A one-page overview of the peer-reviewed research, prepared for discussion with a healthcare provider. The Tapping Evidence Base · July 2026
| Study | Design | Journal | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boath, E., Stewart, A. et al. (2012)
A search identified 42 published EFT studies, of which 7 RCTs met inclusion criteria; EFT was shown effective for PTSD… | Systematic review, 7 studies | Staffordshire University, CPSI Monograph | |
| Al Awdah, A.S., et al. (2021)
The TFT group showed significantly lower dental fear after treatment (p<0. | Randomized trial, N=160 | EC Dental Science | |
| Dincer, B., Kumral Özçelik, S. et al. (2020)
Both breathing therapy and EFT groups had comparable pre-intervention anxiety; SUDS, STAI, and speech-anxiety scores decreased… | Randomized trial, N=76 | Explore | |
| Irgens, A. (2017)
Both CBT and TFT showed significantly better results than waitlist (p < 0. | Randomized trial, N=72 | Frontiers in Psychology | Cohen's d = -0.98 |
| Schoninger, B., Hartung, J. (2010)
Participants receiving TFT showed decreases in public speaking anxiety and increases in positive anticipation measures… | Randomized trial, N=48 | Energy Psychology: Theory, Practice, Research | |
| Schoninger, B. (2004)
Post-treatment SUD scores decreased significantly (p<=. | Randomized trial, N=48 | Dissertation Abstracts International | |
| Wells, S., Polglase, K. et al. (2003)
35 participants were randomly assigned to a single 30-minute session of EFT (n=18) or diaphragmatic breathing (n=17); EFT… | Randomized trial, N=35 | Journal of Clinical Psychology | Cohen's d (EFT vs diaphragmatic breathing) = 1.64 |
| Irgens, A. (2018)
TFT showed better effect than a 10-week waitlist, with benefits continuing at 3 and 12 months; TFT and cognitive therapy showed… | Randomized trial | Doctoral thesis, University of Oslo |