Tapping on your hands, face and chest while repeating negative statements — how can this possibly lead anyone to emotional freedom? For many years, practitioners of Emotional Freedom Techniques “Tapping” knew that it worked but didn’t know how it worked. Now, hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies have proven the effectiveness of EFT Tapping and have identified why the funny looking treatment approach is effective.
EFT Tapping combines three established methods of psychological treatment:
- Exposure therapy — you remember and face a negative emotional experience
- Cognitive therapy — you experience new cognitive input, reframing the difficult memory with a statement of self-acceptance
- Acupressure — while holding the negative emotional experience and the new cognitive input in mind, you tap on points identified by Chinese medicine thousands of years ago. This sends soothing signals directly to your brain.
The result: You break the emotional intensity of your memory. You still remember the experience, but it doesn’t have the old emotional charge.
Research has shown that EFT Tapping is effective for anxiety, depression, PTSD, pain and physical symptoms, phobias, weight loss, cravings, addiction and athletic performance. Following are summaries of just a few of the studies.
Selected Studies
EFT is effective for anxiety, depression, phobias, PTSD, pain, insomnia, autoimmune conditions and stress
Dawson Church, et al.
The researchers performed a systematic review of the literature to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which are the best studies, and meta-analyses of the effectiveness of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). They identified 56 RCTs (n = 2,013) and eight meta-analyses.
RCTs have found EFT treatment to be effective for (a) psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); (b) physiological issues such as pain, insomnia, and autoimmune conditions; (c) professional and sports performance; and (d) biological markers of stress. Meta-analyses evaluating the effect of EFT treatment have found it to be “moderate” to “large.” Successful independent replication studies have been carried out for anxiety, depression, PTSD, phobias, sports performance, and cortisol levels.
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Why EFT offers relief, even if it looks strange
David Feinstein
The most well-known forms of “energy psychology” combine cognitive and exposure techniques with the stimulation of selected acupuncture points (acupoints) by tapping on them. The method has been highly controversial, with its efficacy, purported speed, and explanatory models all questioned. Nonetheless, its utilization within clinical settings and as a self-help method has continued to expand since it was introduced more than three decades ago.
This paper reviews the most salient criticisms of the method and presents research and empirically based theoretical constructs that address them. More than 100 peer-reviewed outcome studies — 51 of which are randomized controlled trials — provide an evidential base for evaluating the claims and criticisms surrounding the approach.
This review concludes that a growing body of evidence indicates that acupoint-based energy psychology protocols are rapid and effective in producing beneficial outcomes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and possibly other conditions. Mechanisms by which acupoint tapping might bring about these treatment outcomes are also proposed.
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One hour of EFT reduces cortisol and symptoms of psychological distress
Dawson Church, et al.
This study examined the changes in cortisol levels and psychological distress symptoms of 83 nonclinical subjects receiving a single hourlong intervention. Subjects were randomly assigned to either an emotional freedom technique (EFT) group, a psychotherapy group receiving a supportive interview, or a no treatment group. Salivary cortisol tests were performed immediately before and 30 minutes after the intervention. Psychological distress symptoms were assessed.
The EFT group showed statistically significant improvements in anxiety, depression, the overall severity of symptoms, and symptom breadth. The EFT group experienced a significant decrease in cortisol level compared with the decrease observed in the supportive interview and no treatment groups.
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EFT is just as effective as EMDR for depression
Jerrod A. Nelms et al.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of EFT research showed that Clinical EFT was highly effective in reducing depressive symptoms in a variety of populations and settings. EFT was more effective than diaphragmatic breathing and the supportive interview methods, produced effects equal to those of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and was superior to treatment as usual.
The post-test effect size for EFT (d 1.31) was larger than that measured in meta-analyses of antidepressant drug trials and psychotherapy studies. EFT produced large treatment effects whether delivered in group or individual format, and participants maintained their gains over time.
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EFT treatment demonstrates significant decreases in anxiety
Morgan Clond
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) combines elements of exposure and cognitive therapies with acupressure for the treatment of psychological distress. Randomized controlled trials retrieved by literature search were assessed for quality using the criteria developed by the American Psychological Association. As of December 2015, 14 studies (n = 658) met inclusion criteria.
Results were analyzed using an inverse variance weighted meta-analysis. The pre-post effect size for the EFT treatment group was 1.23, whereas the effect size for combined controls was 0.41. Emotional freedom technique treatment demonstrated a significant decrease in anxiety scores, even when accounting for the effect size of control treatment.
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More research
You’ll find an extensive collection of scientific studies on this page at EFTUniverse.com:
Bibliography of research on EFT Tapping
