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 TherapyŽ 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.
***
*** *** *** ***
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. |
