Research is the backbone of science and one of my own (P. Carrington's) special interests.  I have been actively engaged in research in psychology and psychophysiology since the mid -1960's and have thus far published over 32 research and theoretical papers in professional journals.  Many but not all of these were co-authored with distinguished colleagues in the fields of psychology and psychiatry.  It has been an absorbing adventure. 

     When I first became involved in the field of "energy psychology" I immediately wanted to find out what the research was on these fascinating techniques, but to my dismay I found absolutely none at that time that held up under serious professional scrutiny.  It can take many years to develop solid research in a totally new area such as this, mainly because there is no funding available until you can cite previous well established research.  This is what is commonly called a "Catch 22" situation.  In short, you can't start the research because you haven't yet started.

     Fortunately that situation is now changing with the advent of EFT and the ease and economy with which it can be studied.  While we await the publication of the first authoritative controlled research study on EFT in the Fall, 2003 edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychology, other published studies will soon be forthcoming  on this method so   we now have solid research completed on it with highly promising results.  Future research, now in the planning stages, will bring us even further.

     Here is the status of research on EFT at present, including information about how you can legitimately cite references in the field at the present time should you wish to do so.

Completed Research

     An excellent study by psychologist Steve Wells and his associates in Australia and the United States has studied the effects of EFT on  phobias of small animals and insects.  This study is now completed and will be published by a leading peer reviewed journal, the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

     The results of the study are impressive.  Those subjects who had learned EFT, as compared to those in a comparison group who had learned a deep breathing method, showed significantly greater reduction in their fear of small animals and insects -- -- both in terms of their ability to approach the feared animal after the treatment, and their self reported indexes of fear.  What is more,  these results held up just as well six to nine months later as they did at the time of the treatment, showing that the results of EFT are lasting - an important consideration.  The deep breathing group improved also in their symptoms, but significantly less so.  All told, this careful study represents a strong confirmation of EFT as a treatment for phobias and fears. At the present time you can cite the Wells et al. research as follows (later, when it is published, we will report this on this site so you can use an even more up to date citation):

 
Wells, S., Polglase, K., Andrews, H.B., Carrington, P., & Baker, A.H. (2000).  Evaluation of a Meridian Based Intervention, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), for Reducing Specific Phobias of Small Animals   Journal of Clinical Psychology (in press).

(For abstract of the Wells et al. study CLICK HERE).
Contact:  Steve Wells:  wells@iinet.net.au.

     Another research study, conducted by Dr. Paul Swingle and his colleagues (Swingle, Pulos & Swingle, 2001), studied the effects of EFT on auto accident victims suffering from post traumatic stress disorder -- an extremely disabling conditioning that involves unreasonable fears and often panic attacks, physiological symptoms of stress, nightmares, flashbacks, and other disabling symptoms.  These researchers found that three months after they had learned EFT (in two sessions) these auto accident victims showed significant positive changes in their brain waves and in self-reported symptoms of stress.

     The Swingle at al. study has now been written up and submitted for publication and (Insert space between words here) can be cited as research since it was presented at a scientific meeting.  The researchers are presently attempting to obtain grant money for a much larger study based on this investigation.  The new study, if funded, would have more subjects and also a control group. The latter was absent from the present study.

You can use the citation below to report the Swingle-Pulos study:

Swingle, P., Pulos, L., & Swingle, M. (May, 2000).  Effects of a meridian-based therapy, EFT, on symptoms of PTSD in auto accident victims.  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology, Las Vegas, NV.

Contact: Dr. Paul Swingle.  Phone:  604-608-0444 

     In still another study, Dr. Swingle used EFT as a treatment for children diagnosed with epilepsy.  The children were administered EFT by their parents every time each day that the parents suspected a seizure might occur.  Swingle found significant reductions in seizure frequency among these very young children, as well as extensive clinical improvement in the children's E. E. G. readings after exposure to two weeks of daily in-home EFT treatment –– an impressive result.  This study has not yet been written up but can be cited as follows:

     Swingle, P. (May, 2000).  Effects of the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) method on seizure frequency in children diagnosed with epilepsy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology, Las   Vegas, NV.

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Contact: Dr. Paul Swingle.  Phone:  604-608-0444 

Research in Progress

     Several studies on EFT are now in progress or in the planning stage that should put us considerably ahead with respect to research when completed.

(1)  A first class replication of the Wells et al. study on the use of EFT for fears of small animals and insects is now in its final stage of data collection at Queens College in New York.  Researchers Dr. Harvey Baker and Linda Seigel have attempted to match as closely as possible Wells’ procedures, but they used a different comparison group.  Instead of the deep breathing condition used in the Wells’ study, they used a form of counseling closely related to nondirective counseling (they called it a “Supportive Interview”) and compared this condition to EFT. In addition, a third condition, a no treatment control group, was included in the study.

      The results on immediate retesting were extremely significant in favor of EFT and strikingly similar to Wells’ results – even to the failure of the single physiological measure, pulse rate, to show any difference between EFT and the other conditions.  The close correspondence between their preliminary results and those of Wells is good news indeed and should greatly heighten the impact of the Wells study, when it is completed.  I will be posting a summary of the final Baker-Seigel findings on this website as soon as this is available.

 
(2)  The first controlled study on EFT to be undertaken in a clinical setting  is scheduled to start at Stairways Behavioral Health, an outpatient clinic in Erie, Pennsylvania which services patients many of whom have just been discharged from mental hospitals.

      The study will consist of a treatment group using EFT, a group using a psycho-education approach for the same number of weeks as the treatment group (6 weeks), and a no treatment control group (no treatment does not mean that they may not be seeing the psychiatrist for medication - but they will not be engaged by the individual therapist). This will be the first EFT study to use videotaped instruction to teach EFT its subjects, (my Introduction to EFT course), thereby insuring that each subject receives identical instruction in the method, an important consideration in research.

(3)  Research on the effects of EFT on Math Anxiety is planned  by Doctors Lois and Ronald Worthington and Dr. Harvey Baker of Princeton, NJ.  The study, will compare two different treatments––  EFT and a sham variant of EFT (where no true acupoints are tapped). There will also be a no treatment control group in this study, and the experimenters will learn EFT from my Introduction to EFT Course.  If an adequate number of subjects are recruited (always a problem in behavioral science) this study should prove extremely informative from an educational standpoint. 

Future Studies Now in the Planning Stage

      Research in any area of science is a painfully slow process because it depends on adequate funding to get off the ground.  The following studies represent an ideal toward which we are striving.  For them, all the mechanisms are in place and an outstanding researcher, Dr. Harvey Baker, is standing by to oversee a project which involve a series of graded studies on EFT, each building upon the last.

(1)  In the Psychology Department of Queens College in New York, under Harvey Baker’s direction, students will undertake a study to determine the effect of EFT vs. gentle calisthenics, and the effect of a no-treatment control group, on what is called “free throw” in basketball.  This is the ability to get the ball into the hoop, or measurably close to it, at a stated distance.  This study should shed important light on the use of EFT to improve athletic performance.

(2)  Some unusual clinical research has been planned by Father Kurien George and Harvey Baker, to take place in India.  These researchers plan to study the effects of EFT on alcohol addiction in a small village in India.  This addiction is a serious problem in many of the villages, and Father Kurien, as a respected minister in this area, will be able to attract participants to the study where others might find this difficult to do.  Father Kurien obtained a Masters Degree in Psychology at Queens College in order to return to his own country and help his constituents.

(3)  A different type of replication of the Wells et al. and Baker-Siegel studies will also be undertaken by Harvey Baker who has just received a small grant to partially support it.  As in the other two studies, the goal will be to reduce fear of insects and small animals, but now five different treatment conditions will be compared:  standard EFT; two different sham variants of EFT; a Supportive Interview; and no treatment.
      The sham versions of EFT will duplicate the standard version in all respects (including the wording of the Setup and Reminder Phrases and the enthusiasm of the presenter) but will use bogus acupoints instead of true EFT acupoints.  To insure that all aspects of EFT except the acupoints points used are identical for each condition, the study will teach subjects EFT by using videotapes–– a special research version of my Introduction to EFT: Tape #1  – now being made. This research version will use the identical film footage to present all the preliminary steps of EFT, but when it comes to the tapping itself, the film will show bogus acupoints instead.  The results should be extremely informative. 

(4)  Harvey Baker has also designed a study which will use a virtual reality program for fear of public speaking to assess the effects of EFT on this fear.

      Not research, but important from an educational standpoint is the announcement that EFT will be adopted as part of the curriculum of a college stress management course.  At Rowan University in Pennsylvania, the Health Promotion Department requires its majors to take an extensive stress management course which is primarily directed to students preparing to work in corporate health programs.  One of the tasks in their future programs will be to conduct stress management training for company employees.  The students in this class will learn EFT through viewing my Introduction to EFT Course videotapes in the classroom.  In the future these same students are quite likely to be influential in corporate health programs, so their exposure to EFT at this early stage is most interesting.