The Tapping Evidence Base
Phobias · Other Physical Conditions

Efficacy of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) as a treatment modality for persons with public speaking anxiety

Schoninger, B. · Dissertation Abstracts International · 2004

Randomized trial👥 48 participants⚖️ vs. delayed treatment group (n=20) vs treatment group (n=28)Moderate rigor✓ Source-checked
In plain English. This dissertation study randomized 48 people with public speaking anxiety to get one hour of Thought Field Therapy right away or after a delay, using licensed TFT therapists. The treated group's anxiety dropped substantially, with large effect sizes overall. It's a solid randomized design for a dissertation-level study.

What they found

48
people took part

Post-treatment SUD scores decreased significantly (p<=.000); SA Scale showed significant decrease in anxiety (p<=.01) and increase in positive factors (p<=.000) after a single 60-minute TFT session.

How the study worked

Who took part48 participants with public speaking anxiety (38 women, 10 men, ages 27-59) (n=48)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withdelayed treatment group (n=20) vs treatment group (n=28)
Measured withSubjective Units of Disturbance (SUD), Speaker Anxiety Scale (SA Scale), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

💡 Where this could help

Picture someone whose fear of public speaking has quietly capped their career — turning down promotions, avoiding presentations. If a single session can meaningfully ease that fear as this study suggests, it points toward a fast, one-time-taught tool — free to reuse before every future presentation — rather than months of therapy for something that holds so many people back professionally.

🔬 What to study next

A single 60-minute session producing this scale of anxiety reduction is worth testing against real physiological stress markers during an actual speech — heart rate, skin conductance, cortisol — rather than only self-report scales. Following participants through repeated public-speaking situations over months or years, rather than a single measured session, would show whether this becomes a durable, reusable skill or a one-time confidence boost.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants48 people
Population48 participants with public speaking anxiety (38 women, 10 men, ages 27-59)
Comparison groupdelayed treatment group (n=20) vs treatment group (n=28)
Outcome measuresSubjective Units of Disturbance (SUD), Speaker Anxiety Scale (SA Scale), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
JournalDissertation Abstracts International
Year2004
LanguageEnglish
MethodThought Field Therapy (related tapping method)
Publication typeDissertation
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source
Verification note. Dissertation existence and citation confirmed. This pass located what appears to be the subsequent peer-reviewed publication of the same study: Schoninger, B. & Hartung, J. (2010), 'Changes on Self-Report Measures of Public Speaking Anxiety Following Treatment with Thought Field Therapy,' Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 2(1) -- N=48 (28 treatment/20 delayed-treatment, matching this record's arms exactly), single 60-min TFT session with 11 licensed therapists, 'highly significant reduction (ES=1.52)' in public speaking anxiety. ES=1.52 falls within this record's stated range (.71-1.58) and corroborates that the separately-stated 'mean effect size of 1.75' (which exceeds the range's own maximum of 1.58) is likely a transcription error in the original dissertation abstract or its secondary citation -- left as originally reported per the no-invention rule, but now cross-confirmed as anomalous by an independent, closely related published source.

Catalogued from a peer-reviewed index or meta-analysis. See the citation below to locate the original.

Cite this study

APA

Schoninger, B. (2004). Efficacy of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) as a treatment modality for persons with public speaking anxiety. Dissertation Abstracts International.

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 Phobias · Other Physical Conditions

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Phobias 48 participants WHAT THEY FOUND Post-treatment SUD scores decreasedsignificantly (p<=.000); SA Scale showedsignificant decrease in anxiety (p<=.01)… Randomized trial · 48 participants Schoninger · 2004 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com