The Tapping Evidence Base
Anxiety

Thought Field Therapy (TFT) as a treatment for anxiety symptoms: A randomized controlled trial

Irgens, A., Dammen, T., Nysaeter, T. E., Hoffart, A. · Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing · 2012

Randomized trial👥 45 participants⚖️ vs. waitlistModerate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Norway
In plain English. Forty-five patients with various anxiety disorders in Norway were randomized to Thought Field Therapy or a waiting list. The tapping group improved significantly more on anxiety and daily functioning, and the benefit was still there a year later. This is a genuine randomized trial with a meaningful follow-up period for a mixed anxiety-disorder population.

What they found

45
people took part

The TFT group had a significantly better outcome on two measures of anxiety and one measure of function compared to the waitlist group, with improvement maintained at 3 and 12 months post-treatment.

How the study worked

Who took partoutpatients with a variety of anxiety disorders (n=45)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withwaitlist
Measured withSymptom Checklist 90-Revised, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Sheehan Disability Scale

💡 Where this could help

Picture someone with a mix of anxiety symptoms that doesn't fit neatly into one diagnostic box, the kind of person who often falls through the cracks of specialized treatment programs. If tapping's benefits here continue to hold across a year of follow-up, it points toward a flexible tool patients can learn once in general practice and then keep using themselves indefinitely, useful for a broad range of anxious patients regardless of specific diagnosis or how long they'd otherwise wait for specialized care.

🔬 What to study next

With gains holding a full year after treatment across this mixed anxiety-disorder group, a valuable next step is adding cortisol, heart rate variability, or sleep actigraphy at the same follow-up points, to see whether the durability seen on symptom and functioning scales reflects a lasting shift in underlying stress physiology. Testing this flexible, diagnosis-agnostic delivery model in general practice settings, rather than a specialized clinic, would also clarify how well it scales for the broad range of anxious patients primary care sees every day.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants45 people
Populationoutpatients with a variety of anxiety disorders
Comparison groupwaitlist
Outcome measuresSymptom Checklist 90-Revised, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Sheehan Disability Scale
JournalExplore: The Journal of Science and Healing
Year2012
CountryNorway
LanguageEnglish
MethodThought Field Therapy (related tapping method)
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Irgens, A., Dammen, T., Nysaeter, T. E., & Hoffart, A. (2012). Thought Field Therapy (TFT) as a treatment for anxiety symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2012.08.002

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 Anxiety

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Anxiety 45 participants WHAT THEY FOUND The TFT group had a significantly betteroutcome on two measures of anxiety and onemeasure of function compared to… Randomized trial · 45 participants Irgens · 2012 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com