The Tapping Evidence Base
Multiple Conditions

The effects of EFT on long-term psychological symptoms

Rowe, J. · Counseling and Clinical Psychology · 2005

Outcome study👥 102 participantsPreliminary✓ Source-checked📍 United States
In plain English. A little over 100 people attending an EFT workshop were tracked on psychological symptoms starting a month before the workshop through six months after. Every measure of psychological distress dropped significantly by the end of the workshop, and the improvement was still holding six months later. This is one of the earlier long-term follow-up studies in the EFT literature, though it lacks a comparison group.

What they found

102
people took part

There was a statistically significant decrease (p < .0005) in all measures of psychological distress from pre-workshop to post-workshop, which held up at the 6-month follow-up.

How the study worked

Who took partparticipants at an experiential EFT workshop (n=102)
What they didParticipants received tapping and were measured before and after, without a separate comparison group.
Measured withSA-45 (short-form SCL-90-R)

💡 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: a head-to-head trial against an established treatment like CBT, and a randomized controlled design.

The full record

DesignOutcome study
Participants102 people
Populationparticipants at an experiential EFT workshop
Outcome measuresSA-45 (short-form SCL-90-R)
JournalCounseling and Clinical Psychology
Year2005
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Rowe, J. (2005). The effects of EFT on long-term psychological symptoms. Counseling and Clinical Psychology.

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping.

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Multiple Conditions 102 participants WHAT THEY FOUND There was a statistically significantdecrease (p < .0005) in all measures ofpsychological distress from… Outcome study · 102 participants Rowe · 2005 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com