Randomised Controlled Study Comparing Two Psychological Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) vs. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET)

Controlled trial👥 60 participants⚖️ vs. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and no-treatment controlModerate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Iraq

In plain English. 60 young Iraqi men with PTSD from war-related trauma were split between tapping, narrative exposure therapy, and no treatment. Those who tapped improved across all the main categories of PTSD symptoms, and that improvement held for a full year afterward, while the comparison therapy group improved in some areas but not others. We found this study through search results and secondary summaries rather than reading the full published paper directly, so some details should be treated as provisional.

What they found

people took part

The EFT group showed significant improvement across all PTSD symptom clusters, while the NET group improved on avoidance and re-experiencing but not hyperarousal; EFT gains remained stable through 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups.

How the study worked

Who took partmale Iraqi students aged 16-19 meeting DSM-IV PTSD criteria (n=60)

What they didIn a controlled trial, a tapping group was compared against a separate comparison group.

Compared withNarrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and no-treatment control

Measured withPTSD cluster symptom scales, anxiety and depression measures

💡 Where this could help

If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people struggling with PTSD & trauma who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.

🔬 What to study next

The natural next step: longer-term follow-up to see how durable the benefit is, and an active ('sham tapping') control to isolate what's doing the work.

The full record

Design	Controlled trial
Participants	60 people
Population	male Iraqi students aged 16-19 meeting DSM-IV PTSD criteria
Comparison group	Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and no-treatment control
Outcome measures	PTSD cluster symptom scales, anxiety and depression measures
Journal	Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment
Year	2015
Country	Iraq
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Study / trial
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Al-Hadethe, A., Hunt, N., Al-Qaysi, Z., & Thomas, S. (2015). Randomised Controlled Study Comparing Two Psychological Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) vs. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET). Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment. https://doi.org/10.4172/2324-8947.1000145

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on PTSD & Trauma · Anxiety · Depression