The Tapping Evidence Base
Phobias

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Reduces Intense Fears: A Partial Replication and Extension of Wells et al. (2003)

Baker, A.H., Siegel, L. · Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, & Treatment · 2010

Randomized trial⚖️ vs. Supportive Interview condition and No-Treatment Control vs EFTModerate rigor✓ Source-checked
In plain English. This study replicated an earlier phobia experiment, comparing EFT to a supportive listening session and to no treatment at all for fears of small animals. Only the EFT group improved, and remarkably, the improvement was still present almost a year and a half later. It's a well-controlled three-arm trial addressing common criticisms like differing participant expectations.

What they found

EFT participants improved significantly from pre- to posttest on behavioral approach and all subjective fear measures, while Supportive Interview and No-Treatment Control showed no improvement; gains persisted at 1.4-year follow-up.

How the study worked

Who took partparticipants with specific phobias of small animals
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withSupportive Interview condition and No-Treatment Control vs EFT
Measured withbehavioral approach to feared animal, SUDS, Fear Questionnaire, FOSAQ, heart rate

💡 Where this could help

If tapping keeps producing this kind of durable relief from specific phobias — with supportive-listening and no-treatment groups showing no change at all — it could give people who've avoided certain situations for years, like driving or needles, a quick, structured way through it, tested against exactly the 'just talking helps' explanation skeptics raise. Because tapping is learned once and self-administered afterward, someone could use it on their own the next time the phobic situation arises, without booking another exposure session.

🔬 What to study next

Since heart rate was already tracked here alongside behavioral and subjective fear measures, a valuable next step is reporting and expanding on that physiological data specifically, pairing it with cortisol or skin conductance during the actual approach task, to see whether tapping's durable phobia relief, still present at 1.4 years, corresponds with a lasting change in the body's fear response, not just in reported comfort or willingness to approach. Testing this against a broader range of specific phobias, such as needles, driving, or flying, would also clarify how generalizable the effect is beyond small-animal fears.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Populationparticipants with specific phobias of small animals
Comparison groupSupportive Interview condition and No-Treatment Control vs EFT
Outcome measuresbehavioral approach to feared animal, SUDS, Fear Questionnaire, FOSAQ, heart rate
JournalEnergy Psychology: Theory, Research, & Treatment
Year2010
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Baker, A.H., & Siegel, L. (2010). Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Reduces Intense Fears: A Partial Replication and Extension of Wells et al. (2003). Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, & Treatment. https://doi.org/10.9769/EPJ.2010.2.2.AHB.LS

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 Phobias

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Phobias ✓ Randomized trial WHAT THEY FOUND EFT participants improved significantly frompre- to posttest on behavioral approach andall subjective fear… Randomized trial Baker · 2010 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com