Lee, S. H., Chae, H., Lim, J. H. · Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry · 2017
Of 14 extracted clinical trials (8 RCTs, 2 non-randomized controlled trials, 4 before-after studies), EFT showed significant clinical usefulness for public speaking anxiety, test anxiety, stress, depression, learning-related emotions, adolescent anxiety, and eating issues, though risk of selection bias was high or uncertain in most studies.
Picture a high schooler paralyzed by test anxiety the night before finals, with no time or money for therapy. If this pattern of benefit across public speaking, test anxiety, and stress holds up in stronger trials, schools could teach tapping as a quick tool students use before an exam or presentation — something a counselor could offer to a whole classroom rather than one student at a time, and something the student could keep using alone at home the night before finals, with no appointment needed.
Like its close counterpart, this review's 14 trials would benefit from a formal pooled meta-analysis with a calculated effect size rather than a narrative summary, plus objective stress markers (cortisol, heart-rate variability) layered onto the existing self-report measures. Testing tapping delivered to an entire classroom by a teacher or counselor, rather than one-on-one, would show whether the individual-level benefits scale to a real school setting.
| Design | Systematic review |
|---|---|
| Participants | 14 studies pooled |
| Population | students |
| Outcome measures | varied across included studies |
| Journal | Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry |
| Year | 2017 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Review or meta-analysis |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Lee, S. H., Chae, H., & Lim, J. H. (2017). Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for Students Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry. https://doi.org/10.7231/jon.2017.28.3.165
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 Test Anxiety & Students · Anxiety · Depression
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