Corrigendum supports therapeutic contribution of acupoint tapping to EFT's observed effects

Dismantling study📚 6 studies reviewed⚖️ vs. sham acupoints or alternative components (dismantling design)Moderate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 United States

In plain English. This is a correction to an earlier meta-analysis that isolated whether the tapping-on-acupoints part of EFT actually matters, or whether EFT would work just as well without it. After fixing a statistical error, an independent statistician reran the numbers on the same six studies and found the tapping component made an even stronger contribution than first reported. The corrected finding still says tapping itself is doing real work, not just acting as a placebo -- though this correction was itself later challenged by other researchers in the same journal.

What they found

studies reviewed

Following correction of standard-deviation errors in the original meta-analysis, an independent statistician's reanalysis of 6 identified component studies (3 meeting Division 12 Task Force quality criteria) found slightly greater effects than the original analysis, reaffirming that the acupoint-tapping component of EFT is an active ingredient rather than an inert placebo.

How the study worked

Who took partComponent (dismantling) studies isolating the acupoint-tapping ingredient of EFT

What they didThis dismantling study compared standard tapping against a modified version to test which components matter.

Compared withsham acupoints or alternative components (dismantling design)

💡 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 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: longer-term follow-up to see how durable the benefit is, and an active ('sham tapping') control to isolate what's doing the work.

The full record

Design	Dismantling study
Participants	6 studies pooled
Population	Component (dismantling) studies isolating the acupoint-tapping ingredient of EFT
Comparison group	sham acupoints or alternative components (dismantling design)
Journal	Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Year	2022
Country	United States
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Study / trial
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Church, D., Kip, K., & Stapleton, P. (2022). Corrigendum supports therapeutic contribution of acupoint tapping to EFT's observed effects. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001439

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 How It Works (Biology)