CASE REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1627592
Emotional Freedom Techniques for Elderly Patients with COVID-19: A Case Series on Clinical Recovery, Frailty, and Inflammatory Biomarkers
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
- 2Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine, Persahabatan Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
- 3Department of Clinical Pathology, Persahabatan Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
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Background/Objectives: Older adults are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 due to immunosenescence and comorbidities, resulting in higher rates of severe illness and mortality. Psychological distress such as anxiety and fatigue further compounds disease burden. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), an integrative psychophysiological approach, has shown potential in enhancing psychological resilience and modulating inflammatory responses. Methods: We report a case series of five elderly patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to Persahabatan Hospital, Jakarta. Each received standard pharmacological care, including antiviral therapy, corticosteroids, and comorbidity management, alongside daily EFT sessions combining acupressure, affirmations, and exposure techniques. Clinical symptoms, frailty status (via WHAS criteria), WHO Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement (OSCI), and serum IL-6 levels were monitored over a 30-day follow-up period. Emotional well-being was qualitatively assessed through follow-up interviews and therapist observations of patient engangement and affective behavior. Results: All patients demonstrated substantial clinical improvement. OSCI scores decreased from baseline values of 3–4 to 1 by the final follow-up, representing a 66–75% reduction in clinical severity. Frailty status improved markedly across all cases. IL-6 levels showed an average reduction of approximately 85%, suggesting a clinically meaningful improvement in systemic inflammation. No residual symptoms or adverse events were reported. Patients also demonstrated enhanced emotional well-being and adherence to EFT through digital guidance. Conclusion: EFT may serve as a safe and supportive adjunct therapy in elderly COVID-19 patients, potentially accelerating clinical recovery and reducing inflammation and frailty. Further controlled trials are warranted to evaluate broader applicability in geriatric care.
Keywords: Emotional Freedom Technique, COVID-19, Elderly, IL-6, Frailty, WHO ordinal scale
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kemala Sari, Burhan, Isbaniah, Yennita and Stepvia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nina Kemala Sari, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.