Research & Evidence
The research behind Emotion Pathway® and The Manse Method®
Emotion Pathway® is a newly developed early-intervention framework. While the framework itself is new, its development has been informed by established and emerging areas of scientific research.
The Manse Method® similarly draws on research across a number of areas relevant to emotional processing, stress, traumatic memories and PTSD.
These include research into:
AffectiveTouch • Tapping • Eye movements & working memory • Positive autobiographical memory
The Manse Method® brings together elements informed by these areas of research within a proprietary, structured and content-free process developed through extensive practical application.
Emotion Pathway® builds on this work to provide a practical framework designed to be learned and self-applied earlier, when someone first recognises that an experience is continuing to affect them.
Content-free. Self-applied. Earlier intervention.
The precise structure, sequencing and application of The Manse Method® form part of our proprietary training and are intentionally not detailed on this page.
The research informing our approach
Affective Touch
The science of gentle touch
Touch is not simply a way of detecting physical contact. Research has identified a specialised affective dimension to touch, associated with how certain forms of gentle touch are experienced and processed by the nervous system.
One important area of this research involves C-tactile (CT) afferents, a class of sensory nerve fibres that respond particularly to gentle stroking of the skin. A major 2023 review in Neuroscience & Biobehavioural Reviews, drawing on more than 1,000 published abstracts alongside empirical evidence, concluded that CT afferents support gentle, affective touch, while also highlighting that the relationship between CT signalling and the experience of touch is complex.
Experimental research has also investigated physiological responses to gentle stroking. Studies have found that slow stroking is typically experienced as particularly pleasant and relaxing, while research measuring heart-rate variability has reported changes consistent with autonomic regulation during prolonged pleasant touch.
More recent research comparing slow stroking with rhythmic touch found that both were associated with changes in cardiac measures consistent with increased parasympathetic activity, while slow stroking was experienced as more pleasant.
Selected research
Schirmer, Croy & Ackerley (2023)
What are C-tactile afferents and how do they relate to “affective touch”?
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 151, 105236.
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Triscoli et al. (2017)
Heart rate variability is enhanced by long-lasting pleasant touch at CT-optimized velocity.
Biological Psychology, 128, 71–81.
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Sailer et al. (2017)
Stroking and tapping the skin: behavioural and electrodermal effects.
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Tapping
Research into tapping, emotional distress and PTSD
Tapping approaches, particularly Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), have been studied in relation to psychological distress, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examined 13 studies involving 621 participants. The researchers reported significant reductions in PTSD symptoms following EFT, alongside reductions in anxiety and depression. A subgroup analysis also reported improvements among military veterans.
Tapping has also been investigated specifically within veteran populations. In a randomised controlled trial involving 59 veterans who met clinical criteria for PTSD, participants were allocated to EFT alongside standard care or a standard-care waitlist. The study reported significant reductions in psychological distress and PTSD symptoms following six EFT sessions, with improvements also assessed at follow-up.
Earlier meta-analytic research examining seven randomised controlled trials also reported positive outcomes for EFT in PTSD. However, the evidence base has historically consisted of relatively small numbers of studies, making continued independent and high-quality research important.
More recent research continues to investigate EFT across psychological and physiological stress outcomes. A 2026 systematic review and network meta-analysis of 17 randomised controlled trials found reductions in psychological stress compared with controls, while also noting that most included studies had some concerns or a high risk of bias and calling for further high-quality research.
Selected research
Chen et al. (2025)
Effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques in Alleviating Symptoms Associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 275(7), 2027–2037.
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Church et al. (2013)
Psychological trauma symptom improvement in veterans using emotional freedom techniques: a randomized controlled trial
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201(2), 153–160.
Sebastian & Nelms (2017)
The Effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques in the Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-Analysis
EXPLORE, 13(1), 16–25.
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Eye Movements & Working Memory
Research into memory vividness and emotionality
Eye movements have been studied extensively in relation to the processing of emotional memories, particularly within research associated with working memory and EMDR.
One explanation proposed for these effects is the working-memory account. Recalling an emotional memory requires working-memory resources. When another cognitively demanding task, such as making eye movements, is performed at the same time, the two tasks compete for those limited resources. Experimental research suggests this can influence how vividly and emotionally the memory is subsequently experienced.
A 2021 meta-analysis examined 53 laboratory studies investigating dual-task interventions with emotional memories. Across the studies, performing a competing task while recalling a memory was associated with reductions in both the vividness and emotionality of negative and positive memories. The authors found the overall results consistent with working-memory theory, while noting that questions remain about when and under what conditions these effects are strongest.
Earlier meta-analytic research examined 15 clinical trials and 11 laboratory studies, involving 849 participants in total. It found a significant additional effect associated with eye movements, with particularly strong effects on memory vividness in the laboratory studies.
Experimental research has also found that the effect is not necessarily unique to eye movements. Other tasks that place demands on working memory have produced similar effects, supporting the idea that competition for limited working-memory capacity may be an important part of the process.
Selected research
Mertens, Lund & Engelhard (2021)
The effectiveness of dual-task interventions for modulating emotional memories in the laboratory: A meta-analysis
Acta Psychologica, 220, 103424.
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Lee & Cuijpers (2013)
A meta-analysis of the contribution of eye movements in processing emotional memories
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44(2), 231–239.
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Gunter & Bodner (2008)
How eye movements affect unpleasant memories: support for a working-memory account
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(8), 913–931.
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Positive Autobiographical Memory
Research into positive memory and emotional regulation
Autobiographical memories are memories of personally experienced events and form an important part of how we understand ourselves and our experiences. Research has explored how deliberately recalling positive autobiographical memories can influence emotional state and support emotion regulation.
Experimental studies have found that recalling positive personal memories can increase positive emotion and help reduce negative mood. In one study, participants who engaged more experientially with pleasant autobiographical memories experienced greater increases in happiness, suggesting that the way a positive memory is recalled can influence its emotional effect.
More recent real-world research has also investigated deliberate positive-memory recall in everyday life. A 2024 study found that people with a history of depression experienced a greater increase in happiness and decrease in sadness after recalling pre-selected positive autobiographical memories compared with recalling memories of everyday activities.
A scoping review of positive-memory interventions found that approaches using positive memories showed their clearest effects in increasing positive affect and reducing depressive symptoms, although effects were often temporary and the methods used across studies varied considerably.
Importantly, the effects are not universal. Research suggests that factors such as depression, how personally relevant a memory feels and the way it is recalled can influence the emotional benefit obtained from positive-memory recollection.
Selected research
Haag et al. (2024)
Positive autobiographical memories to counteract low mood in remitted depression: A longitudinal daily-life investigation
The study found greater increases in happiness and decreases in sadness following positive autobiographical-memory recall compared with everyday-memory recall.
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Werner-Seidler, Tan & Dalgleish (2017)
The Vicissitudes of Positive Autobiographical Recollection as an Emotion Regulation Strategy in Depression
Clinical Psychological Science, 5(1), 26–36. The research also highlights an important limitation: positive recall did not benefit everyone equally.
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Hallford et al. (2017)
Engaging in an experiential processing mode increases positive emotional response during recall of pleasant autobiographical memories
The study found greater happiness during positive-memory recall when participants were encouraged to process the experience experientially rather than analytically.
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Our Evidence Position
Clear about what the research supports
The research presented on this page relates to established and developing areas of science that have informed the development of The Manse Method® and Emotion Pathway®.
It is important, however, to distinguish between research into these individual areas and research into our approaches themselves.
The Manse Method® is a proprietary approach that brings together elements informed by these areas of research within its own structured process. We do not claim that research into affective touch, tapping, eye movements, working memory or positive autobiographical memory constitutes independent clinical validation of The Manse Method® as a complete intervention.
Emotion Pathway® is a newly developed early-intervention framework. We therefore do not claim that Emotion Pathway® has yet established its own body of independent research.
What we can demonstrate is that our work has not been developed in isolation. It has been informed by published research, more than three decades of practical experience in emotional and behavioural change, and extensive direct work with people affected by emotional trauma, PTSD, grief and difficult life experiences.
From development to evaluation
Emotion Pathway® is now moving into real-world application and evaluation, including piloting within UK education.
As that work develops, our aim is to continue measuring outcomes and to create opportunities for appropriate independent evaluation and research.
We believe credibility comes not from claiming more than the evidence can support, but from being clear about what we know, what we observe and what we are continuing to investigate.
Interested in the research or working with us?
We welcome conversations with organisations, researchers and professionals interested in the development, evaluation or application of Emotion Pathway® and The Manse Method®.
If you would like to discuss our work, explore a pilot or talk to us about research and evaluation, we'd be pleased to hear from you.