Eliminating fear, stress, anxiety, panic attacks, stress, trauma, guilt, any anger, loss weight, stop smoking in minutes. It is a powerful therapy with a impressive success rate.
It has also proven effective in the treatment of some physical conditions such as headaches and back pain. Discovered and developed by Dr. Roger Callahan, a Californian clinical psychologist with over 40 years of experience, TFT is a unique form of meridian therapy. It is best described as a natural, drug-free, non-invasive system to eliminate the cause of negative emotions. Callahan (1997) states that he accidentally discovered TFT while treating a client named Mary, who had a severe fear of water. Inspired by an acupuncture class he was taking at the time, Callahan instructed Mary to firmly tap the area under her eye with her fingers, leading to a miraculous and immediate resolution of Mary’s phobia. Callahan subsequently developed the comprehensive set of techniques that combines elements of acupuncture, Chinese medicine, applied Kinesiology, Cognitive Therapy and psychoanalysis.
The therapy is based on the idea that invisible energy fields called “thought fields” exist within the body (Callahan 1997). Environmental traumas and inherited predispositions are theorized to cause blockages, or what Callahan terms “perturbations,” in the flow of energy in these thought fields. Callahan theorizes that the commonly observed neurochemical, behavioral, and cognitive indicators of disorders such as depression are the result of these perturbations. In other words, the root cause of all psychological problems are blockages in energy fields.
In order to correct these perturbations, clients are directed by the TFT therapist to tap on the body’s “energy meridians” in specific sequences, called “algorithms,” which vary based on the particular problem being treated (Callahan 1997). For example, the client may be instructed to tap at the corner of the eyebrow five times and then continue tapping on other parts of the body in a specific sequence as instructed by the therapist. In addition, the clients are told to roll their eyes, count, and hum a few bars of a song at various points during the treatment. Callahan states that when the thought field is “attuned,” that is, when the person is thinking about the distressing event or image, perturbations are able to be located and corrected. The tapping is theorized to add energy to the system, which then re-balances the overall energy flow, thereby eliminating the distress at the source.
Most research has been in the area of first hand clinical observation and the personal reports coming from therapists and clients have been impressive. Most individuals experience significant, usually complete, relief from their problem within a few minutes. Callahan reports a success rate of up to 98 %, if the treatment is undertaken by a trained therapist. There are not many other treatment methods presently available, conventional, complementary nor alternative, that can claim the same success, speed and completeness.
Formal investigation, conducted in early 1995, by Charles R. Figley, Ph.D. and Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D. of the Psychological Stress Research Program and Clinical Laboratory at Florida State University yielded impressive results in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A double blind study undertaken in 1996 by Dr. Joyce Carbonell of Florida State University using TFT and a placebo treatment to treat fear of heights confirmed the effectiveness of TFT treatments. Probably the most important research article published in The Journal of Clinical Psychology is an article written by Dr. Carl Johnson, et. al. “Soothing the Bad Moments of Kosovo.” The author reports that of 249 traumas treated in Kosovo, 247 were treated successfully in a short period of time. After several visits to Kosovo, Dr. Skkelzen Syla, the equivalent to the surgeon general of Kosovo has made TFT the official therapy of Kosovo.
References:
- Callahan, R. & Callahan, J. (1997). Though field therapy (TFT) and trauma: Treatment and theory. Available from: Thought Field Therapy Training Center, Indian Wells, CA.
- Carbonell, J.L. (1996). An experimental study of TFT and acrophobia. The Thought Field, 2(3), 1 + 6.
- Figley, C.R. (1995). An algorithm for PTSD treatment: TFT. Traumatic Stress Forum, November 27, 1995.
- Karin Schianetz, 22.05.2006
