Chen, W.T., Chao, T.Y., Huang, W.Z., Hsu, C.W., Tseng, P.T., Tzeng, N.S. et al. · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · 2025
Across 13 studies and 621 patients, EFT significantly improved PTSD symptoms compared with control groups (Hedges' g=-2.062, 95% CI -2.759 to -1.452) and compared with baseline (Hedges' g=-0.865), with a veteran subgroup effect of Hedges' g=-1.102 (95% CI -1.441 to -0.877), and improvements sustained up to 3 months (Hedges' g=-0.723 for PTSD severity).
This is a big deal because it's not one small study — it's a pooled analysis of 621 people across 13 separate trials, the kind of large-scale synthesis that regulators, insurers, and skeptical clinicians actually pay attention to. A single study can be a fluke; a consistent effect this size across 13 independent research teams, holding for three months afterward, is much harder to wave away as coincidence.
If this large pooled PTSD effect holds up outside meta-analysis conditions, it could open a low-cost option for the many veterans and trauma survivors who wait months for specialist trauma care, especially in under-resourced clinics or rural areas without trauma specialists nearby. And because it's a technique a person learns once and can then use themselves, indefinitely, it wouldn't just add capacity to strained clinics — it would give individual survivors something to reach for the moment symptoms flare, no clinician on call required.
If this pooled PTSD benefit holds up, the natural next move is testing whether it's traceable in the body, not just on a symptom checklist — cortisol awakening response, heart-rate variability, and inflammatory markers like IL-6 could show whether the 3-month durability seen here also shows up as a lasting shift in stress physiology. It would also be worth pinning down dose (how many sessions actually produce this effect in the veteran subgroup versus civilians), and testing app-based or group delivery so a benefit this large could reach the many trauma survivors who never get near a specialist.
| Design | Meta-analysis |
|---|---|
| Participants | 621 people |
| Population | mixed PTSD populations across 13 studies, including a veteran subgroup |
| Comparison group | baseline (pre-post) and mixed active/passive control groups |
| Effect size | Hedges' g = -2.062 (95% CI -2.759 to -1.452 (SMD scale)) — on EFT vs control groups (between-group); a separate, smaller within-group pre-post effect of Hedges' g=-0.865 (SMD -0.901, 95% CI -1.130 to -0.671) vs baseline is also reported in the same paper |
| Outcome measures | PTSD symptom scales (aggregate), anxiety and depression scales |
| Journal | European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience |
| Year | 2025 |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Review or meta-analysis |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Chen, W.T., Chao, T.Y., Huang, W.Z., Hsu, C.W., Tseng, P.T., Tzeng, N.S., Chang, H.A., Yeh, C.B., Weng, J.P., Hsieh, P.H., & Chen, T.Y. (2025). Effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques in Alleviating Symptoms Associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-025-02000-4
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
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