Thought Field Therapy tapping (TFT) is the result of a progressive clinical
psychologist's search for greater efficiency in the provision
of effective assistance to people whose lives are interfered with
by the experience of psychological distress and disturbed emotional
and behavioural states.
The founder of TFT tapping, Dr Roger Callahan, was one of the first psychologists
to throw himself into the previous movement which resulted in
a significant leap in psychotherapy effectiveness. That movement
was pioneered by Dr. Albert Ellis, a clinical pychologist, was dissatisfied with
the relative inefficiency of classical psychoanalysis, the dominant
paradigm for dealing with emotional disturbance up until the 1950's.
Dr. Ellis is known for stating that he has “a gene for efficiency.”
He revolutionised psychotherapy practice when he introduced an
emphasis on the importance of thinking processes and philosophical
orientation in the change process.
This new approach also involved an active-directive approach
by the therapist and the behavioural involvement of the client.
Dr. Ellis's approach, originating in 1955, is now known as rational
emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). REBT is the original form of
cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) which was subsequently elaborated
by Dr. Aaron T Beck and others.
Dr. Roger Callahan became a close associate of Albert Ellis in
the late 1950's and was asked by Dr Ellis to read and comment
on the manuscript of the first text book in cognitive behaviour
therapy (CBT) - Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy - published
by Albert Ellis in 1962.
Although Roger Callahan saw REBT as being an important step
towards his dream to find the "penicillin of psychotherapy",
he still was not satisfied that he had arrived there. He remained
ever vigilant for anything that could possibly point the way toward
this dream becoming actualised. His search led him to a discovery,
by Dr. George Goodheart - a chiropractor, known as kinesiology.
Goodheart found in 1964 that the muscles of the body differentially
responded to pressure being applied against resistance in accordance
with internal mental and physical states. This discovery has been
suggested to represent a true "mind-body indicator".
Dr. Callahan undertook a one hundred hour training course in
kinesiology in a class mainly comprised of chiropractors. It was
here that Callahan noticed that many chiropractors had developed
various techniques involving tapping on the spine in accordance
with the ancient Chinese healing tradition involving energy meridian
systems.
Intrigued by this Dr. Callahan wondered whether the energy meridian
system (that appears to have been discovered by the Chinese at
least 5000 years ago) may hold some correspondence with the disturbed
emotional states that Callahan wanted to better understand.
Accordingly, Dr Callahan started investigating these possibilities
through the application of a rigorous scientific attitude. He
worked on various hunches and hypotheses informed by the ancient
Chinese knowledge of the energy meridian system, tried out a number
of procedures, made observations, and adjusted his hypotheses
according to his observations. This represents classical scientific method. In this way he has developed a
system of psychotherapy practice that while initially only having
a 3% success rate in the early 1980s, now delivers successful
interventions at a rate of around 75% and 80%.
