Thought Field Therapy

Thought Field Therapy, or TFT, is fringe psychological treatment developed by an American psychologist, Roger Callahan.1 Its proponents say that it can heal of a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at meridian points on the upper body and hands. There is no scientific evidence that Thought Field Therapy is effective, and the American Psychological Association has stated that TFT "lacks a scientific basis."1

Contents

Uses of the treatment

Callahan states that the process can relieve a wide variety of problems including psychological trauma, phobias, anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addictive urges, and depression. He has also said in a 2006 interview on National Public Radio that "TFT can successfully treat physical illnesses such as Malaria in as little as 15 minutes".2 In an article on his website, Callahan has also stated that TFT can successfully prevent heart problems that may lead to sudden death, and that TFT has successfully stopped atrial fibrillation.3 In 1985, in his first book on TFT, he said that specific phobias could be cured in as little as five minutes.4

Callahan also asserts that his most advanced level, Voice Technology (VT) can be performed over the phone using an undisclosed "technology". Training for the advanced VT is provided by Callahan. The fee listed on Callahan's website for this training is $120,000. Trainees must sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose the trade secret behind VT.567

On Name of Treatment and Practices

Callahan gave his treatment the name "Thought Field Therapy" because he theorizes that when we think about an experience or thought associated with an emotional problem, we are tuning into a "thought field," which he describes as "the most fundamental concept in the TFT system" and which "...creates an imaginary, though quite real scaffold, upon which we may erect our explanatory notions" 8. Perturbations are said to be precisely encoded information contained in the thought field, which become activated whenever a person thinks about a problem. Callahan maintains that these perturbations are the root cause of negative emotions and that each perturbation corresponds to a meridian point on the body (he calls this an isomorphism). In order to eliminate the emotional upset, Callahan says that a precise sequence of meridian points must be tapped on. He theorizes that tapping unblocks or balances the flow of Qi 9.

There is concern by clinical psychologists of the adoption of TFT as an unvalidated and pseudoscientific therapy by government bodies and the public at large.110

Assessments and critiques of TFT

There are two studies published in peer reviewed journals on TFT. One was an exploratory study done by Charles Figley11, a Vietnam veteran who endeavored to find more effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder. He examined four novel therapies with a six month follow-up evaluation (using measures that were not used immediately post treatment) and did not conduct statistical significance testing to compare the therapies. The authors stated that "In contrast to conventional psychotherapy research, the SCD methodology is not meant to compare the various treatments, and thus does not necessarily meet the criteria proposed for empirically validated treatments, although it does meet some of those criteria," and also stated that "Unfortunately, because of problems with client screening and data collection, the study fell short of reaching it goals. Moreover, the nature of the study precludes comparison of the approaches, and such a comparison was never planned."12 The authors also noted that because they did not prescreen participants for PTSD, not all participants necessarily met the criteria for PTSD. The authors acknowledged that the study of TFT and the other three methods were incomplete, and noted that "these treatment approaches appear to be promising in helping clients remove the most painful aspects of their traumatic memories." The authors noted that all four approached warranted further study.11

The evidence adduced in support of TFT by Callahan and other proponents comes from uncontrolled case reports that were not peer reviewed. In 2001, in an unprecedented move, the Editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology agreed to publish without peer review, five articles on TFT of Callahan’s choosing Callahan, 2001b 13; 2001c 14; Pignotti & Steinberg, 200115; Sakai et al, 200116; Johnson et al., 200117. In lieu of peer review, critiques were published alongside each article (McNally, 200118; Kline, 200119; Herbert & Gaudiano 200120; Lohr, 2001citation needed; Rosner, 2001citation needed). The critics agreed that each of the five studies contained serious flaws that rendered them uninterpretable by them. They pointed out flaws which included: selecting only successful cases; focusing on a diversity of problems; failure to use a control group; failure to control for placebo effect, demand characteristics, and regression to the mean; lack of valid assessment measures; use of the SUD as the only measure of efficacy other than HRV; using an out of context physiological measure (HRV) in an inappropriate manner; and lack of a credible theory. One the critics, Harvard Psychology Professor Richard J. McNally, noting the lack of evidence for TFT, stated that “Until Callahan has done his homework, psychologists are not obliged to pay any attention to TFT.” 21). Psychologist John Kline wrote that Callahan’s article “represents a disjointed series of unsubstantiated assertions, ill-defined neologisms, and far-fetched case reports that blur boundaries between farce and expository prose.”22. One of the original authors of the non-peer reviewed studies later retracted her conclusions and has reversed her earlier favorable position on TFT. 2324 The only other studies adduced in support of TFT are ones that were reported on in Callahan’s newsletter, The Thought Field and an uncontrolled study on Voice Technology consisting of radio show call-ins in a proprietary archive of a journal of collected papers on Applied Kinesiology. Callahan's claims about the TFT Voice Technology having unique properties and being on a par with hard science (see quote above) were not supported in a controlled experiment that used random sequences vs. TFT VT 25.

The second study was a controlled study on Thought Field Therapy Voice Technology published in the peer reviewed journal The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice 26 which showed no difference between the TFT VT and randomly selected tapping sequences, which provides evidence against Callahan's assertion that precise sequences derived from his claimed specialized technology make a difference in result.27.

TFT proponents assert that tens of thousands have been successfully treated with no side effects using TFT. They believe that on this basis alone scientific testing will never discredit what they assert is a phenomenal success rate. A 2006 Delphi poll of psychologists on discredited therapies, published in an APA journal, indicated that on average, participants rated TFT as "probably discredited" 28. The sample included both practicing clinical psychologists and academic psychologists. Devilly states that there is no evidence for the claimed efficacy of power therapies such as TFT, EFT (and others such as NLP and they exhibit the characteristics of a pseudoscience.29 Lilienfeld, Lynn & Lohr also use TFT as an example of a therapy that contains some of the hallmark indicators of a pseudoscience. Specifically, they note its evasion of the peer review system and absence of boundary conditions.30

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Spiegel, Alix (2006-03-29). "Unorthodox Therapy in New Orleans Raises Concern", National Public Radio. Retrieved on 16 December 2008. 
  2. ^ Unorthodox Therapy in New Orleans Raises Concern
  3. ^ TFT Stops Atrial Fibriliation by Roger Callahan
  4. ^ Callahan, R.J. (1985). The Five Minute Phobia Cure. Wilmington: Enterprise
  5. ^ Gaudiano & Herbert, 2000
  6. ^ Pignotti, M. (2004, Fall/Winter). Thought Field Therapy in the media: a critical analysis of one exemplar. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 3(2) p. 60-66.
  7. ^ Pignotti, M. (2007) Thought Field Therapy: A former insider's experience. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(3), 392-407.
  8. ^ Callahan, R.J. and Callahan, J. (2000). Stop the Nightmares of Trauma. Chapel Hill: Professional Press. p. 143
  9. ^ Callahan, R.J. and Trubo, R. (2001a). Tapping the Healer Within. Chicago: Contemporary Books
  10. ^ The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice
  11. ^ a b Carbonell & Figley (1999)
  12. ^ see full report
  13. ^ Callahan 2001b
  14. ^ 2001c
  15. ^ Pignotti & Steinberg, 2001
  16. ^ Sakai et al, 2001
  17. ^ Johnson et al., 2001
  18. ^ McNally, R.J. (2001). Tertullian’s motto and Callahan’s method. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(10) 1171-1174
  19. ^ Kline, J.P. (2001). Heart Rate Variability does not tap putative efficacy of Thought Field Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 57 (10), 1187-1192.
  20. ^ Herbert & Gaudiano 2001
  21. ^ McNally, 2001, p. 1173
  22. ^ Kline, 2001, p. 1188
  23. ^ Pignotti, M. (2005a). Regarding the October 2001 JCLP Special Issue on Thought Field Therapy: Retraction of conclusions in the article “Heart Rate Variability as an outcome measure for Thought Field Therapy in clinical practice.” Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(3), 361-365.
  24. ^ Pignotti, M. (2005b). Callahan fails to meet the burden of proof for Thought Field Therapy claims: Rejoinder to Callahan. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(3), 251-255.
  25. ^ Pignotti, M. (2005c). Thought Field Therapy Voice Technology vs. random meridian point sequences: a single-blind controlled experiment. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 4(1), 72-81
  26. ^ TFT VT, Pignotti, M. (2005c). Thought Field Therapy Voice Technology vs. random meridian point sequences: a single-blind controlled experiment. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 4(1), 72-81
  27. ^ Pignotti, 2005
  28. ^ Norcross, Garofalo & Koocher, 2006
  29. ^ Devilly 2005 p.444
  30. ^ Lilienfeld, SO, Lynn, SJ, Lohr JM (eds) (2003). Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology. New York: Guilford Press, Chapter 1

References

  • Callahan, R.J. (1996). The Case of Mary. Traumatology 3(5), Article 5.
  • Callahan, R.J. (2001b). The impact of thought field therapy on heart rate variability (HRV). Journal of Clinical Psychology. 57 (10), 1153-1170 (Not Peer Reviewed).
  • Callahan, R.J. (2001c). Raising and lowering heart rate variability: Some clinical findings of Thought Field Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 57 (10), 1175-1186 (Not Peer Reviewed).
  • Carbonell, J.L. & Figley, C. (1999). A systematic clinical demonstration of promising PTSD treatment approaches. Traumatology, 5(1), Article 4. Available: http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/promising.html
  • Craig, G. (1998) The evolution of EFT from TFTtm. EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique: A Universal Healing Aid. Available: http://www.emofree.com/articles/scien-i.htm
  • Craig, G. About Voice Technology. Available: http://www.emofree.com/articles/about.htm
  • Devilly, Grant J. Source: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, June 2005, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 437-445(9)
  • Gaudiano, B. A., & Herbert, J. D. (2000a, July/August). Can we really tap our problems away?: A critical analysis of Thought Field Therapy. Skeptical Inquirer, 24, 29-36. Available: http://www.csicop.org/si/2000-07/thought-field-therapy.html
  • Herbert, J.D. & Gaudiano, B.A. (2001). The search for the holy grail: Heart Rate Variability and Thought Field Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(10), 1207-1214. Available: http://www.psychology.drexel.edu/papers/herbert-holygrail.pdf
  • Hooke, W. (1998). A review of Thought Field Therapy. Traumatology, 3(2), Article 3. Available online: http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/v3i2art3.html .
  • Kline, J.P. (2001). Heart Rate Variability does not tap putative efficacy of Thought Field Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 57 (10), 1187-1192.
  • Lilienfeld, SO, Lynn, SJ, Lohr JM (eds) (2003). Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology. New York: Guilford Press.
  • McNally, R.J. (2001). Tertullian’s motto and Callahan’s method. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(10) 1171-1174.
  • Norcross, J.C., Garofalo, A., Koocher, G.P. (2006). Discredited Psychological Treatments and Tests: A Delphi Poll, Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 37(5), 515-522.
  • Pignotti, M., Steinberg, M., (2001). Heart rate variability as an outcome measure for Thought Field Therapy in clinical practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(10), 1193-1206.(Not Peer Reviewed) The first author published a retraction.
  • Waite, W.L. & Holder, M.D. (2003). Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 2 (2), 20-26.

External links

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 1 January 2009, at 21:15.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by PediaView.com. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with PediaView.com.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Thought Field Therapy".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.