Science Takes Time: Shifting Paradigms Within Systems with Dr. Peta Stapleton

The frustrating part of science is that it takes time.  It takes time to validate an experimental process, duplicate the process enough times to verify that the results are relatively predictable, and to calculate and demonstrate the statistical probabilities.

When it comes to doing research about health and wellness, it’s hard to wait out the time for scientific validation for compassionate reasons.  The Hippocratic oath starts with the promise to “first do no harm."

But the science behind healthcare can sometimes create a dilemma. 

In today’s Quantum Revolution episode, we’re going to be talking with Dr. Peta Stapleton who has been building a body of scientific evidence behind the Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT.  Some of you may know it as “tapping." 

What if the “doing no harm” means taking a risk and implementing something that seems anecdotally “harmless” and truly beneficial before science has time to validate a healthcare innovation? 

Sometimes we have to stand in both places at once.  We can take a calculated, intentional risk to implement a process that is seemingly beneficial and - with caution - inform our clients that the science behind the choice is still emerging, while we wait for the patterns to be scientifically verified and validated over time.

This process takes pioneers who are willing to take a leap of faith.  Both the practitioner and the patient have to be willing to trust that the experiment is worth trying and understand that the results are not guaranteed. 

But then again, with healthcare, to a certain degree, the results are never quite guaranteed.  There is no one size fits all approach for treating people. Only statistical probabilities that treatments will work…

The decision to take a calculated risk for the sake of healing is a personal choice, provided the outcome doesn’t impact the well-being of others.  But, collectively, we have to understand that these calculated risks, while they may be end up being a “Hail Mary pass" on the personal level, are not scientifically valid. 

While the practice of EFT tapping has not been around as long as acupuncture, one of the main components of EFT is the gentle tapping on those same energy lines, or meridians, used in acupuncture and acupressure. When combined with some current psychotherapies, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy, tapping yields amazing results.

EFT was developed by Gary Craig in the 1990s based on his study of work done by Roger Callahan in Thought Field Therapy (TFT). TFT was one of the first methods in what is now called Energy Psychology. As Craig realized the potential of this approach, he worked to refine and simplify the techniques while maintaining positive, measurable results: an evidence-based methodology. He ultimately developed a simple yet very profound set of techniques which he made available to everyone on his website emofree.com.

Dr. Peta Stapleton is a registered clinical and health Psychologist and Associate Professor at Bond University (Australia) who embraces evidence-based and innovative techniques.  Dr. Stapleton is a world-leading researcher in Emotional Freedom Techniques (‘Tapping’) and led a world first study investigating brain changes after EFT.  She was awarded the Harvey Baker Research Award for meticulous research (Association of Comprehensive Energy Psychology), and was named 2019 Psychologist of the Year (Australian Allied Health Awards). Dr. Staplteon has also authored The Science Behind Tapping: A Proven Stress Management Technique for the Mind and Body (Hay House), which won Best Self-Help Book (2019 Best Book Awards, American Book Fest).

Find Dr. Stapleton on social media, she would love to connect!

Website: petastapleton.com

Training: evidencebasedeft.com

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: facebook.com/drpetastapleton

Twitter: @petastapleton ,

Instagram: @petastapleton

LinkedIn:      linkedin.com/in/petastapleton

YouTube:  youtube.com/DrPetaStapleton

Research publications:

research.bond.edu.au/en/persons/peta-stapleton

Dr. Stapleton’s clinical food craving program based on research trials:

weightmanagementpsychology.com.au/onlinecourses/tappingforweightmanagement

Thank you for joining us for the Quantum Revolution Podcast with Karen Curry Parker. Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform or at quantumrevolutionpodcast.com so you don’t miss any of the amazing shows we have in store for you.

In the education system, that are more than two generations of students moving through the school system who do not benefit from the most current educational research, something you’ll learn about in our next Quantum Revolution episode. We hope you will join Karen Curry Parker and her guest Dr. Naomi Fisher on our next episode, we'll see you there!