Acupoint stimulation in treating psychological disorders: Evidence of Efficacy

Systematic review📚 50 studies reviewedModerate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 United States

In plain English. This review pulled together 50 peer-reviewed papers on tapping-based treatments, including 17 randomized controlled trials, and concluded the effects were consistently strong and far beyond what chance would predict, meeting the American Psychological Association's own bar for an evidence-based treatment for conditions including PTSD. It's a review of the existing trial base rather than a single new study, and it doesn't quote one pooled effect size, but it stands as an early, comprehensive stock-take of tapping's RCT evidence.

What they found

studies reviewed

A literature search identified 50 peer-reviewed papers on clinical outcomes following acupoint tapping, including 17 RCTs, which were found to consistently demonstrate strong effect sizes and positive statistical results that far exceed chance, meeting APA Division 12 evidence-based treatment criteria for a number of conditions including PTSD.

How the study worked

Who took partpeer-reviewed papers on clinical outcomes of acupoint tapping

What they didThis systematic review gathered and appraised the body of published studies against a defined method.

⭐ Why this study matters

This review argues that across 50 papers and 17 RCTs, acupoint tapping repeatedly showed strong effect sizes for anxiety, depression and PTSD. The author frames those results against the American Psychological Association's Division 12 criteria for empirically supported treatments. Important caveat: that is the review author's assessment, not an official APA designation, and the APA has not endorsed tapping.

💡 Where this could help

A consistent body of positive trials matters most for people who need something they can learn once and use on their own, between appointments or where care is hard to reach. It is a promising signal, not a substitute for professional treatment.

🔬 What to study next

The clearest next step is dismantling trials that isolate what the acupoint-tapping component specifically contributes, separate from the exposure and cognitive elements it is usually delivered with.

The full record

Design	Systematic review
Participants	50 studies pooled
Population	peer-reviewed papers on clinical outcomes of acupoint tapping
Journal	Review of General Psychology
Year	2012
Country	United States
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Review or meta-analysis
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Feinstein, D. (2012). Acupoint stimulation in treating psychological disorders: Evidence of Efficacy. Review of General Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028602

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