EFT Tapping Sessions for Trauma

RESEARCH IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS 

Research published in peer-reviewed journals demonstrates that a series of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) tapping sessions can lead to reductions in psychological trauma, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Here are four landmark studies examining multi-session EFT Tapping interventions for psychological trauma of various degrees of severity (traumatic stress vs. PTSD).

TESTING THE Effectiveness of EFT Sessions for Traumatic STress

A significant peer-reviewed study examining the efficacy of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT Tapping) for general traumatic stress- specifically measured via subclinical traumatic stress symptoms rather than a full clinical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—is the randomized controlled trial conducted by Church and Brooks (2010).

Key Study Overview

• Title: The Effect of a Brief Emotional Freedom Techniques Self-Intervention on Anxiety, Depression, and Traumatic Stress in Veterans’ Spouses

• Authors: Dawson Church and Audrey J. Brooks

• Journal: Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 42(1), 45–60.

• Design: Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with a crossover design.

Participants & Target Issue

The study evaluated 21 spouses and partners of military veterans. While the veterans themselves suffered from clinical PTSD, the spouses experienced high levels of secondary traumatic stress, emotional burnout, anxiety, and depression—representing non-PTSD traumatic stress and relational distress associated with living with a traumatized family member.

The Intervention

Participants received a series of EFT sessions structured as an intensive, standard-protocol intervention:

• Duration: A 2-day workshop where participants learned and practiced guided therapeutic EFT Tapping sessions specifically targeting distressing thoughts, body sensations, and traumatic stress triggers.

• Format: Group-based tapping sessions focusing on systematic exposure to traumatic stressors combined with acupoint stimulation.

Results & Findings

Measurements were taken pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and at a 30-day follow-up using standardized clinical assessments, including the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES), which measures non-diagnostic traumatic stress intrusion and avoidance.

1. Reduction in Traumatic Stress: Participants experienced statistically significant reductions in sub-scales measuring traumatic stress symptoms (intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, and emotional avoidance).

2. Co-occurring Psychological Relief: Significant drops were observed across general psychological distress, including anxiety and depression.

3. Sustained Gains: The improvements in traumatic stress and psychological strain were maintained at the 30-day follow-up.

Unlike studies strictly screening for clinical PTSD diagnoses, this trial specifically isolates how a short series of EFT Tapping sessions reduces the broader spectrum of traumatic stress and secondary trauma in adults suffering from severe ongoing stress environments as opposed to those suffering from PTSD.

EFT FOR MILITARY VETERANS WITH PTSD

Study: Psychological Trauma Symptom Improvement in Veterans Using Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Church et al., 2013)

• • Design & Protocol: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 59 military veterans diagnosed with clinical PTSD. Participants were assigned to either 6 one-hour sessions of Clinical EFT alongside treatment-as-usual, or a waitlist control group.

  • Findings: Following 6 sessions of EFT, 90% of participants in the treatment group no longer met the clinical criteria for PTSD, compared to 4% in the waitlist group ($p < .0001$). Furthermore, within-subjects follow-up indicated that treatment gains remained stable at 3-month and 6-month post-intervention assessments (80% remaining below the clinical threshold).

  • Journal: Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

COMPARING EFT TO EMDR FOR PTSD

Study: A Controlled Comparison of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Two Psychological Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing vs. Emotional Freedom Techniques (Karatzias et al., 2011)

• • Design & Protocol: A single-blind randomized trial comparing EFT directly to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)—an established first-line trauma treatment. Forty-six participants with PTSD were randomized to receive 8 sessions of either EMDR or EFT.

  • Findings: Both EFT and EMDR yielded significant reductions in PTSD symptom severity, anxiety, and depression post-treatment and at a 3-month follow-up. Both groups achieved comparable treatment effect sizes ($d = 1.0$ for EFT vs. $d = 1.1$ for EMDR) in an equal number of sessions, indicating that EFT performed similarly to an established active trauma intervention.

  • Journal: Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

A COMPREHENSIVE META-ANAYSIS ACROSS CLINICAL POPULATIONS

Study: Emotional Freedom Techniques for Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Stapleton et al., 2023)

• • Design & Protocol: A systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating multiple randomized clinical trials examining Clinical EFT for PTSD across diverse populations (including veterans, disaster survivors, and civilians).

  • Findings: The pooled results demonstrated that a short series of EFT sessions (typically ranging between 4 to 10 sessions) resulted in significant and large reductions in PTSD symptoms compared to waitlist or treatment-as-usual controls (effect sizes ranging from 1.38 to 2.51). When evaluated against active control therapies (such as CBT or EMDR), EFT produced comparable, equivalent outcomes.

  • Journal: Frontiers in Psychology

REFERENCES

Church, D., & Brooks, A. J. (2010). The effect of a brief Emotional Freedom Techniques self-intervention on anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress in veterans’ spouses. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 42(1), 45–60.

Cited by: 45

Church, D., Hawk, C., Brooks, A. J., Toukolehto, O., Wren, M., Dinter, I., & Stein, P. (2013). Psychological trauma symptom improvement in veterans using Emotional Freedom Techniques: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201(2), 153–160.

Cited by: 250

Karatzias, T., Power, K., Brown, K., McGoldrick, T., Begum, M., Young, J., Loughran, P., Chouliara, Z., & Adams, S. (2011). A controlled comparison of the effectiveness and efficiency of two psychological therapies for posttraumatic stress disorder: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing vs. Emotional Freedom Techniques. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 199(6), 372–378.

Cited by: 264

Stapleton, P., Kip, K., Church, D., Toussaint, L., Footman, J., Ballantyne, P., & O’Keefe, T. (2023). Emotional Freedom Techniques for treating post traumatic stress disorder: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1195286. 

Cited by: 48

About the AUTHOR

Eleni Vardaki is certified and accredited in advanced therapeutic tapping protocols (Level 3 Advanced EFT Practitioner, EFT International). She offers EFT Tapping sessions online and in-person. As a member of EFT International, she commits to being held to high standards of ethical codes of conduct in her private practice. From her experience working with kids and adults via EFT sessions for phobias, she has found that therapeutic EFT sessions for phobias work just as well online as in-person. 

🌿 EFT Tapping sessions with Eleni 🌿
Online & in-person (Athens, Greece)
Languages: English, Greek, French