The Tapping Evidence Base
Depression · Other Physical Conditions

Pain, Range of Motion, and Psychological Symptoms in a Population With Frozen Shoulder: A Randomized Controlled Dismantling Study of Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) [depression outcome as tabulated in Nelms & Castel 2016]

Church, D., Nelms, J. · Archives of Scientific Psychology · 2016

Outcome study👥 16 participantsPreliminary📍 United States
In plain English. In a small study of people being treated for frozen shoulder — a painful, physical joint condition — tapping was linked to a solid improvement in mood as a side benefit, though there was no comparison group to rule out other explanations.

What they found

16
people took part

Depression symptoms decreased by 44% (d=0.88) in this small, uncontrolled sample of adults being treated for frozen shoulder, a physical condition, suggesting mood benefits alongside the primary physical-symptom focus of that study.

How the study worked

Who took partadults with frozen shoulder (n=16)
What they didParticipants received tapping and were measured before and after, without a separate comparison group.
Measured withSA-45

The full record

DesignOutcome study
Participants16 people
Populationadults with frozen shoulder
Effect sizeCohen's d = 0.88 — on depressive symptoms (within-arm subgroup figure via a secondary table; the primary paper reports d=1.1)
Outcome measuresSA-45
JournalArchives of Scientific Psychology
Year2016
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
VerificationTranscribed from a peer-reviewed source; pending independent confirmation

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Church, D., & Nelms, J. (2016). Pain, Range of Motion, and Psychological Symptoms in a Population With Frozen Shoulder: A Randomized Controlled Dismantling Study of Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) [depression outcome as tabulated in Nelms & Castel 2016]. Archives of Scientific Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000028

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 Depression · Other Physical Conditions

Share this study

A ready-made graphic — right-click or long-press to save the image.

Show shareable card
THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Depression 16 participants WHAT THEY FOUND Depression symptoms decreased by 44%(d=0.88) in this small, uncontrolled sampleof adults being treated for frozen… Outcome study · 16 participants Church · 2016 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com