Church, D., Yount, G., Rachlin, K., Fox, L., Nelms, J. · American Journal of Health Promotion · 2018
PTSD symptoms fell 53% in the EFT group (p<.0001), maintained at follow-up, and gene-expression testing found 6 of 93 examined PTSD-related genes were significantly differently expressed (p<.05) before versus after treatment.
Gene expression is about as deep as biological evidence gets — not how someone feels or even a hormone level, but which genes are actively turned up or down in a blood sample. Finding that a course of tapping was followed by measurably different activity in stress-related genes in veterans with PTSD is a striking, molecular-level signal that something in the body's operating system shifted alongside the drop in symptoms.
If this kind of gene-expression shift is confirmed in more veterans, it would support offering a self-administered, low-cost technique to a population often reluctant to seek ongoing therapy — something a veteran could learn from a clinician in a handful of sessions and then continue using independently, with a plausible biological reason to expect lasting benefit.
The obvious next step is retesting the same 93-gene panel, or an expanded one, in a larger group of veterans, and tracking whether the genes that shifted are the same ones across different people, which would suggest a reliable biological signature rather than noise. Pairing gene expression with cortisol, inflammatory markers, and PTSD symptom severity over a longer follow-up would also help show whether molecular changes precede, follow, or move in lockstep with symptom relief, and whether they persist a year or more after treatment ends.
| Design | Biology / mechanism |
|---|---|
| Participants | 16 people |
| Population | veterans with clinical levels of PTSD |
| Comparison group | treatment as usual / waitlist crossover |
| Outcome measures | mRNA expression panel (93 PTSD-related genes), SA-45, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Insomnia Severity Scale, SF-12v2 |
| Journal | American Journal of Health Promotion |
| Year | 2018 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Church, D., Yount, G., Rachlin, K., Fox, L., & Nelms, J. (2018). Epigenetic Effects of PTSD Remediation in Veterans Using Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. American Journal of Health Promotion. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117116661154
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 · Stress & Cortisol · How It Works (Biology)
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