Thought Field Therapy (TFT) was first discovered and developed in the 1980’s by an American psychologist, Doctor Roger Callahan. It is part of my arsenal of applications covered in psychosensory therapies, but I write more specifically about this one as it’s has been a large part of my practice from the early days.
Doctor Callahan was a clinical psychologist working in California and specialised in deep trauma and phobias. He was working with a client named Mary, a lady that suffered an extreme phobia to water. At the time, he was also reading a book on the subject of Chakra energy as associated with acupuncture. To cut the longer story short, doctor Callahan experimented with Mary on a simple stomach upset using the massage of the Chakra eye points. What followed next was described as a miracle, as the actual affect was that Mary experienced a near complete relief of her water phobia!
Following on from that discovery, Doctor Callahan worked with hundreds more patients over two decades. He also added concepts from his studies in applied kinesiology, a procedure developed by chiropractor George Goodheart. This theorises that muscle strength is influenced not only by physical conditions but also by thoughts and emotions, and can be used as a diagnostic tool.
Doctor Callahan stated that all thoughts have their own field of energy flow (thought field) and those that are traumatic cause perturbations to the energy flow. Once these are treated, the energy blockages are released, allowing the energy to become balanced, flowing cleanly and freely – even whilst the subject still engages in the previously disabling thought.
Callahan found great success in treating anxiety, traumas, fears, phobias, addictions and even physical pain etc. Gradually, he developed various algorithms that commonly worked for different ailments. The therapy entails tapping on various energy meridian points on the upper body and hands, as well as some other additional processes. One of the unique benefits that separated it from other conventional therapies of its time was the fact that the client could be treated for severe traumas etc. without having to narrate the intimate details of the issue to the therapist if preferred.
The dilemma for the onlooker is that Thought Field Therapy can seem somewhat strange and/or too simple to actually work – especially when tackling deep rooted and long-standing serious psychological problems. There has been some negative coverage of whether tapping therapies are really as powerful as first portrayed by their founders. My personal view is that in reality, nothing works for everybody all of the time. However, in my own experience, I have found Thought Field Therapy to be a very useful in my toolbox of strategies and use it extensively with great success in my blend of various applications in my coaching practice.