Feinstein, D. · OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine · 2021
The paper reviews how energy psychology approaches, informed by more than a hundred peer-reviewed clinical trials, may address psychological factors that impede immune function and contribute to illness, closing with a detailed case history.
This paper doesn't add new lab data, but its central claim is a biological one worth taking seriously: that unresolved psychological states can suppress immune function through concrete nervous-system and endocrine pathways, and that techniques like tapping might interrupt that chain. Citing more than a hundred clinical trials as backing gives this theoretical case real weight rather than pure speculation.
If the mechanism this review describes holds up under direct testing, it suggests a free, self-taught technique could give people a way to intervene in the stress-immune pathway themselves, at home, without first needing to access therapy or medical care to address the psychological piece of a physical illness.
The natural next step is testing this review's proposed chain directly in one study: track a marker of immune function, such as natural killer cell activity, IgA, or an inflammatory panel, alongside cortisol and self-reported psychological symptoms before and after a course of tapping, to see whether easing the psychological state actually precedes or coincides with the immune shift the review predicts. Following one cohort over months would also show whether early immune changes predict who goes on to report fewer illness symptoms later.
| Design | Review |
|---|---|
| Participants | 100 studies pooled |
| Population | not applicable (narrative review) |
| Journal | OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine |
| Year | 2021 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Review or meta-analysis |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Feinstein, D. (2021). Applications of energy psychology in addressing the psychological roots of illness. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2102014
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 How It Works (Biology)
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