Gaesser, A H

Review of EFT research finds it effective for stress and anxiety management for students and school personnel. Suggests that there are links between EFT and CBT citing allied techniques eg “EFT uses cognitive behaviour therapy techniques, such as awareness building, imaginal exposure, reframing of interpretation, and systematic desensitization, while teaching the individual to self-stimulate protocol-identified acupoints”.

This article explores how gifted students often experience anxiety-provoking stressors and highlights the importance of effective anxiety management strategies to help them reach their full potential. It integrates neuroscience concepts to explain anxiety responses and introduces Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as an evidence-based intervention for gifted youth. The study reviews recent research on EFT and outlines its step-by-step application in educational settings to support emotional well-being.

This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in reducing anxiety among 63 high-ability adolescents ages 10–18. After three treatment sessions, EFT significantly reduced anxiety compared with the waitlist control group, while CBT showed improvements that were not statistically significant.

Anxiety can cause many concerns for those affected, and previous research on anxiety and gifted students has been inconclusive. This study examined the anxiety levels of gifted students, as well as the effectiveness of two interventions: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).