Thought Field Therapy: The Definitive Guide for Successful Practice

©2011. Robin Ellis. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 3/11/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-7376-2

ISBN: 978-1-4678-9434-0 (ebook)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

1. The TFT Protocol

2. Psychological Reversal

3. Finding the Problem Thought Fields

4. Anxiety and Fear

5. Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder

6. Trauma and PTSD

7. Grief

8. Anger & Rage

9. Phobias

10. Substance Addictions &

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorders

11. Depression

12. Physical Pain

13. Therapy with Children

14. Treating Children

15. Professional Standards

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Apart from the TFT-specific content of this book, readers should note that the information given about professional standards (and reference to health professionals and services) apply to the practice of Thought Field Therapy within the United Kingdom. I’m sure that the same standards would apply the world over, but regulation of therapeutic practice is variable. Do make sure that if you are in practice elsewhere, you consult the regulatory framework that applies in your country.

For Mary

Foreword

In Thought Field Therapy, The Definitive Guide to Successful Practice, Robin and Ian have done a meticulous job of instruction, guidance and feedback that reflect their years of experience in health care and their high level of skill in the application of this powerful healing modality. It clearly represents their years of expertise in supporting new TFT practitioners, leading them to professional and successful application.

They are pioneers of TFT in the UK. Ian Graham brought Thought Field Therapy (TFT) to the UK. He immediately formed the BTFTA to establish professional guidelines and recognition. Both Robin and Ian are founding members in the professional organization which has paved the way for TFT’s acceptance in mainstream health care, and, provided support and guidance to most UK practitioners.

They are both long time trainers of TFT Algorithm level courses so are in a unique position to understand the challenges that new practitioners will face and how best to resolve them. This guide clearly demonstrates their vast knowledge, experience and high degree of professionalism.

We have always been proud to have them represent TFT in the UK, knowing they did so with passion and integrity, even in the face of adversity. Ian’s scholarly works and writings have supported TFT through many difficult tests for over a decade.

This guide provides a clear path of application, troubleshooting and practice guidelines for any new TFT practitioner. It also is great support for any existing practitioner, as their carefully selected case studies and evaluations are an invaluable resource for others in clinical application.

They have done an excellent job of developing an awareness of TFT in the UK and building a professional organization to support TFT practitioners. We are proud to have them as leaders and representatives for TFT in the United Kingdom.

Roger J. Callahan, PhD

Founder and Developer of Thought Field Therapy

Chairman of the Board, Association for Thought Field Therapy

Joanne M. Callahan, MBA

President, Callahan Techniques, Ltd.

President, ATFT Foundation

Treasurer, Association for Thought Field Therapy

Introduction

I have written this book together with the invaluable input of my colleague, Ian Graham, who brought Thought Field Therapy to this country in 1996 from America. It is an in-depth practical guide to assist everyone in their usage of TFT, including those who maybe experiencing difficulties with their practice due to initial inexperience or lack of confidence, and need instant assistance.

This need has become apparent through my experience of ten years of teaching Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy Algorithms to a wide variety of students and learning of their precise needs when faced with the practical requirements for administering TFT treatments to their clients. These needs have been shown not only from the many questions received during training, but also from the case studies sent to me after training for my constructive feedback.

It is also written for the many practitioners, both complementary and orthodox, who have maybe heard of ‘the tapping technique’ but know nothing about it and are inclined to dismiss it as a weird practice which is not worthy of their attention.

I would invite all of you to read this book because it will show you how Thought Field Therapy, created by the eminent psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan, is based on the reality of fact born out of experience of treatments given over the last thirty years all over the world.

Thought Field Therapy is a major psychological advance for professional practitioners to use within their particular discipline. Although it can well be used as a standalone technique, many professionals have found it to be an incredibly valuable addition to their therapeutic toolbox. There have been many psychologists and counsellors who have told me after their training that they find TFT speeds up and greatly assists in their work. They have discovered how its early use rapidly resolves many core issues so that subsequent cognitive work has far greater effect in clearing the total problem.

So Thought Field Therapy - The Definitive Guide for Successful Practice is for:

•   everyone who is new to TFT and the use of Energy Psychology in general.

•   those of you who have been trained some time ago but have not used the therapy very much, now feel you would really like to bring it into your work, but are finding yourself a bit rusty!

•   those who are well practised but sometimes need extra assistance to cope with a complex problem that can leave you wondering where to start with TFT.

•   for all Complementary Therapists who work with the body’s meridian system within any discipline. These treatments can sometimes trigger the buried memory of a past trauma or fear. With TFT at your finger tips the sudden eruption of emotional distress can be released in minutes.

Thought Field Therapy - The Definitive Guide for Successful Practice is something which can address your immediate needs in a quick and informative way so that you can continue with what you were doing with minimum delay, knowing you can always go back later for more detail. Most importantly you will receive fast help for the particular difficulty you face.

Your training manual and book gave you the full account of how and why TFT works, exactly how you should do it for perfect results and some guidance about what to do if TFT is not working. But these are probably not able to give the precise information you need to cope with a more unusual or complex problem. Ideally, you need the support I give when trainees contact me and say , Robin, I’ve got this client who is coming next Thursday with this, that, or the other problem - how do I tackle it?

There are various ways to use this book:

•   as a professional practitioner’s handbook to locate specific information or to obtain some needed revision.

•   as a form of interesting validation by concentrating on the case examples and studies which all describe real life treatments. Those that are case studies from students are designed to be instructive since they will highlight mistakes made (or perhaps a clumsy use of our therapy! ), with suggestions of improvement for future use.

•   You can read it from cover to cover! I hope you enjoy the narrative and the information it gives you.

As a TFT Handbook you will first find your way to the subject you require by the chapter heading in the front contents index. Then the first page of the chapter will list particular aspects of the subject which are then numbered so that you can quickly turn to the part needed. At the end of the chapter you will find actual treatment examples and student case studies for further reading which will greatly add to your understanding, knowledge and efficiency.

1. The TFT Protocol 

1. Algorithms

2. The TFT Architecture

3. Using the SUD scale effectively

4. How to give a TFT Treatment

5. Further Ideas

6. The Protocol Summery

7. Case Studies from students

One of the most important parts of your training to become a capable TFT practitioner is, without doubt, your full understanding of the TFT Protocol. It is not intended to make life difficult for you or interfere with your freedom to get on with the job!

The protocol is needed to set your feet on a path which leads as quickly and efficiently as possible to your goal of total resolution of your client’s problem. Without this help, I can almost guarantee you will quickly get into a muddle.

For example: I’ve done the majors but nothing’s happened, so I’ll try a PR correction. Oh dear! That hasn’t helped - lets try another PR correction. Now what! ? That hasn’t helped either! Oh dear, this doesn’t seem to be going very well. I know, I’ll repeat the whole algorithm and it’ll probably work all right this time. Oh no! That made no difference and I believe my client is beginning to get fed up. OH HELP! !

Well, at least there’s one good result to be found from our poor practitioner’s total mess! Apart from any frustration for the client, he has done no harm to the person!

To cut a long story short, the protocol is literally a step-by-step guide to pilot you through the needs of various PR corrections in the proper order as well as other actions needed to attain a satisfactory solution. Because of my past experience in helping many TFT students over the years to follow the TFT protocol exactly as intended, I make no apologies for taking you right back to the beginning - a very good place to start!

1.   Algorithms.

You are using algorithms to treat your clients’ problems. An algorithm is a set sequence of tapping points on the body used to address a specific problem. These sequences were discovered by Dr. Roger Callahan during the ‘80s and early ‘90s using his causal diagnostic methods. The sequences were confirmed over a period of years by diagnostic practitioners in many countries throughout the world continually finding the same sequence for each particular problem.

When Roger Callahan found these sequences were coming up through diagnosis eight times out of ten, he would then declare the sequence to be an algorithm. This is why we know the algorithms will succeed for 80% of your clients. This is why we know you will - not may - have an 80% success rate in resolving your clients’ problems! However this success depends entirely on following the TFT protocol accurately and faithfully!

2.   The TFT Architecture

All algorithms follow the same pattern. It is vital that you complete each step in exactly the order shown to obtain efficient and reliable success.

Here is a typical example for an Anxiety/Fear Algorithm written out using our standard abbreviations:

e - a - c - 9g - sq

e, a and c are all tapping points,¹ each called a major

e - a - c is the sequence of the 3 majors which must be tapped in that order for this algorithm

9 g is the 9 Gamut sequence which must be performed next.

sq means repeat the first sequence of majors

The complete treatment is known as a Holon. Written out in full it would be:

Now Stop!

Every algorithm consists only of three main parts as shown in this Holon.

So you need to: Tap the Majors - do the 9 Gamut - Tap the same Majors - and stop!

Please do not award me with another 9 Gamut after the repeat of Majors or worse, an extra 9g followed by more Majors and a PR correction thrown in for good measure! Yes - these things have happened!

Always remember that TFT is very precise. It always follows a defined plan which gives great efficiency and speed of treatment. If you find the process going haywire then you know the protocol has been (temporarily! ) lost.

3.   Using the SUD scale effectively

One of the most common observations that new clients make about any previous conventional therapy experience is that their therapist didn’t seem to listen to me. When asked to elaborate, the problem usually boils down to the fact that the therapist was regularly telling the client how they felt, not the other way round. You’re doing so much better this week, the client would be told - and two things would then happen…

The client would become confused because perhaps they didn’t actually feel any better at all, and when asked by the therapist, Do you agree? , the client would answer Yes - when an authoritative figure asks you a question like that the answer had better be yes, of course!

OK, the above is a generalisation - it doesn’t always happen like that - but why does it occur at all? The answer lies in objective testing - questions and tick boxes on sheets of paper for clients to complete, the final score being a measure of how the client feels.

Objective testing is very useful, it can be a good guide to client progress, free of observer bias and easily quantifiable, but paper-and-pencil tests should never take the place of a the simple subjective question, How do you feel right now?

Furthermore, the field of psychotherapy had, until now, seldom enjoyed the phenomenon of a complete cure, that is, a client totally free of symptoms. Hence the degree of improvement was all important in assessing progress - objective testing needed once again.

However, with TFT we can now achieve complete cure and so objective testing of progress is of much less importance. We can now trust the client’s subjective report of how they feel with great reliability, the target being a report of no further problem whatsoever.

The therapist’s assessment is largely taken out of the equation - he or she no longer tells the client how they are doing. No therapist report - no observer bias - no confirmation bias. It is down to the client and the client alone to confirm whether or not the therapy has worked.

The single most important and powerful measurement tool we have in TFT is the client’s report of their own experience.

Objective testing tries to eliminate the possibility that the client may be misreporting his or her true emotional state. But do we need to be concerned that the client may be covering up his or her actual feelings by misreporting a value? Not at all - what we’re looking for is the absolute endpoint - the complete absence of symptoms. Would a client actually misreport that significant event?

So, the way we measure this is through the use of the Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) Scale, (developed by cognitive-behavioural therapist, Joseph Wolpe, in 1969) where the client is asked to rate their level of discomfort on a 10 point (1-10) or 11 point (0-10) scale.²

Wolpe’s SUD scale went something like this: