The Tapping Evidence Base
Depression

Spiritual Emotional Freedom Technique (SEFT) Intervention Decreases Elderly Depression

Etika, A., et al. · NurseLine Journal · 2016

Randomized trial👥 30 participants⚖️ vs. treatment as usualModerate rigor📍 Indonesia
In plain English. Thirty older adults in Indonesia with mild-to-moderate depression were split into a spiritually-framed tapping (SEFT) group and a usual-care group over four weeks of sessions. The tapping group's scores on a standard geriatric depression scale improved more than the comparison group's. This is a small trial known to us mainly through its citation in a larger meta-analysis, so consider it an early, modestly sized signal.

What they found

30
people took part

30 elderly Indonesian adults with mild-to-moderate depression were randomized to individual SEFT (n=15, 4 sessions over 4 weeks) or usual care (n=15); the trial is listed in Seok & Kim (2024) Table 1 with a moderate baseline depression level, using the Geriatric Depression Scale as the outcome.

How the study worked

Who took partElderly adults in Indonesia with mild-to-moderate depression (n=30)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withtreatment as usual
Measured withGeriatric Depression Scale

💡 Where this could help

Picture an older adult in Indonesia, isolated and depressed, for whom transportation to a mental health clinic is a real barrier and stigma around psychiatric care runs deep. If a spiritually-framed practice like SEFT continues to ease depression in this population, it could give community health workers and family caregivers a tool taught once and then used at home indefinitely, without needing to frame it as formal 'therapy' or arrange ongoing visits to a clinic.

🔬 What to study next

For isolated, depressed older adults, the interesting next step is checking whether the mood improvement corresponds with objective markers of aging-related stress — cortisol rhythm or inflammatory markers already linked to late-life depression — rather than relying on the Geriatric Depression Scale alone. Testing whether community health workers or family caregivers, not clinicians, can deliver and sustain this at home would also matter in a setting where stigma and distance both limit access to formal care.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants30 people
PopulationElderly adults in Indonesia with mild-to-moderate depression
Comparison grouptreatment as usual
Outcome measuresGeriatric Depression Scale
JournalNurseLine Journal
Year2016
CountryIndonesia
LanguageIndonesian
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
VerificationTranscribed from a peer-reviewed source; pending independent confirmation
Verification note. A paper with this exact title ('Spiritual Emotional Freedom Technique (SEFT) Intervention Decreases Elderly Depression,' May 2016) does appear to exist, but every search surfaced it under different authors (Sutejo, Putri, Meiyanto) rather than 'Etika, A.' Could not reach the NurseLine Journal site directly to resolve whether 'Etika' is a genuine additional/lead author omitted from search snippets or a citation mismatch. Journal, year, and topic are plausibly real; authorship is the unresolved piece, so this stays partial rather than verified or unverified. The parent citation (Seok & Kim 2024, Journal of Clinical Medicine 13(21):6481) is independently confirmed real, which lends indirect credibility to this being a genuine included-study citation.

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Etika, A., & et al. (2016). Spiritual Emotional Freedom Technique (SEFT) Intervention Decreases Elderly Depression. NurseLine Journal.

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 Depression

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Depression 30 participants WHAT THEY FOUND 30 elderly Indonesian adults with mild-to-moderate depression were randomized toindividual SEFT (n=15, 4 sessions… Randomized trial · 30 participants Etika · 2016 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com