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

Dawson Church,Midanelle A De Asis,Audrey J Brooks

doi:10.1155/2012/257172

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.

Highlights

Depression is a common condition in teenagers
Due to the lack of equivalence between the two groups, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for baseline scores was conducted on the posttest Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores
The clinical significance of these findings is that, while participants in both groups scored in the moderate-severe range for depression at pretest, the BDI values at posttest for the EFT group improved to place mean participant scores in the nondepressed range

Summary

Introduction

Depression is a common condition in teenagers. A review by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that some 20% of adolescents suffer from bouts of anxiety and depression before they reach adulthood [1]. Depression may be a reaction to a disturbing event, such as, the death of a friend or relative, a problem in a peer or family relationship, or failure at school. According to the National Comorbidity Survey, prevalence rates for major depression are consistently found to be higher in younger individuals than older ones. Depressive episodes generally last for about 8 months; over 8% of adolescents suffer from depression that lasts a year or more, compared to 5.3% of the general population [1]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion