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Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is Thought Field Therapy (TFT)?
Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a new technique for the rapid relief of all kinds of emotional distress. It works rather like acupuncture by stimulating the body's energy meridians to resolve problems with the body's emotional control system. However, no needles are used. Instead the patient taps on various parts of their face and body with their fingers. The results are frequently amazing as emotional problems often disappear in minutes.
Q. What Can TFT Be Used For?
TFT was originally developed as a treatment of phobias and traumatic stress. Further research meant it can now be used to treat a wide variety of problems including stress and anxiety, panic attacks, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), grief, acute trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger, guilt, pain, sexual problems, addictions (including food, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, nail-biting etc), and much more.
Q. How Was TFT Discovered?
TFT was discovered in 1980 by Dr Roger Callahan PhD, one of America's most experienced and distinguished Clinical Psychologists. Dr Callahan was dissatisfied with conventional therapy techniques which he found to be time consuming and largely ineffective. He became interested in an alternative therapy called Applied Kinesiology (AK) which addresses the body's energy meridian system and realised some of its techniques could have an application in the rapid and efficient diagnosis and treatment of negative emotions.
The first patient treated with what we now now as TFT was a woman called Mary, who had a severe phobia of water. Dr Callahan treated Mary for 18 months without much success using conventional methods. One day, with little or nothing conventional left to offer, he experimented with his newly found technique. He knew Mary had described her fear as being felt in the stomach, and he also knew that the stomach meridian began under the eyes. So he simply tried finger-tapping under Mary's eyes. Her phobia promptly vanished and has stayed away to this day.
Dr Callahan soon discovered that this simple treatment was ineffective with most other patients but the success rate steadily increased as a result of years of research and experimentation. The end product was what we now know as Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy, or TFT for short.
Q. How Does It Work?
According to Dr Callahan's theory, whenever we think of something, we are effectively tuning in a specific 'thought field' in much the same way as a TV channel must be tuned in to receive a specific channel. Held within that thought field is the coded information pattern used by the mind and body to generate the entire emotional experience associated with that thought. This is why the experience is always identical, the same 'instructions' are followed each time. Dr Callahan has named these 'perturbations' (from the dictionary definition of the word) - 'a cause of mental disquietude'.
By tapping on the correct meridian treatment points in a specific sequence, these perturbations can be deactivated, thereby 'switching off' the emotional experience. The individual can now think about what troubled them as much as they like as the memory remains unaffected - but the negative emotion (anxiety, anger, guilt etc) associated with it will no longer be present.
Q. What Is TFT's Success Rate?
The success rate of TFT depends upon the experience and competence of the practitioner. However, even an Algorithm Practitioner who uses pre-defined sets of tapping sequences (Algorithms) to treat problems can obtain an 80% success rate.
The next level of competency is that of the Diagnostic Practitioner who uses techniques derived from Applied Kinesiology to devise made-to-measure tapping sequences which are effective with 94% of clients/patients. A Diagnostic Practitioner may also check you for various 'toxins' which are affecting your health and/or preventing TFT from working properly.
The highest level of competency is that of the Voice Technology (VT) Practitioner. By analysing your voice using special technology the VT Practitioner can devise a tapping sequence which is effective with 97% of the population.
Of course, the other side of the coin is that there is a failure rate of 3 - 20%. Considerably less than that of any other therapy but of course this means that no guarantee of success can be made in any individual case.
Q. What Is Meant By Toxins?
The toxins recognised in TFT are not the same as the toxins of conventional medicine which are true poisons like carbon monoxide, cyanide, arsenic etc.
Instead, these toxins are seemingly innocuous substances such as sugar, chocolate, corn and wheat which can disrupt the body's energetic control systems and prevent the perturbations in thought fields from being deactivated permanently.
Toxins can also include inhaled substances like cigarette smoke and perfume, and substances which may come into contact with your skin, such as washing powder. It maybe necessary to avoid contact with these substances for a few weeks (or sometimes permanently) to allow your energy system to restore itself.
Q. How Does The Success Of TFT Compare With Other Therapies?
The simple answer is that there is no comparison! Even the 80% success rate enjoyed by Algorithm Practitioners is far better than that achieved by most experienced and competent practitioners of other therapies. For example, the overall success rate of Hypnotherapy in stopping people smoking (measured at 6 months post treatment) is only around 30%, with a few highly competent Hypnotherapists managing 70%. Some traditional therapies are so ineffective that no success rates have ever been published!
Q. How Many Sessions Are Required?
TFT treatments either work immediately or do not work at all. Therefore, for a simple problem, a single session lasting 45 minutes is usually all that is required, possibly with a follow-up session some time later. You may also be provided with some self-help instructions for use at home if your therapist considers that this will be of benefit.
However, you should note that more complex problems often require further treatment as layers of the overall problem reveal themselves. Whether or not you will need additional sessions cannot be reliably predicted and so you should be prepared for this eventuality.
That said, it is rare for more than 5 sessions to be needed.
In comparison, traditional psychotherapies sometimes require you to continue therapy for weeks, months - or even years - and often without any improvement. Eg, Hypnotherapy 1 - 10 sessions and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 12 - 20 sessions.
So, you can see that TFT is not only the most effective therapy to choose from, it also saves you time and money.
Q. Will The Treatment Last?
For most problems, if the correct tapping sequence is administered, then the problem will disappear and the effect will endure over time. One exception is in the treatment of addictions where the tapping sequence may have to be repeated whenever the urge returns, for about three weeks. If you have TFT for something other than an addiction and the symptoms return, this usually indicates exposure to a toxin. Your therapist should be able to help you to identify this substance so that you can avoid it in the future.
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