A one-page overview of the peer-reviewed research, prepared for discussion with a healthcare provider. The Tapping Evidence Base · July 2026
| Study | Design | Journal | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stapleton, P., Roos, T. et al. (2019)
Post-intervention, the EFT group showed significant reductions on all measures with moderate to high effect sizes, while the… | Randomized trial, N=451 | OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine | Cohen's d = 0.78 |
| Stapleton, P., Clark, A. et al. (2020)
At six months, the nutrition-plus-EFT group showed the largest improvements in emotional eating (-16. | Randomized trial, N=343 | Heliyon | |
| Stapleton, P., Lilley-Hale, E. et al. (2020)
Participants who completed an 8-week self-paced online EFT program showed significantly reduced food cravings (-28. | Randomized trial, N=96 | Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine | |
| Stapleton, P., Church, D. et al. (2013)
RCT: 96 overweight/obese adults randomly allocated to a 4-week EFT program or waitlist. | Randomized trial, N=96 | ISRN Psychiatry | |
| Stapleton, P., Sheldon, T. et al. (2012)
Significant improvements occurred in weight, BMI, food cravings, power of food, craving restraint, and psychological coping from… | Randomized trial, N=96 | Energy Psychology Journal | |
| Stapleton, P., Bannatyne, A.J. et al. (2016)
83 overweight/obese adults completed an 8-week EFT or CBT program; both treatments produced comparable, clinically meaningful… | Randomized trial, N=83 | Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being | |
| Stapleton, P., Chatwin, H. et al. (2016)
A delayed effect was found for both groups at post-intervention, with improved eating habits, self-esteem, and compassion… | Randomized trial, N=44 | Explore | |
| Stapleton, P., Buchan, C. et al. (2019)
Food craving scores decreased 18% in the EFT group versus 5% in controls, with fMRI showing relative deactivation in brain… | Randomized trial, N=15 | OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine | Cohen's d = -0.52 |