tappers were designed around this use case: food-grade silicone that feels soft and reassuring in the hand, a palm-sized shape with a secure grip, app control over intensity, speed, light and session duration, USB-C charging with over three hours of battery, and an IPX7 water resistance rating that is uncommon in this category. At $139 they sit below most app-controlled wireless tappers on the market.
For EMDR therapists: using both
Most therapists we hear from do not treat this as a choice. The Butterfly Hug is taught because it is always available and costs the client nothing, and a device is offered because it gives the client something structured to work with between appointments.
In session, the practical advantages of tappers are consistency and clinician attention: you set the tempo once and can then focus fully on the client rather than on maintaining a rhythm with your own hands. Between sessions, a device with saved settings makes it easier for a client to reproduce something familiar rather than improvise.
For children specifically, the Butterfly Hug has the longest track record, having originated in exactly that context. Our guide on whether tappers work without a therapist goes deeper on the boundaries of at-home use.
On the roadmap: a video session feature that will let a therapist control a client's ALMA tappers remotely during a remote appointment. This is planned and not yet available, but it is the direction we are building toward for telehealth practice.
A practical way to use both
- Learn the Butterfly Hug first. It is free, portable, and gives you a reference point for what alternating stimulation feels like.
- Notice where it falls short for you. Arm fatigue, drifting tempo, or a posture that draws attention are the usual friction points.
- Use a device where those frictions bite. Typically at night, during long sets, or in public.
- Keep the Butterfly Hug as your backup. Batteries die and bags get left behind. The technique never does.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Butterfly Hug as effective as tappers?
No study has directly compared the two, so nobody can answer this with evidence. Both deliver alternating left and right tactile input, which is the shared mechanism. The differences that are documented are practical ones: cost, consistency of rhythm, hand availability and discretion.
Can I do the Butterfly Hug on my own without a therapist?
The technique is widely taught as a self-directed grounding practice and is used that way by many people. Working through traumatic memories is a different matter and belongs in a therapeutic relationship with a trained EMDR clinician. If distressing material surfaces while you are practicing alone, stop and bring it to a professional.
How long should a set last?
There is no single correct answer, and it varies by protocol and by person. Many people practicing at home find short sets of roughly 5 to 20 minutes workable, pausing to check in with themselves between sets. If you are working with a therapist, follow their guidance rather than a generic number.
Do I still need tappers if the Butterfly Hug works for me?
Not necessarily. If the technique already fits your life, there is no reason to spend money. Devices earn their place when you want hands-free use, a steady tempo you do not have to maintain, or something discreet enough for a shared space.
The short version
The Butterfly Hug is free, always available, backed by nearly three decades of clinical use in humanitarian settings, and now supported by preliminary neuroimaging work. It is the right first step for almost anyone curious about bilateral stimulation. Tappers are not a replacement for it; they solve the specific problems the technique cannot, namely tempo consistency, hands-free use, long sets and discretion.
The most sensible position is that both belong in the same toolkit. Learn the technique, and add a device when your circumstances call for one.
Important: ALMA tappers are a wellness product inspired by EMDR therapy. They are not a medical device and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. If you are working through trauma, please do so with a qualified EMDR clinician.
Sources
- Jarero, I., Artigas, L., & Estrada, B. D. (2025). Technical report on the neurobiological insights of the EMDR Therapy Butterfly Hug method for self-administered bilateral stimulation.
- Artigas, L., & Jarero, I. The EMDR Therapy Butterfly Hug method for self-administered bilateral stimulation, Iberoamerican Journal of Psychotraumatology and Dissociation, 10(1), via EMDRIA.
- Jarero, I., & Artigas, L. (2010). EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol: application with child victims of natural disasters. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 4(2), 123 to 132.
- International Board of Trauma Professionals, coverage of the 2025 Butterfly Hug neuroimaging report.