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Thought Field Therapy and Treatment

Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a alternative and currently non-validated psychological treatment. The procedure is claimed to work by tapping various parts of the body in order to rebalance its natural energy system. The tapping is thought to correct "perturbations" in the energy fields, called thought fields, that cause psychological disturbances. Different "algorithms" or tapping sequences are employed by the therapist to treat different problems. Once these energy disturbances are corrected, it is claimed that the psychological problem will dissipate.

TFT's Inventor

Roger Callahan, Ph.D, invented TFT, originally called Callahan Techniques(tm). Dr. Callahan is trained as a clinical psychologist, receiving his doctorate from Syracuse University. He has been developing and refining TFT procedures for over 20 years.

The Beginning of TFT

Callahan claims that after becoming disenchanted with traditional therapy techniques he began investigating alternative approaches. His supposed first case of a TFT "cure" occurred with a patient named Mary, who was not improving with standard treatments. Mary had a hydrophobia or a fear of water. At the time, Callahan was studying George Goodheart, D.C.'s work with the now scientifically discredited Applied Kinesiology and on a whim had her tap the stomach energy meridian below the eye, which is based on Chinese energy maps. He claims that Mary was completely cured from the tapping and that she no longer had a fear of water. He also contends that she remains cured to this day.

Thought Field Theory

TFT is based on concepts from Chinese medicine relating to the existence of invisible energy field's in the body, named "thought fields". In general, one can think of TFT as psychological acupuncture. Similar to Chinese acupuncture, Callahan believes that disturbances in the flow of energy cause psychological problems. He calls these disturbances "perturbations." The tapping stimulates and thus rebalances the correct flow of energy, according to proponents. He also states that different psychological disturbances (for instance anxiety, depression, guilt, anger) produce different patterns of energy blockages. Therefore, he has developed different tapping procedures, called "algorithms," which change depending on the problem. According to the theory, negative thinking, neuron chemical disturbances, unpleasant emotions, and maladaptive behaviors are a result of these energy imbalances. He believes that he has found the root cause of all psychological problems and disorders.

Techniques

Trauma researcher Charles Figley, Ph.D. (1995) provides an article describing typical TFT tapping procedures. In brief, clients are asked to imagine an anxiety producing experience and rate how much discomfort they feel on a scale from 1 to 10 (SUD scale). Next, the patient engages in a series of self-tapping procedures on different parts of the body as guided by the therapist. After the tapping, if a decrease in subjective anxiety does not occur, the techniques are repeated.

Claims of Effectiveness

The claims of effectiveness of TFT differ based on the level of training of the therapist, according to Callahan. However, tremendous claims of success are made even with the simplest training.

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