Frequently Asked Questions
The list below covers most of the FAQs. Click on the question(s) you would like answered.
- 1. What is Thought Field Therapy (TFT)?
2. What is a Thought Field?
3. Can TFT help clear self-sabotage?
4. Is TFT painful in any way?
5. What does a treatment involve?
- 6. Is TFT suitable for children?
7. Does TFT work with animals?
8. What are TFT algorithms?
9. Does TFT have any side effects?
10. How successful are the techniques?
- 11. What is Voice Technology™?
12. I'm a die-hard sceptic.
13. What if I don't believe the treatment will work?
14. How long does the effect last?
What is TFT?
"Thought Field Therapy is different from any other psychological therapy that you’ve ever used. The therapeutic process itself is completely unique. So is the scientific foundation on which it is based. And so are the unprecedented results it can produce.
TFT is a system that accesses and resolves the essence and the root cause of your problem whether it is a phobia, anger, a bad habit, trauma, anxiety, guilt or grief. These negative emotions are condensed information in energy form bound in what I call a thought field. The active information in this Thought Field creates distress in your life by disrupting the body’s internal energy flow, causing psychological upheaval that sabotages your emotional well-being.
A key to the treatment is influencing the body’s bioenergy field by tapping with your fingers on specific points on the body located along energy meridians. In a user-friendly process that you’ll learn in detail, you’ll think about the particular psychological problem and then quantify the intensity of the emotional upset (on a scale from 0 – 10). Next you will tap on particular points on the body in a particular sequence. As this happens you will eliminate imbalances in the body’s energy system and in the process, weaken and even eradicate negative emotions and the symptoms of psychological distress. Thanks to new research using technology that can monitor the body’s autonomic nervous system, we can now scientifically measure and quantify the systemic changes that TFT produces. Clearly TFT heals at the most fundamental level- and it happens almost instantaneously." Dr. Roger Callahan TFT’s founder
What is a Thought Field?
A "field", in scientific terms, is defined as "an invisible sphere of influence", magnetic fields and gravitational fields being familiar examples. In this case, when we think about a situation a Thought Field (a manifestation of the body's energy system) becomes active. Effectively, the Thought Field has been "tuned in" to that specific thought.
The body responds to its influence by reproducing, to a greater or lesser extent, the nervous, hormonal, chemical and cognitive activity that occurs when we are in the real situation. If that Thought Field contains disturbances then the response is inappropriate. For example, someone with acrophobia (fear of heights) may feel intense nausea and be in a state of complete panic when simply thinking of climbing a few steps of a ladder, something that would not trouble a normal individual.
Can TFT help clear self-sabotage?
Self-sabotage, or "psychological reversal" is a state of reversed energy in the body which blocks natural healing and prevents otherwise effective treatments from working. The psychologically reversed state is usually accompanied by negative attitudes and self-sabotaging behaviour. TFT offers rapid and simple treatment for this problem.
Is TFT painful in any way?
Not at all. No needles or other instruments are used, nor does it require you to talk at length about your problem, something that can cause considerable distress in itself.
What does a treatment involve?
Quite simply, the patient is first asked to think about their particular problem which, can be an anxiety state, a phobia, a trauma, a loss, or a feeling of anger or of guilt. They are then asked to quantify their feelings on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 10 representing maximum distress.
Next, they are asked to tap on his or her own body in specific places, or energy points, in a defined and precise order. Following the treatment the patient is asked, once again, to think about their problem as clearly and as negatively as possible.
Typically, the patient reports that they cannot do so at all! At this point the patient is now free of their problem as they can no longer evoke the psychological distress they once experienced. A cure has been effected.
Is TFT suitable for children?
Very much so. Children are particularly responsive to, and indeed enjoy, the treatment. The simplicity and safety of TFT makes it especially suitable for nervous children who might find conventional approaches intimidating.
Does TFT work with animals?
Although still in the experimental stage, early findings indicate that animals such as dogs, cats and horses do respond to application of TFT.
What are TFT algorithms?
Determined using TFT causal diagnostic procedures, the algorithms are precise treatment sequences that are known to have a curative effect when applied to specific problems.
Does TFT have any side-effects?
By side effects, most people mean unpleasant side-effects. The answer is simply "No". However, recent evidence using Heart Rate Variability analyses has shown that successful TFT treatment has at least one very beneficial side effect - the rebalancing of the autonomic nervous system.
How successful are the techniques?
Using TFT algorithms alone a success rate of around 80% can be expected. Individual diagnosis by a diagnostically-trained practitioner raises this figure to around 90- 95%. With the use of Voice Technology™ the success rate approaches the ultimate. And all this within a few minutes. No other treatment presently available, conventional or complementary, can claim the same success rate, speed and completeness.
What is Voice Technology™?
In 1986, Dr. Callahan discovered that the voice carries a code reflecting the specific cause (the perturbations in the Thought Field) of the problem being experienced. This unique technology provides a means of extracting the relevant information from the voice using a holographic imaging procedure.
The specific tapping sequence(s) for complete treatment can then be determined. VT™ provides the means for a previously unheard of psychotherapeutic procedure - curative treatment over the telephone in minutes. Naturally, this sounds very far-fetched but to appreciate how this could be possible one might consider the vast amount of information contained in the groove cut into a vinyl sound recording.
To the eye it appears as a single wavy line, as is the sound pressure wave induced from it when shown on an oscilloscope. From this single strand of information the mind can pick out the individual sound of every single instrument in the finest detail, a phenomenal feat of information analysis.
I'm a die-hard sceptic. What if I don't believe the treatment will work?
It makes no difference. The treatments work whether you believe in them or not.
If TFT is so revolutionary, why haven't I heard of it before now?
In common with many other ground-breaking discoveries, TFT has met with considerable resistance and opposition to acceptance despite the continuing build-up of evidence in its favour. One possible reason for this negativity is that TFT theory will inevitably, as a consequence of its own success, demand a complete rethink of many therapeutic approaches in psychological medicine, and upon which many "experts" have built their careers.
It is worth bearing in mind that chemical anaesthesia was first discovered in the mid-1800s yet it took almost 50 years for its use to become universally accepted.
"Faced with the choice of changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.
J.K. Galbraith
Does TFT last?
Yes, generally the effects are permanent. In some cases one may need to tap again to clear any associated aspects of a problem.