Thought Field Therapy Articles and Research
Explore published research, clinical studies, professional articles, case reports, and interviews examining Thought Field Therapy (TFT), energy psychology, acupoint tapping, trauma treatment, anxiety, and related applications.
The resources below include randomized controlled trials, peer-reviewed journal articles, systematic reviews, clinical reports, and research involving Thought Field Therapy in healthcare, community, and disaster-response settings.
THOUGHT FIELD THERAPY ARTICLES
Energy Psychology 2025 Research Update
Marg Hux and John Freedom (2025)
Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology.
This research update reviews recent clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses involving energy psychology approaches, including Thought Field Therapy and other acupoint tapping methods.
Download the Energy Psychology 2025 Research Update
How Tapping Works: Physiological and Psychological Mechanisms in Energy Psychology Treatments
David Feinstein
Published November 18, 2025, in Frontiers in Psychology.
This review examines clinical research, physiological mechanisms, biomarkers, brain activity, and memory reconsolidation associated with therapeutic acupoint tapping.
Thought Field Therapy Intervention to Improve Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Morikawa, A., Fujimoto, M., Kawagishi, Y., and Fukagawa, T. (2025)
EXPLORE, Volume 21, Issue 2, March–April 2025, Article 103117.
This randomized controlled trial evaluated a brief online Thought Field Therapy intervention for psychological distress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the randomized controlled trial
Applying Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Thought Field Therapy in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Pegah A. M. Seidi, Dilshad Jaff, Suzanne M. Connolly, and Asle Hoffart
Published in EXPLORE, Volume 17, Issue 1, January–February 2021, pages 84–91.
This retrospective case-series study examined mental health interventions delivered in a setting affected by political instability and armed conflict.
View the article on ScienceDirect
Thought Field Therapy Compared with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and a Wait List for Agoraphobia
Audun C. Irgens, Asle Hoffart, Tor E. Nysæter, Vegard Ø. Haaland, Finn-Magnus Borge, Are H. Pripp, Egil W. Martinsen, and Toril Dammen
Published online June 20, 2017.
Thought Field Therapy Compared to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Wait-List for Agoraphobia: A Randomized, Controlled Study with a 12-Month Follow-Up.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01027
Keeping Things Positive with Thought Field Therapy
Rob Kay
Reprint of an article published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on June 12, 2018.
Psychosocial Interventions for Children and Adolescents After Man-Made and Natural Disasters
R. C. Brown, A. Witt, J. M. Fegert, F. Keller, M. Rassenhofer, and P. L. Plener
A meta-analysis and systematic review published in Psychological Medicine in 2017, Volume 47, pages 1893–1905.
DOI: 10.1017/S0033291717000496
Thought Field Therapy Efficacy Following Large-Scale Traumatic Events
Ann L. Dunnewold
Current Research in Psychology, Volume 5, Issue 1, pages 34–39, 2014.
ISSN: 1949-0178
DOI: 10.3844/crpsp.2014.34.39
Acupoint Stimulation in Treating Psychological Disorders: Evidence of Efficacy
David Feinstein, Ph.D.
Reprint of an article published in Review of General Psychology, Volume 16, pages 364–380.
DOI: 10.1037/a0028602
Thought Field Therapy as a Treatment for Anxiety Symptoms
Audun Irgens, Toril Dammen, Tor Erik Nysæter, and Asle Hoffart
A randomized controlled trial published in EXPLORE, November–December 2012, Volume 8, Issue 6, pages 331–338.
DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2012.08.002
Treatment of PTSD in Rwandan Child Genocide Survivors Using Thought Field Therapy
Caroline Sakai, Ph.D., Suzanne M. Connolly, L.C.S.W., and Paul Oas, Ph.D.
Reprint of an article published in the Winter 2010 edition of the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, Volume 12, Issue 1, pages 41–50.
Brief Trauma Intervention with Rwandan Genocide Survivors Using Thought Field Therapy
Suzanne Connolly and Caroline Sakai
Published in the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, Volume 13, Issue 3, pages 161–172.
Utilizing Community Resources to Treat PTSD
Suzanne M. Connolly, Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Caroline E. Sakai, and J. Edwards (2013)
A randomized controlled study using Thought Field Therapy, published in the African Journal of Traumatic Stress, Volume 3, Issue 1, pages 24–32.
Thought Field Therapy Clinical Applications
Caroline Sakai, Ph.D., and colleagues
Utilization in an HMO in Behavioral Medicine and Behavioral Health Services.
Reprint of an article published in a special October 2001 edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Completeness of Treatment with Thought Field Therapy
Caroline Sakai, Ph.D.
This article discusses the importance of identifying and addressing the layers, related experiences, physical sensations, triggers, and underlying issues that may be associated with trauma or phobia treatment.
Tapping Away the World’s Trauma
An interview with Caroline Sakai, Ph.D., by Michiko Ishikawa
The interview discusses the application of Thought Field Therapy in trauma-relief work and Dr. Sakai’s experiences using TFT with people affected by large-scale traumatic events.
Uses of Energy Psychology Following Catastrophic Events
Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 13, April 2022, Article 856209.
Energy psychology, as widely practiced, combines the manual stimulation of acupuncture points with imaginal exposure, cognitive restructuring, and other psychotherapeutic procedures.
The article describes four tiers of energy psychology interventions that may follow the establishment of safety, trust, and rapport:
- Immediate relief and stabilization
- Reducing limbic arousal associated with trauma-based triggers
- Addressing complex psychological difficulties
- Promoting optimal functioning
Six Empirically Supported Premises About Energy Psychology: Mounting Evidence for a Controversial Therapy
Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 2021;35(2):17–32.
This paper assesses peer-reviewed journal articles examining energy psychology protocols that incorporate tapping on acupuncture points.
It presents six research-supported premises concerning the efficacy, speed, durability, and physiological effects of acupoint tapping:
- Acupoint tapping protocols may be effective in treating a range of clinical conditions.
- Results may occur rapidly compared with some conventional treatments.
- Benefits may remain durable over time.
- Changes in biological markers may correspond with clients’ subjective assessments.
- Acupoint stimulation appears to be an important component of the reported clinical effects.
- Tapping may send signals that influence arousal in specific regions of the brain.
THOUGHT FIELD THERAPY CLINICAL APPLICATIONS
Utilization in Behavioral Medicine and Behavioral Health Services
- Caroline Sakai, Ph.D.
- David Paperny, M.D.
- Marvin Mathews, M.D.
- Greg Tanida, M.S.W.
- Geri Boyd, M.S.W.
- Alan Simons, M.S., APRN-Rx
- Charlene Yamamoto, M.S.W.
- Carolyn Mau, M.S., APRN-Rx
- Lynn Nutter, M.A.
Kaiser Behavioral Medicine and Behavioral Health Services Honolulu, Hawaii
This is a preprint of an article published in a special issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology, Volume 57, Issue 10, pages 1215–1227, in October 2001. The article was published without peer review and accompanied by an invited critical review by Jeffrey M. Lohr on pages 1229–1235.
Abstract
Thought Field Therapy is a self-administered treatment developed by psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan. TFT uses energy meridian treatment points and bilateral optical-cortical stimulation while a person focuses on the symptoms or problem being addressed.
The clinical applications described in the report included:
- Anxiety
- Adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression
- Anxiety associated with a medical condition
- Anger
- Acute stress
- Bereavement
- Chronic pain
- Cravings
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Neurodermatitis
- Obsessive traits
- Panic disorder without agoraphobia
- Parent-child stress
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Relationship stress
- Trichotillomania
- Tremor
- Work-related stress
This uncontrolled study reported changes in self-reported Subjective Units of Distress, or SUD, across 1,594 applications of TFT involving 714 patients.
Paired statistical tests comparing pre-treatment and post-treatment SUD ratings were significant in 31 categories reviewed. The reported within-session reductions were considered preliminary findings that warranted controlled studies examining validity, reliability, and the maintenance of effects over time.
The report also included illustrative cases and heart-rate variability data.
