Research

Research on Thought Field Therapy

Growing Evidence of Its Efficacy

The following studies have been done on Thought Field Therapy® (TFT).

• Blaich (1988) found that readers improved in their reading speed by 45% after using Dr. Callahan’s treatment of tapping the side of the hand for Psychological Reversal.
• Yancey (2002) found that middle school students used Thought Fielding Therapy® to eliminate angry and violent feelings, to achieve at higher levels in school, and to overcome difficulties in relationships with friends and family. Adults used TFT with students to assist them in improving their scores on tests, relieve stress, get along better with family members and friends, overcome violent feelings, and grow in self-confidence. They also used it with themselves, their families, and their friends to overcome stress.
• In 714 participants who were treated by 7 therapists for 1,594 problems, paired-samples t-tests indicated significant reduction on the Subjective Units of Distress (1-10) self-report scale in 31 categories of distress from pretest to posttest (Sakai et al., 2001).*
• Thought Field Therapy® significantly decreased phobia of needles as measured prior to the treatment and a month later using the questions on the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS) related to blood-injection-injury phobia and the Subjective Units of Distress (1-10) self-report scale (Darby, 2002).
• Thought Field Therapy® significantly decreased fear of speaking in public as measured by the Subjective Units of Distress (1-10) self-report scale and the Speaker Anxiety Scale (Schoninger, 2004).
• Of 105 survivors in Kosovo who had 249 traumas, 103 reported complete absence of the trauma with 247 of the traumas. Presence or absence of the “bad moment” (p. 1238), or trauma, was used due to cultural taboos against the use of the Subjective Units of Distress (1-10) self-report scale. The results remained an average of five months later (Johnson, 2001).*
• Thirty-one immigrants to the United States showed a statistically significant decrease in posttraumatic symptoms as indicated by scores on the Posttraumatic Checklist-C, as well as on their Subjective Units of Distress (1-10) self-report scale from before the Thought Field Therapy® treatment to 30 days later (Folkes, 2002).

References

Blaich, R. (1988). Applied kinesiology and human performance. Selected papers of the International College of Applied Kinesiology, (Winter), 1-15.

Darby, D. W. (2002). The efficacy of Thought Field Therapy as a treatment modality for individuals diagnosed with blood-injection-injury phobia.  Dissertation Abstracts International, 64 (03), 1485B.  (UMI No. 3085152)

Folkes, C. (2002). Thought Field Therapy and trauma recovery. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 4(2), 99-104.

Johnson, C., Shala, M., Sejdijaj, X., Odell, R., & Dabishevci, D. (2001). Thought Field Therapy: Soothing the bad moments of Kosovo.  Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(10), 1237-1240.*

Sakai , C., Paperny, D., Mathews, M., Tanida, G., Boyd, G., Simons, A., Yamamoto, C., Mau, C., & Nutter, L. (2001). Thought Field Therapy clinical applications: Utilization in an HMO in behavioral medicine and behavioral health services. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(10), 1215-1227.*

Schoninger, B. (2004). Efficacy of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) as a treatment modality for persons with public speaking anxiety.  Dissertation Abstracts International, 65 (10), 5455.  (UMI No. AAT 3149748)

Yancey, V. (2002). The use of Thought Field Therapy in educational settings.  Dissertation Abstracts International, 63 (07), 2470A.  (UMI No. 3059661)

*The Journal of Clinical Psychology articles were not peer reviewed and were published with invited critical reviews.

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Measurement Instruments for Emotional States

and Traumatic Stress

In the interests of promoting standardized data collection by TFT practitioners the ATFT Foundation Board has decided to make available two assessment instruments. The two self-report measures are:

1. The DASS and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale

2. The Impact of Events Scale-Revised and  Scale

The DASS

This is a 42-item instrument developed by the Department of Psychology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). There is also a 21-item short form. It has good reliability and validity and is being used extensively by psychologists in Australia. There is an English version and an American version. A significant advantage is that the test is in the public domain. The other prominent tests measuring similar dispositions require a fee per administration (eg. Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory).

We have provided a link to the DASS website of the UNSW (see above) so you can download the version relevant to your setting and the scoring template. You may also order the manual from this site. In addition there is a good deal of additional information about the instrument available (eg. Q & A) from that link.

At the same link provided above is a link to Swinburne University of Technology Professor Grant Devilly’s “Victims’ Web” site from where more information about the DASS is available – importantly including norms.

The IES-R

This is a 22-item updated version of the original 15 item test for the measurement of traumatic stress. The original had been developed by Dr. Mardi Horowitz in 1979 prior to DSM-III which first specified PTSD in 1980. The original test tapped the symptom clusters of intrusion and avoidance. The revised test adds items to tap the third important symptom cluster for PTSD – hyperarousal.

We provide, above, two links related to the IES-R. One is a downloadable version of the actual test ready for administration. The other is a link, again, to Professor Devilly’s “Victims’ Web” site containing information on the IES-R including scoring information.

If you require any further information about these items please email Joanne Callahan at joanne@tftrx.com.