#74 EFT Is My Ph.D

Let’s be honest, we all have dreams for our kids. Some of us want them to become astronauts, brain surgeons, teachers, or the next Taylor Swift. Others would just be thrilled if they’d put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher instead of on top of it. But underneath it all, what we really want is for them to grow into decent, kind humans who are emotionally solid, financially stable, and maybe, just maybe not living in the basement at 35.

We're talking about dreams that go beyond grades and trophies. Things like real happiness, strong relationships, emotional balance, and being able to support themselves without asking for our Netflix password.

That’s why today, I’m sharing how lived experience, hard-won wisdom, and a soul-deep understanding of how to heal led me down a very different path than the one I originally planned. One that taught me how to let go of old dreams, embrace new ones, and find freedom in a kind of education I never saw coming.

For my mother, the dream for me was clear: teaching. And honestly, it wasn’t a tough sell. I loved school, not because I was great at it, but because it felt like home. It was social. I thrived in the structure of it all. So, I followed in the footsteps of my mother, my brother, and my cousin, slipping into the family legacy of teaching.

Once I officially became a teacher, I also became a student of money management, thanks to my mother’s very practical advice: get to the top of the salary guide. Keep climbing. Take the courses. Stack the credits. Max out your potential. Because the financial rewards in teaching were limited, this is not a secret, and this was the way to make the most of it if you planned on a sustainable livelihood while raising a family.

So, I did what teachers do best: I made a plan. I had my eye on the Ed.D.—the doctorate of education. The ultimate climb. It would have allowed me to teach at the college level, to lead, to inspire future teachers. It was the mountaintop, and I was halfway up the trail with my hiking boots laced tight.

And then... everything changed.

The Moment That Changed Everything

If you've been with me on the podcast over the last 10 years, you already know the detour my life took. Cancer came in like a storm. It wasn’t part of the plan. And it certainly wasn’t part of my Ed.D. timeline.

But here’s the truth bomb I want to drop today: cancer became my catalyst for choosing a different kind of doctorate—one in healing. One in presence. One in listening to my body.

I had watched many strong, incredible women in my life disappear into doctoral programs for five years. They were barely reachable, always racing. And I realized: I didn’t want that kind of sacrifice. I had just lost months of my life to illness. I didn’t want to lose another minute to a spreadsheet, a syllabus, or a dissertation.

So I retracted my submission and stepped away.

Shifting Priorities: The Wake-Up Call

Turns out, cancer wasn’t just a wake-up call. It was a blaring, break-the-glass-in-case-of-emergency alarm with a splash of ice water. It was a slap in the face. And as I healed; slowly, one walk, one breath, one moment at a time, I began enrolling in a different kind of school. One with no tuition, no thesis, but life-altering lessons.

That’s when EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as tapping—entered my life. It became my Ph.D... My Personal Healing Degree.

It started quietly. Just a curiosity, another tool in my yoga and mindfulness toolbox. But the more I learned, the more I realized EFT was everything I had been seeking in my traditional academic path without the burnout.

EFT blends the best of what I’d already been practicing and teaching:

• Mindfulness and breathwork for emotional presence.
  
  
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for mindset shifts.
  
  
• Acupressure and kinesiology for physical and emotional release.
  
  
• Somatic awareness to help your nervous system feel safe again.
  
  

And all of it is rooted in a simple, accessible truth:

The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system. – Gary Craig

So we tap.

We tap on meridian points that communicate with our organs, our stress responses, our deep-held emotions. We do it with honesty. With compassion. And with a powerful intention to release the pain our bodies have been storing.

This is the Ph.D. that matters now.

I may not have a framed diploma that says Doctor Caputo on it, but I have something better. I have a lived experience. I have healed in ways textbooks couldn’t have taught me. I have walked through trauma and emerged with tools that help me support others, not just academically, but holistically.

This EFT work isn’t just a practice. 

It’s a mission. 

It’s my give back, my wellness curriculum, my heart project. It’s how I coach students, parents, and educators through the overwhelm of life and learning. It’s how I show up in every workshop, every course, every episode of the podcast.

And if I can help just one person avoid the slap I got from life?
Then I get to smile in the mirror and say, “They’re gonna be okay.”

Here’s The Lesson

Stress isn’t the problem.
How our body stores it is.

Tapping became my daily reminder that peace is possible. That healing is possible. That we don’t need to chase degrees or perfection or anyone else’s definition of success to be whole.

I didn’t get the Ed.D.

But I earned something far more meaningful: a Personal Healing Degree.
One that came from lived experience, hard-won wisdom, and a soul-deep understanding of how to heal from the inside out.

And you know what? Despite not having that doctorate, I’ve been teaching at the college level for over 20 years. I’ve been honored with Stellar Instructor Awards, developed graduate-level courses, and led thousands of educators, students, and families through transformational work in both wellness and learning.

I’ve led without the Ed.D.
I’ve taught without the title.
And I’ve healed without permission.

Turns out, your ability to lead, teach, and make an impact doesn’t live in a frame on the wall. It lives in your presence, your purpose, and your willingness to shift.

So no, I didn’t get the doctorate I once dreamed of.

I got something better.

I got well.