Trauma-Based Energy Psychology Treatment Is Associated with Client Rehabilitation at an Addiction Clinic

Outcome study👥 123 participants⚖️ vs. no comparison group (within-subjects intake vs final survey)Preliminary✓ Source-checked📍 United States

In plain English. At one addiction treatment center for women, energy psychology techniques were folded into care for over 120 clients across three and a half years. By the time clients left, the share reporting high depression fell from about 8 in 10 to fewer than 2 in 10, and anxiety dropped from about 7 in 10 to fewer than 1 in 10 - alongside real drops in suicidality and binge eating. This is real-world clinic data without a comparison group, so it can't rule out other parts of treatment driving the change.

What they found

123

people took part

Across 123 clients over 3.5 years, depression scores fell from 79% at intake to 16% at last survey, anxiety from 73% to 8%, trauma symptoms from 76% to 30%, and suicidality from 53% to 11% (all p < .001).

How the study worked

Who took partwomen in a dual-diagnosis addiction treatment program (n=123)

What they didParticipants received tapping and were measured before and after.

Compared withno comparison group (within-subjects intake vs final survey)

Measured withclinic-tracked depression, anxiety, trauma, suicidality, binge eating, and compensatory eating disorder behavior scores

💡 Where this could help

If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people struggling with weight & food cravings who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.

🔬 What to study next

The natural next step: a randomized controlled design.

The full record

Design	Outcome study
Participants	123 people
Population	women in a dual-diagnosis addiction treatment program
Comparison group	no comparison group (within-subjects intake vs final survey)
Outcome measures	clinic-tracked depression, anxiety, trauma, suicidality, binge eating, and compensatory eating disorder behavior scores
Journal	Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment
Year	2021
Country	United States
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Study / trial
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Popescu, A. (2021). Trauma-Based Energy Psychology Treatment Is Associated with Client Rehabilitation at an Addiction Clinic. Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment. https://doi.org/10.9769/EPJ.2021.13.1.AP

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Weight & Food Cravings · Trauma (other) · Depression · Anxiety