The Tapping Evidence Base
Multiple Conditions

About Face: Is Virtual Group Delivery of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as Effective as Face-to-Face Group Delivery in Improving Psychological and Physiological Markers of Health?

Boath, E., Church, D., Stapleton, P. · Healthcare (Basel) · 2026

Outcome study 👥 172 participants ⚖️ vs. Historical (previously published) face-to-face cohort, n=203 - NOT a randomized concurrent arm Preliminary ✓ Source-checked 📍 United Kingdom / United States / Australia
In plain English. Group Tapping delivered over Zoom worked: 172 participants improved significantly on PTSD, anxiety, depression, pain and happiness and mostly held those gains six months on. Improvements were a bit smaller than the in-person version of the same course, but online delivery clearly retains most of the benefit.

What they found

172
Group Tapping delivered over Zoom worked: 172 participants improved significantly on PTSD, anxiety, depression, pain and happiness and mostly held those gains…

Virtual group EFT (n=172) produced significant pre-post improvements in PTSD, anxiety, depression, pain and happiness (all p<0.001), largely maintained at 6 months (anxiety NS at follow-up, p=0.102). Gains were somewhat smaller than in a previously published in-person cohort (n=203) using the same curriculum. Non-randomized historical comparison with baseline differences on happiness, pain and PTSD.

How the study worked

Who took part Convenience sample of 172 participants in four 4-day virtual group EFT trainings, compared against a previously published in-person cohort (n=203) using an identical curriculum (n=172)
What they did Participants received tapping and were measured before and after, without a separate comparison group.
Compared with Historical (previously published) face-to-face cohort, n=203 - NOT a randomized concurrent arm
Measured with PTSD (PCL-2), Anxiety/Depression (PHQ-4), Pain (QuickDASH), Happiness Scale

💡 Where this could help

Supports delivering group Tapping online at scale: virtual delivery retained most of the in-person benefit for PTSD, anxiety, depression, pain and happiness.

🔬 What to study next

A concurrent randomized head-to-head of virtual vs in-person delivery with matched instruments.

The full record

DesignOutcome study
Participants172 people
PopulationConvenience sample of 172 participants in four 4-day virtual group EFT trainings, compared against a previously published in-person cohort (n=203) using an identical curriculum
Comparison groupHistorical (previously published) face-to-face cohort, n=203 - NOT a randomized concurrent arm
Effect sizeCohen's d (paired) = 0.62 — on average within-group pre-post improvement across outcomes, virtual cohort n=172 (face-to-face historical cohort d=0.68); within-group only, historical comparison with baseline differences and different anxiety/depression instruments (PHQ-4 vs HADS)
Outcome measuresPTSD (PCL-2), Anxiety/Depression (PHQ-4), Pain (QuickDASH), Happiness Scale
JournalHealthcare (Basel)
Year2026
CountryUnited Kingdom / United States / Australia
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / Tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Boath, E., Church, D., & Stapleton, P. (2026). About Face: Is Virtual Group Delivery of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as Effective as Face-to-Face Group Delivery in Improving Psychological and Physiological Markers of Health?. Healthcare (Basel). https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14060784

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/Tapping.

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Multiple Conditions 172 participants WHAT THEY FOUND Virtual group EFT (n=172) producedsignificant pre-post improvements in PTSD,anxiety, depression, pain and happiness… Outcome study · 172 participants Boath · 2026 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com