10/07/2025
New EFT Research on Cancer Support
Recent findings show that EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) can be a powerful self-help tool for those navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment. The research supports EFT as a non-pharmacological and noninvasive way to help reduce stress — whether practiced individually or in a group setting.
Encouraging news for integrating EFT into supportive care!
New EFT Research Out
A history of cancer has been linked to stress and concerns about its recurrence. This study aimed to test the benefits of Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), in survivors of cutaneous melanoma, and to contrast its effects on wellbeing and perceptions of cancer recurrence when delivered in a group versus individual instruction setting.
53 patients aged 18 and above, diagnosed with melanoma (stage T1a–T2a) at least 6 months prior, and not in active treatment were recruited from a private skin cancer clinic. After consent, all participants were randomized in one step into three condition groups: Group EFT (G-EFT; n = 16), Individual EFT (I-EFT; n = 18), and a waiting-list control condition (CC; n = 19). G-EFT and I-EFT participants attended weekly treatment sessions for four weeks. Perceptions of cancer recurrence and wellbeing measures were obtained pre- and post-intervention and at three-months follow-up using online questionnaires. Subjective units of distress (SUDs) were recorded by the EFT instructor at the beginning and end of each session.
Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant improvements from pre- to post-intervention in both EFT conditions in terms of participants’ understanding of how to prevent recurrence and in their spiritual wellbeing. No statistically significant effects were found for fear of recurrence, recurrence perceptions, and affect. Significant decreases in SUD scores were observed in both EFT conditions. Over 80% of the experimental conditions’ participants reported positive changes and satisfaction.
Conclusions: The findings provide support for offering EFT instruction as a non-pharmacological and noninvasive self-help method to ameliorate the stress of cancer diagnosis and treatment, and for its similar effectiveness in either a group or individual format.
Lazarov, A., Church, D., Shidlo, N., & Benyamini, Y. (2025). The Effectiveness of Group and Individual Training in Emotional Freedom Techniques for Patients in Remission from Melanoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Healthcare, 13(12), 1420. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13121420
