The Tapping Evidence Base
PTSD & Trauma

Emotional Freedom Techniques to treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans: Review of the evidence, survey of practitioners and proposed clinical guidelines

Church, D., Stern, S., Boath, E., Stewart, A., Feinstein, D., Clond, M. · Permanente Journal · 2017

Outcome study👥 448 participantsPreliminary✓ Source-checked📍 United States
In plain English. Researchers surveyed 448 practitioners who use EFT to treat PTSD in veterans, and the numbers were striking: about two-thirds said even complex, severe PTSD typically resolves in 10 or fewer sessions, nearly two-thirds said most of their clients fully recovered, and 89% said fewer than 1 in 10 clients failed to improve at all. Combining these practitioner reports with the published research, the team proposed a formal treatment guideline of five sessions for milder cases and ten for full clinical PTSD. Because this relies on practitioners' own reports of their clients' progress rather than independent clinical assessment, treat the specific percentages as self-reported practitioner experience rather than externally verified outcomes.

What they found

448
people took part

A survey of 448 EFT practitioners found 63% reported even complex PTSD could be remediated in 10 or fewer sessions, 65% reported more than 60% of PTSD clients were fully rehabilitated, and 89% reported fewer than 10% of clients made little or no progress; these findings were combined with the research literature and a meta-analysis to propose a stepped-care clinical guideline of 5 EFT sessions for subclinical PTSD and 10 for clinical PTSD.

How the study worked

Who took partEFT practitioners treating veterans and active military with PTSD (n=448)
What they didParticipants received tapping and were measured before and after, without a separate comparison group.

The full record

DesignOutcome study
Participants448 people
PopulationEFT practitioners treating veterans and active military with PTSD
JournalPermanente Journal
Year2017
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Church, D., Stern, S., Boath, E., Stewart, A., Feinstein, D., & Clond, M. (2017). Emotional Freedom Techniques to treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans: Review of the evidence, survey of practitioners and proposed clinical guidelines. Permanente Journal. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/16-100

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE PTSD & Trauma 448 participants WHAT THEY FOUND A survey of 448 EFT practitioners found 63%reported even complex PTSD could beremediated in 10 or fewer sessions… Outcome study · 448 participants Church · 2017 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com