The Tapping Evidence Base
PTSD & Trauma

Veterans, mental health services trial (as tabulated in Stapleton 2023)

Church, D., et al. · 2013

Randomized trial👥 54 participants⚖️ vs. standard care / waitlist📈 Hedges' 1.8 (large)Higher rigor✓ Source-checked📍 United States
In plain English. This trial of 59 enrolled veterans receiving mental health services (54 in the analyzed groups) found that six tapping sessions led to a large reduction in PTSD symptoms compared with standard care — a result later confirmed independently by at least two separate meta-analyses looking at the same data.

What they found

Hedges' = 1.8
a large effect · 95% CI 1.17–2.43 · on PTSD symptoms
smallmoderatelarge
00.50.82.5

EFT (Table 1 enrollment n=30) vs standard care (Table 1 enrollment n=29, analysis n=25 per Table 3): g=1.80 (95% CI 1.17–2.43, p<0.001). This is the same trial recorded elsewhere with PCL-based d=1.93 (Sebastian & Nelms 2017) and d=1.52 for its anxiety outcome.

How the study worked

Who took partveterans in mental health services (n=54)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withstandard care / waitlist
Measured withPTSD symptom scale (not specified)

💡 Where this could help

Imagine a veteran stuck on a months-long VA mental health waitlist, needing help now rather than after a long assessment-and-scheduling process. If this large effect continues to be confirmed, it points toward a much shorter course of treatment — just a handful of sessions after which the veteran owns the skill for good — helping overstretched veteran mental health systems serve more people faster without creating a lifetime of follow-up appointments.

🔬 What to study next

With such a large effect size reported for this veteran trial, a valuable next step is an independent, prospectively designed replication using consistent PTSD measures alongside cortisol and heart rate variability, to confirm whether tapping produces this scale of relief in veterans receiving standard mental health services and whether the improvement corresponds with measurable stress-system recovery, not just fewer reported symptoms. Longer follow-up tracking whether veterans continue self-administering the technique after the study ends would also clarify durability.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants54 people
Populationveterans in mental health services
Comparison groupstandard care / waitlist
Effect sizeHedges' g (EFT vs standard care) = 1.8 (95% CI 1.17–2.43) — on PTSD symptoms
Outcome measuresPTSD symptom scale (not specified)
JournalOriginal publication venue not confirmed (indexed via Stapleton 2023 Tables 1/3)
Year2013
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Church, D., & et al. (2013). Veterans, mental health services trial (as tabulated in Stapleton 2023). https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31827f6351

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 PTSD & Trauma

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE PTSD & Trauma Hedges' 1.8 large effect WHAT THEY FOUND EFT (Table 1 enrollment n=30) vs standardcare (Table 1 enrollment n=29, analysis n=25per Table 3): g=1.80 (95% CI… Randomized trial · 54 participants Church · 2013 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com