The British National Health Service is adopting the use of TFT into the service from 2007 as a Complementary and Alternative practice. 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. The sequences can be determined by two of Callahan's proprietary "causal diagnostic" techniques: 1) an in-person method using muscle testing ( Applied kinesiology) and 2) the Voice Technology, as described above. He theorizes that tapping unblocks or balances the flow of Qi.
In order to eliminate the emotional upset, Callahan says that a precise sequence of meridian points must be tapped on. 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). Perturbations are said to be precisely encoded information contained in the thought field, which become activated whenever a person thinks about a problem. If the lower level methods fail, Callahan recommends the VT.Ĭallahan 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". If the common algorithms fail, individuals are encouraged to see a therapist trained in the more expensive "diagnostic" techniques that use specific individualized treatment sequences which Callahan says will help most people not helped by algorithms and VT demonstrations are done at many of the algorithm trainings. Less than 0.05% of the tens of thousands of TFT practitioners worldwide have chosen to train in and use VT and instead use predetermined algorithm treatments for which self-help training is available from around $250.
As it was, it took me quite a while before I finally learned that I had spent $100,000 for something that I now know is used routinely by many practitioners in this profession." Had I known this when I first took VT, I would have objected strenuously. Many people reading this use VT routinely without knowing it. I do not find it as advertised and I grow increasingly ill at ease with the many questions I get from the public." and "The core "secret" behind VT is in the public domain and can be learned at a weekend workshop for a few hundred dollars.
Gary Craig, the first person to train in VT stated that although he paid $100,000 for the training, "I am uncomfortable, however, with the inaccurate portrayal of VT. Trainees must sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose the trade secret behind VT. The fee listed on Callahan's website for this training is $120,000. Training for the advanced VT is provided by Callahan. He also asserts that his most advanced level, Voice Technology (VT) can be performed over the phone using an undisclosed "technology". In 1985, in his first book on TFT, he said that specific phobias could be cured in as little as five minutes. 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. He has also said in a recent interview on National Public Radio that "TFT can successfully treat physical illnesses such as Malaria in as little as 15 minutes". 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.