Brief Group Intervention Using Emotional Freedom Techniques for Depression in College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Two hundred thirty-eight first-year college students were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Thirty students meeting the BDI criteria for moderate to severe depression were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group received four 90-minute group sessions of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), a novel treatment that combines exposure, cognitive reprocessing, and somatic stimulation. The control group received no treatment. Posttests were conducted 3 weeks later on those that completed all requirements (N = 18). The EFT group (n = 9) had significantly more depression at baseline than the control group (n = 9) (EFT BDI mean = 23.44, SD = 2.1 versus control BDI mean = 20.33, SD = 2.1). After controlling for baseline BDI score, the EFT group had significantly less depression than the control group at posttest, with a mean score in the “nondepressed” range (P = .001; EFT BDI mean = 6.08, SE = 1.8 versus control BDI mean = 18.04, SE = 1.8). Cohen's d was 2.28, indicating a very strong effect size. These results are consistent with those noted in other studies of EFT that included an assessment for depression and indicate the clinical usefulness of EFT as a brief, cost-effective, and efficacious treatment.

Reducing Stress in Youth: A Pilot-Study on the Effects of a University-Based Intervention Program for University Students in Pune, India

“…This study did not inquire whether students were still using EFT in their daily lives, but found that several students reported on EFT as a useful skill that they learned to reduce their stress levels. This relates to a study conducted by Church, de Asis and Brooks (2012), with 38 college students dealing with depression. After EFT the students were significantly less depressed in comparison to a control group .…”

“…This sentence, can be altered according to the stressor and will be repeated while doing several tapping rounds, until the emotional response level is reduced to zero. It has been used in several settings (among others for phobia's, depression and stress reduction) and shows promising results, particularly because it is a cost-effective therapy approach (Church, Yount, & Brooks, 2012;Church, de Asis, & Brooks, 2012;Brattberg, 2008;Bougea et al, 2013). A variation of EFT was used which involves tapping on the karate-chop pressure point and saying the sentence three times, and then putting the palms one over the other at the centre of the chest-just below the collar bone-and taking seven deep breaths (CHII, 2008).…”

A Feasibility Study: Emotional Freedom Techniques for Depression in Australian Adults

“…The findings were that the being Science Publications CRP activated by fear, brain frequencies were found to normalise after treatment (Church et al, 2012).…”

“…The practise of Clinical EFT appears to have physiological effects, with one randomised trial measuring cortisol levels related to depression and anxiety, before and after one of three treatment modalities: Clinical EFT, psychotherapy, or relaxation (Church et al, 2012). The findings were that the being Science Publications CRP activated by fear, brain frequencies were found to normalise after treatment (Church et al, 2012).…”

“…A randomised control trial was conducted on 238 college students with depression, who each participated in four 90 min group sessions of EFT (Church et al, 2012). When compared to a nontreatment control group, the EFT group had significantly less depressive symptoms than the control group (Church et al, 2012).…”