The Effect of Psychotherapy on Stress Biochemistry: An RCT of Psychotherapy and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
1 other identifier
interventional
83
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a change in levels of cortisol, a key stress hormone, during the course of a psychotherapy session. The two forms of psychotherapy compared are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). A no treatment control group provides a baseline measure. The change in cortisol level is compared between the start and end of a one hour session.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable
Started Apr 2008
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
March 18, 2008
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
March 24, 2008
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
April 1, 2008
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
August 1, 2010
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
September 1, 2010
CompletedApril 25, 2018
April 1, 2018
2.3 years
March 18, 2008
April 23, 2018
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
spot cortisol level
60 minutes
Secondary Outcomes (1)
SA-45 symptom assessment questionnaire, with subscales for depression, anxiety, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, phobias, and other psychological traits
60 minutes
Study Arms (3)
1
EXPERIMENTALPsychotherapy: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), a psychotherapy intervention with a somatic component
2
ACTIVE COMPARATORPsychotherapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a psychotherapy intervention
3
NO INTERVENTIONInterventions
A form of therapy that includes cognitive reframing with somatic reinforcement through touch or tapping of specified points on the body
A form of therapy that focuses on negative cognitions of problems, and reframing them in positive terms, but without somatic reinforcement.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Good Health History
You may not qualify if:
- MDD (Major Depressive Disorder)
- PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- Psychotropic Prescription Drug Use
- Currently Under Psychiatric Care
- Major disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease
- Autoimmune disease
- CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
- Cushing's Syndrome
- Addison's Disease
- Spontaneous Trauma Recall in Final 20 minutes of Session
- History of Psychological Illness
- Pretest Cortisol level of .5 ng/ml or under, or 7 ng/ml or over
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Soul Medicine Institute
Santa Rosa, California, 95403, United States
Related Publications (1)
Church D, Yount G, Brooks AJ. The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: a randomized controlled trial. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2012 Oct;200(10):891-6. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31826b9fc1.
PMID: 22986277RESULT
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dawson Church, PhD
Soul Medicine Institute
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- TRIPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
March 18, 2008
First Posted
March 24, 2008
Study Start
April 1, 2008
Primary Completion
August 1, 2010
Study Completion
September 1, 2010
Last Updated
April 25, 2018
Record last verified: 2018-04