Tapas Acupressure Technique (or TAT) is an
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...
therapy that claims to clear negative emotions and past traumas. Though the full technique was invented in 1993 by Tapas Fleming, TAT incorporates elements of and builds on other
acupressure
Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique often used in conjunction with acupuncture or reflexology. It is based on the concept of "life energy" (qi), which purportedly flows through "meridians" in the body. There is no scientific evidenc ...
techniques. TAT is classified as
energy therapies
Energy () is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy sta ...
as TAT claims to employ Qi (chi). This is the “energy” that has historically been believed to flow through the body in Asian medicine. There is no scientific proof that qi exists. However this claim of qi flow is not to be confused with
putative energy for which no scientific basis has been found and no biophysical means of action determined.
TAT shows many characteristics consistent with
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
.
History
Invented in 1993 by Tapas Fleming, the underlying idea claims that unresolved emotional trauma leads to a blockage of the natural flow of
putative energy. Practitioners of TAT claim that self application of light pressure to four areas of the head (inner corner of both eyes, one-half-inch above the space between the eyebrows, and the back of head) while placing attention on a series of verbal steps releases this blockage and allows for healing. TAT was originally intended to be an allergy elimination protocol, but the emphasis switched to emotional trauma.
Scientific evaluation
No scientifically plausible method of action is proposed for Tapas Acupressure Technique, instead relying on unvalidated
putative energy and
meridians with no identified biophysical or histological basis. A 2005 review of so-called "
Power Therapies" concluded that TAT and similar techniques "offered no new scientifically valid theories of action, show only non-specific efficacy, show no evidence that they offer substantive improvements to extant psychiatric care, yet display many characteristics consistent with
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
."
TAT also conforms to the "nine practices of pseudoscience" as identified by AR Pratkins.
There are many, primarily psychological, explanations for positive therapeutic outcomes such as the
placebo effect
A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...
or
cognitive dissonance
In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as a mental phenomenon in which people unknowingly hold fundamentally conflicting cognitions. Being confronted by situations that challenge this dissonance may ultimately result in some ...
. A 2009 review identified "methodological flaws" in research that had reported "small successes" for TAT and a related "energy psychology" therapy (
Emotional Freedom Techniques) "are potentially attributable to well-known cognitive and behavioral techniques that are included with the energy manipulation." The report concluded that "Psychologists and researchers should be wary of using such techniques, and make efforts to inform the public about the ill effects of therapies that advertise miraculous claims."
[{{cite journal , journal=Psychotherapy , date=June 2009 , volume=46 , issue=2 , pages=249–56 , author=McCaslin DL , doi=10.1037/a0016025 , pmid=22122622 , title=A review of efficacy claims in energy psychology]
See also
*
Emotional Freedom Techniques
*
Thought Field Therapy
Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a fringe psychological treatment developed by American psychologist Roger Callahan. Its proponents say that it can heal a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at ...
References
Manual therapy
Energy therapies
Pseudoscience