The Tapping Evidence Base
Multiple Conditions

Trends in Meridian-Based Psychotherapy Focused on Research of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

Published in Korean ; the title shown is a translation, and the original-language title appears in the citation below . The plain-English summary was written for this directory from the original-language paper.

Kim, S.-Y., In, C.-S., Choi, I.-W., Kim, J.-W. · Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (동의신경정신과학회지) · 2013

Review 📚 24 studies reviewed Preliminary ✓ Source-checked 📍 South Korea
In plain English. Korean researchers rounded up 24 published studies on tapping — mostly randomized trials, plus some case reports and reviews — and summarized what they found. Anxiety was the most-studied problem, and in most of the controlled studies tapping beat the comparison approach (whether that was a waiting list, breathing exercises, or standard treatment) on things like headaches, PTSD symptoms, and quality of life. The reviewers themselves noted a real limitation: most of these studies relied on what patients reported feeling rather than independent clinical measurement, so they called for more rigorous follow-up research.

What they found

24
Korean researchers rounded up 24 published studies on tapping — mostly randomized trials, plus some case reports and reviews — and summarized what they found.

This narrative review identified 24 EFT studies (5 reviews, 11 RCTs, 3 controlled trials, 1 single-group comparison, 4 case reports); anxiety disorders were the most-studied condition, and in the 12 controlled studies EFT showed significantly superior effects to comparators (general treatment, waitlist, diaphragmatic breathing, education) on headache, PTSD, physical symptoms, and quality-of-life measures, though the review noted most included studies relied on subjective self-report without objective clinical evaluation.

How the study worked

Who took part Mixed clinical populations across 24 EFT studies identified from domestic Korean databases and PubMed
What they did This is a review or commentary synthesizing existing work rather than reporting a new trial.
Measured with various: anxiety, insomnia, depression, pain scales depending on included study

The full record

DesignReview
Participants24 studies pooled
PopulationMixed clinical populations across 24 EFT studies identified from domestic Korean databases and PubMed
Outcome measuresvarious: anxiety, insomnia, depression, pain scales depending on included study
JournalJournal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (동의신경정신과학회지)
Year2013
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
MethodEFT / Tapping
Publication typeReview or meta-analysis
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Kim, S.-Y., In, C.-S., Choi, I.-W., & Kim, J.-W. (2013). Trends in Meridian-Based Psychotherapy Focused on Research of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (동의신경정신과학회지).

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 24 studies pooled WHAT THEY FOUND This narrative review identified 24 EFTstudies (5 reviews, 11 RCTs, 3 controlledtrials, 1 single-group comparison… Review · 24 studies Kim · 2013 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com