The Tapping Evidence Base
Weight & Food Cravings · Anxiety · Depression

Effect of emotional freedom techniques on psychological symptoms and cravings among patients with substance related disorders

Balha, S. M., Abo-Baker, O., Mahmoud, S. · International Journal of Novel Research in Healthcare and Nursing · 2020

Outcome study👥 90 participants⚖️ vs. no interventionPreliminary✓ Source-checked📍 Egypt
In plain English. Ninety patients being treated for substance use disorders in an Egyptian psychiatric hospital learned EFT as part of their care. Afterward, their cravings dropped and so did their overall psychological distress across every symptom category measured. There was no control group, so it's not clear how much of the improvement came from tapping specifically versus the rest of their treatment.

What they found

90
people took part

A psycho-educational EFT program significantly reduced craving levels and all nine SCL-90 symptom dimensions after the sessions (p < 0.005).

How the study worked

Who took partpatients with substance-related disorders in a psychiatric hospital (n=90)
What they didParticipants received tapping and were measured before and after.
Compared withno intervention
Measured withPenn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90-R)

💡 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 weight & food cravings 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: a randomized controlled design.

The full record

DesignOutcome study
Participants90 people
Populationpatients with substance-related disorders in a psychiatric hospital
Comparison groupno intervention
Outcome measuresPenn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90-R)
JournalInternational Journal of Novel Research in Healthcare and Nursing
Year2020
CountryEgypt
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Catalogued from a peer-reviewed index or meta-analysis. See the citation below to locate the original.

Cite this study

APA

Balha, S. M., Abo-Baker, O., & Mahmoud, S. (2020). Effect of emotional freedom techniques on psychological symptoms and cravings among patients with substance related disorders. International Journal of Novel Research in Healthcare and Nursing.

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 Weight & Food Cravings · Anxiety · Depression

Share this study

A ready-made graphic — right-click or long-press to save the image.

Show shareable card
THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Weight & Food Cravings 90 participants WHAT THEY FOUND A psycho-educational EFT programsignificantly reduced craving levels and allnine SCL-90 symptom dimensions after… Outcome study · 90 participants Balha · 2020 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com