Keppel, Hadas · Fielding Graduate University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing · 2021
Parents receiving the TFT stress reduction protocol showed reduced general stress and increased perspective-taking versus a control-stimulation protocol; parenting stress partially mediated the effect on perspective-taking, and gains held at follow-up.
If these stress and empathy gains replicate in peer-reviewed research, picture a parent stretched thin by the demands of caring for a child with autism, given a free, self-administered technique they can use on their own between the endless demands of caregiving, one that might ease their own stress and even help them better understand their child's perspective. That could matter for the many parents of autistic children who report significant caregiver burnout and get little support of their own.
Since parenting stress appeared to partially explain the gain in perspective-taking, an interesting next step would be tracking cortisol and heart rate variability in these parents before and after sessions, to see whether lower physiological stress is what frees up the mental bandwidth for greater empathy, a cascade from calmer body to clearer perspective-taking. It would also be worth testing whether the same protocol, delivered via app to fit around unpredictable caregiving schedules, produces comparable gains at scale for parents who can't attend a structured research session.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Population | parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, from Israel and the USA |
| Comparison group | control-stimulation protocol |
| Outcome measures | self-report general stress measure, parenting stress measure, perspective-taking (empathy) measure |
| Journal | Fielding Graduate University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing |
| Year | 2021 |
| Country | Israel/United States |
| Language | English |
| Method | Thought Field Therapy (related tapping method) |
| Publication type | Dissertation |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Keppel, Hadas (2021). The effects of a Thought Field Therapy stress reduction protocol on the stress and empath levels of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Fielding Graduate University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
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 Trauma (other) · Stress & Cortisol
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