The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a technique used with children, teenagers, adults, in my trauma informed classses as well as to support breathwork. I think it is a more accessible option than Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and is increasingly being studied as a legitimate psychological intervention.
EFT combines elements of cognitive therapy and exposure techniques with tapping on acupressure points while focusing on an emotional issue. In practice, you're asked to bring a stressful memory or feeling to mind, describe it, and pair that with a statement of self-acceptance, all while tapping through a sequence of points on the body.
Four studies I looked at published between 2017 and 2024 researched EFT across very different settings and populations, and the findings are noteworthy.
Nurses on COVID wards One study tested a single online EFT session with nurses caring for COVID-19 patients, a group under extraordinary pressure. Using randomised controlled design with 72 participants, the results were striking: just one session produced highly significant reductions in stress, anxiety and burnout. The fact that it was delivered remotely and in a single session makes this particularly relevant for workplace wellbeing settings.
People living with PTSD A pilot study recruited 30 participants with PTSD, who received weekly one-to-one EFT sessions over five weeks with a trained clinician. Symptom scores dropped significantly, and crucially, the dropout rate was very low, suggesting people found it tolerable and worthwhile even when dealing with serious trauma. For a pilot study, this is an encouraging signal, though larger trials are needed to draw firm conclusions.
Group workshops Another study looked at EFT delivered in a group setting across five two-day workshops, using a format where a facilitator works with one person while others in the group follow along and self-apply the technique. With 81 participants, significant reductions were found across symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression and these gains were still present at a six-month follow-up, which is an important indicator that the benefits lasted beyond the sessions themselves.
A smartphone app — this study involved over 270,000 app users who self-rated their emotional intensity before and after EFT sessions. Across nearly 380,000 completed sessions, anxiety and stress scores dropped significantly every time. This was the first large-scale study of app-delivered EFT, and while self-reported ratings have limitations, the sheer scale of the data is hard to ignore.
Across all four studies, whether EFT was delivered in person or remotely, individually or in groups, in a single session or over several weeks, participants consistently reported significant reductions in symptoms. That consistency across such varied conditions is meaningful. What also stands out is the accessibility of EFT as an intervention. It can be self-administered, delivered via an app, used in group settings, or offered remotely, making it a potentially cost-effective option at a time when mental health support is stretched thin.
Based on this evidence and in my teaching practice, EFT is an accessible, flexible and effective tool for reducing stress, anxiety and trauma symptoms across a range of settings. It's not a replacement for professional mental health care where that's needed but as a complementary intervention, or a self-help tool, the case for taking it seriously is growing.
If you would like to try an app: https://www.thetappingsolution.com/blog/tapping-solution-app/
Worth noting is that most participants across these four studies were female, and the majority of app users were from Western, English-speaking countries.
References:
Choi, Y., Kim, Y., Kwon, D.-H., Choi, S., Choi, Y.-E., Ahn, E.K., Cho, S.-H., & Kim., H. (2024). Feasibility of Emotional Freedom Techniques in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: a pilot study. Journal of pharmacopuncture, 27(1), 27–37.
Church, D., & House, D. (2018). Borrowing Benefits: Group Treatment With Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques Is Associated With Simultaneous Reductions in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, 23, Article 2156587218756510. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587218756510
Church, D., Stapleton, P., & Sabot, D. (2020). App-Based Delivery of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques: Cross-Sectional Study of App User Self-Ratings. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(10), Article e18545. https://doi.org/10.2196/18545
Church, D., Stapleton, P., Vasudevan, A., & O'Keefe, T. (2022). Clinical EFT as an evidence-based practice for the treatment of psychological and physiological conditions: A systematic review. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 951451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951451
Dincer, B., & Inangil, D. (2021). The effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques on nurses’ stress, anxiety, and burnout levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Explore (New York, N.Y.), 17(2), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2020.11.012