Clinical EFT for individuals with visual impairment: effects on psychological wellbeing and subjective visual functioning

Background Visual impairment (VI) affects over 2.2 billion people globally and is often associated with heightened levels of anxiety and depression, adversely impacting quality of life. Despite increasing prevalence and associated psychosocial burden, effective psychosocial interventions in this population remains limited. This study examines the efficacy of an eight-week online Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) program in improving psychological wellbeing (anger, anxiety and depression) and perceived subjective visual functioning in individuals with self-reported VI.Method Employing a randomised controlled trial design, 588 participants were assigned to either an EFT intervention (n = 321) or waitlist control group (n = 267). Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and three- and six-month follow up.Results Per-protocol results indicated significant improvements in the EFT group compared to the waitlist control group across psychological outcomes and vision functioning. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant Time × Allocation interactions for anger, anxiety, depression, and vision functioning (all p < .001), indicating differential change over time between groups. Within the EFT group, significant reductions in anger, anxiety, and depression were observed from pre- to post-intervention, with these improvements maintained at three- and six-month follow-ups (all p < .05). In contrast, the waitlist group showed no comparable improvements over the same period. Vision functioning significantly improved in the EFT group relative to the waitlist group, with a significant interaction effect (p < .001), although no overall main effect of time was observed. Intention-to-treat analyses using mixed-effects models confirmed the primary findings, with significant improvements in anxiety, depression, anger, and vision functioning relative to the waitlist control condition (all p < .001), and treatment gains were maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-up.Conclusions These findings suggest that the online Clinical EFT intervention was associated with sustained improvements in psychological distress and vision-related functioning compared to waitlist control. Limitations and future directions are discussed.