Thought Field Therapy®
Callahan Techniques®
Developed by Roger Callahan, PhD., Thought Field Therapy (TFT®) is a non-invasive, holistic approach to psychotherapy that uses the body's energy field to help resolve emotional issues. TFT assumes that we are animated by energy which flows along well defined meridians in the body. The flow of these energy meridians, which have been defined and documented through 5000 years of Chinese Medical tradition, creates a dynamic energy field in and around the body which is the ultimate source of health or illness. In Thought Field Therapy it is further assumed that specific thoughts create specific 'thought fields' within the dynamic energy field of the body. When the thought field brings perturbations or disturbances to the energy field, our experience is emotions of varying intensity with the characteristic physiological discomforts in the stomach, chest, throat, head, etc.
The Callahan Technique defines specific algorithms (sequences of taps) for the treatment of various emotional disorders including anger, anxiety, depression, complex trauma and addictions. His technique consists of tapping specific energy points along the body's meridians, in specific sequences thus eliminating the perturbations and thereby alleviating the client's emotional distress.
The tapping sequences are derived from knowledge of the relationships among organs and the meridians. In Chinese medical tradition five of the meridians are associated with an organ and each of those organs is associated with a natural emotion; Lungs- grief, Heart- joy/sadness, Spleen- anxiety, Liver- anger or Kidneys- fear. From these organ/emotion relationships we begin to see relationships between chronic emotions and the types of illnesses manifesting in the associated organs and systems.
Clinical experience using the TFT algorithms demonstrates that emotional and physiological symptoms dissipate or resolve completely in minutes in over 80% of cases. From this evidence, Callahan posits that disturbances or perturbations in the energy field of the body are the root cause of what people experience as symptoms of emotional distress. By changing the energy flow of the thought field we can change the emotional state.
After using the Callahan Techniques at Connections of BodyMind, PA, since 2004, we have concluded that this revolutionary approach to the treatment of mental illness is highly successful. We believe it should be the first choice in treating ALL phobias, complex traumas and anxieties. Our clinical experience has been that clients respond immediately and that it provides lasting relief, even in cases of life long disabilities resulting from sexual and/or physical abuse. These results have been achieved in as little as one session, and without the use of drugs. Our biggest obstacle has been resistance to the idea that something so easy, so quick and so simple can generate such profound results.
Common Fears - Eliminated in Minutes with TFT
- Public Speaking
- Snakes
Effectiveness Measures of TFT
I. Client Self-Assessment
TFT treatment includes periodic assessment of the client's subjective state of distress. The initial step, at the beginning of treatment, is to tune-in to the thought field (i.e. memory) that is carrying the distress. Once tuned in, the client rates their current feelings of distress on a scale of 1 to 10. After the algorithm is performed, the client again rates their distress. This is performed after each step of the treatment until the client's distress assessment for a given thought field, reaches 0. In this way, the success of each treatment is clear to both the client and the practitioner.
II. Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Using an HRV monitor before, during and after a treatment yields a quantitative measure of the effects of the TFT treatment. An HRV chart indicates the balance between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous systems, both of which comprise the autonomic nervous system. When the autonomic system, which regulates bodily functions and the activity of various organs in the body, is in balance, HRV increases which is believed by some to be an indicator of the activity of autonomic regulation of circulatory function. Callahan argues that this increase in HRV increases the sense of well being.