Research
Thought Field Therapy has been used in clinical settings to to successfully treat a wide variety of psychological problems. Most research has been in the area of first hand clinical observation and the personal reports coming from therapists and clients have been impressive.
One 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.
For this study, four new treatment approaches were selected on the basis of previous merit. These methods were: Traumatic Incident Reduction (TRI) Visual Kinesthetic Dissociation (NLP) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Thought Field Therapy ( TFT). Figley reports that: TFT stood out from all other approaches of which I am aware because of five reasons:
- It is extraordinarily powerful, in that clients receive nearly immediate relief from their suffering and treatment appears to be permanent.
- It can be taught to nearly anyone so that clients can not only treat themselves, but treat others affected.
- It appears to do no harm.
- It does not require the client to talk about their troubles, something that often causes more emotional pain and discourages many from seeking treatment.
- It is extremely efficient (fast and long lasting).
In 1996, Dr. Joyce Carbonell of Florida State University did a double blind study (as yet unpublished) using TFT and a placebo treatment to treat fear of heights. Subjects were screened using the Cohen Acrophobia Inventory and randomly assigned to two groups. Both the TFT group and the placebo group received part of the TFT treatment, however, the Placebo group tapped on non - TFT body points and the TFT group tapped on TFT points.
Neither the subjects or the therapists knew which was the TFT treatment and which was the placebo treatment. There was a significant difference in improvement in SUD scores and in scores on the Cohen Acrophobia Inventory between the two treatment groups. Those subjects who were treated with TFT had the greater average improvement.
In October 2001 The Journal of Clinical Psychology (Volume 57. No. 10) published a special issue "Thought Field Therapy: Initial Research. " This special issue contains 5 initial pilot studies using Thought Field Therapy to treat a variety of psychological problems. It also contains reviews of the research methods and a "Response to Critics" by Dr. Roger Callahan.
Probably the most important research article published in this issue of 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 equivlent to the surgeon general of Kosovo has made TFT the official therapy of Kosovo. To read a copy of Dr. Syla's letter to Dr Roger Callahan thanking him for Thought Field Therapy clickhere.
For further information on reseach please go to www.tftrx.com.
What professionals say
"What's fascinating about TFT is it's quick, painless and its success rate is almost unbelievable..."
Shad Meshad Author of the National Veterans Centre Programme, USA
(TFT is) "one of the most effective and most powerful methods for quick clinical relief and the idea of psychological reversal is one of the major discoveries in psychology"
Gary Emery, Ph.D., co-author, "Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective.
Believe me,I have seen miracles using Dr. Callahan’s techniques. Isn’t it time we stopped settling for anything less than miracles?... "I have recommended and used Dr. Callahan’s Five Minute Phobia Cure in my Self-Esteem seminars for many years.”
Jack Canfield, Co-Author, "Chicken Soup for the Soul®" Series, teacher from ‘The Secret’
"If it had been a horse race, which the investigators as well as the innovators were all at pains to deny, the TFT contingent would have won, hands down. Requiring virtually nothing in the way of personal interaction, TFT can bypass all that tedious therapeutic business of joining, empathy, history taking, reprocessing and the like, and zero in on the problem immediately at hand. With 10-minute treatments not at all unusual?"
Mary Sykes Wylie, Ph.D., Senior Editor, "The Family Therapy Networker, July/Aug, 1996."
"For 25 years I have treated American war veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have witnessed gallant efforts to keep a job, be members of a family, overcome homelessness and resist the temptation of suicide...I am very grateful to Dr. Callahan for his discovery of Thought Field Therapy. For too long a time, my patients and I have yearned for something like this. In my opinion, this gentle action technique is easily the best approach to thorough and enduring relief from this crippling psychological disorder."
Carl Johnson, PhD, Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology, Program for Homeless Veterans, Martinsburg, West Virginia
"I have been trained in a traditional medical, psychiatric, psychoanalytic and psychopharmacological model and I can state clearly - If I had only one therapy to use it would be Callahan Techniques® Thought Field Therapy. It's the best therapy in history!"
Luanne Ruona, MD, Director, Center for Holistic Therapy, Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA
"This (training) was a pinnacle for me. It expanded, reviewed and integrated what I had already learned and provided many new things for me to learn"
Rita Weinberg, PhD, Professor of Psychology at National-Louis University, Wheeling Campus, Wheeling, Illinois
"TFT is not just the most powerful tool in traumatic stress reduction; IT SAVES LIVES. I have used TFT to intervene with a suicidal client and it worked. Thank you Dr. Callahan for sharing this with the world."
Bruce Ramsay, CTR, CISM, Program Director, First Nations Emergency Services Society of B.C.
"With TFT's unique causal diagnosis the therapist can zero in to the most basic causes of a psychological problem quickly and effectively and in almost all cases eliminates the psychological symptoms related to the problem in a very short period of time."
Suzanne Connolly, CISW
"Causal Diagnosis is as simple and as powerful as knowing the correct telephone number".
Pauline Bosch, MA, TFTdx, Co. Meath, Ireland
"I don't need any double blind placebo controlled study or evidence based medicine to prove the benefit of this modality (TFT). If I have been treating someone for 10 years and have him or her on mutiple potent medications that should work and they are still suffering, but with one session of TFT they experience a distinct difference that's good enough for me."
Dr. James McKoy, M.D. Rheumatologist
“While I have thorough and comprehensive training in many clinical psychology modalities including rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT); cognitive therapy (CT); and hypnotherapy, since 1997 I have most often used TFT as a first-line or mainstay approach to my work because of the efficiency in achieving outcomes.”
Christopher Semmens, Clinical Psychologist MAppPsych; BSc; BPsych; DipClinHyp; TFTdx Perth