Thought Field
Therapy
online conference transcript
 Dr.
Frank Patton is a psychologist who specializes in Thought
Field Therapy (TFT). This technique reportedly eliminates emotional
distress and gives immediate relief for PTSD, addictions, phobias, fears and
anxieties.
Phyllis is
our support group manager as well as a host for one of the anxiety
disorders support groups on our site. She has been coping with moderate to
severe anxiety for some time and has tried "Thought
Field Therapy" with Dr. Patton.
David Roberts: HealthyPlace.com
moderator.
The people in green
are audience members.
David: Good
Evening. I'm David Roberts. I'm the moderator for tonight's conference. I want
to welcome everyone to HealthyPlace.com.
First, I want to mention that our new Anxiety
Disorders bulletin board is up. You can reach it by clicking on this
link or by just clicking the "forums/bulletin boards" button at
our chat login page.
You can't miss it because it's hot pink. We're hoping this area will become
another great support area where you can share your stories, information and
experiences with others. About once a month, we will also be doing a special
event in the bulletin boards area. So, keep your eyes out for that in the
newsletter.
Our topic tonight is "Thought Field
Therapy." We have two guests - psychologist, Frank Patton, Psy.D. and
Phyllis, who has tried "Thought Field Therapy" and will provide us
with a first-hand account of her experience with it. Dr. Patton has a Doctor
of Psychology degree from Baylor University. He is one of fourteen
professionals worldwide trained in the use of TFT Voice Technology, the
highest and most advanced level of TFT training. Dr. Patton also currently
serves as a consultant nationwide to residential treatment programs for
adolescents and their families.
Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is supposedly a
safe and effective technique for the elimination of emotional distress. It
reportedly gives immediate relief for PTSD,
addictions, phobias,
fears and anxieties by directly treating the blockage in the energy flow
created by a disturbing thought pattern. It's proponents say it virtually
eliminates any negative feeling previously associated with a thought.
Good evening, Dr. Patton, and welcome to HealthyPlace.com.
Thank you for joining us tonight. Can you please tell us a bit more about
yourself and how you got into "Thought Field Therapy?"
Dr. Patton: After
trying all treatment modalities, thought field therapy has emerged as the most
powerful and effective. Working with adolescents in a treatment facility, we
were pressed to find effective methods of dealing with explosive behavior and
also the many traumas in their lives. We were interested in finding an
effective treatment that would help them to overcome their anger and
out-of-control behavior, thus we found thought field therapy.
David: In
layman's terms, can you explain how "Thought Field Therapy" works?
Dr. Patton: TFT
is a gentle tapping method along the energy meridians of the body to eliminate
negative emotions that are trapped in the thought field and can be released
and then eliminate the root of the problem.
David: For
the audience, here's a slightly more detailed explanation: The therapist asks
a person to think about a situation or event and rate how uncomfortable they
feel at the moment on a scale from one to ten; where ten is the worst you can
feel and one is no trace of the problem. Then, at the direction of the
therapist, the patient taps with two fingers on various acupressure points on
the body. During this process, the patient rates how they feel. The tapping is
done according to a prescribed recipe pattern (algorithm). The algorithm is
based on the particular emotions elicited by the upset. After the series of
tapping, which takes only five to six minutes, the treatment is complete and
the distress is reportedly eliminated.
First of all, what types of disorders is TFT
effective with?
Dr. Patton: Any
negative emotions such as anger,
depression, anxiety,
fear, guilt, obsessive
thinking - any emotional problem that has distress attached to it can be
treated with TFT.
David: I
know that TFT has only been around for about 20 years, a relatively short
period of time compared to other forms of therapy. It sounds relatively easy
and I'm wondering how effective it can be?
Dr. Patton: Success
rates achieved with TFT are unprecedented. 75% to 80% success are achieved
with TFT basic general formulas (algorithms). 95% success is obtained with
causal diagnostic procedures, even with the most difficult cases.
David: I
also know that a lot of people in the audience are shaking their heads right
now, going "Right! I just think about what causes my problems, rate the
severity on that problem on a scale of 1-10, and then I tap on some
acupressure points on my body and 'poof,' I'm cured." Is it as simple as
that, Dr. Patton?
Dr. Patton: Yes,
it does seem remarkable. One owes it to themself to try this simple technique
and then, by your personal experience, you will know if it works or not.
David: In
just a few minutes, Phyllis will be joining us. She tried Thought Field
Therapy with Dr. Patton and will be sharing her experiences with us.
My last question, and then we'll get to a
couple of audience questions before Phyllis comes on -- How does one access a
Thought Field therapist, how are the sessions conducted, and how much does it
cost per session?
Dr. Patton: Do
a web search on Yahoo or Altavista using the keywords thought field therapy
and this will provide you with the names of some though field therapists. The
cost is comparable to professional fees in the community. It is, however,
structured differently. It is faster and more effective than traditional
treatment and can be done by phone.
David: So
are you saying that it costs about $75-100 per session?
Dr. Patton: That
is fair to say. Therapists set their own individual fees. We do make sure that
the individual receives the results they are seeking.
David: You
mentioned TFT is used to treat anxiety, depression, OCD and other disorders.
How many sessions before one would notice a significant improvement and
approximately how many sessions until the treatment is concluded?
Dr. Patton: Simple
problems can be taken care of in one session. More complex problems require
more treatment time, up to 5 hours for the most complex.
David: Here's
an audience question, Dr. Patton:
Italiana: How
can this "therapy" help an agoraphobic?
Dr. Patton: First
the fear and anxieties are cleared. The individual then is able move more
freely without anxiety.
Italiana: And
which type of professional is certified to teach this "method" or is
it self-taught?
Dr. Patton: There
are three levels of certification: algorithm, diagnostic and voice technology.
The founder of Thought Field Therapy, Dr. Roger Callahan also has a book
called Tapping
the Healer Within that offers instructions on how to perform the basic
treatments.
David: For
more on Thought Field Therapy, Dr. Patton's website is here: http://www.tft-treatment.com/
adultchile: Does
insurance cover TFT?
Dr. Patton: In
some instances it would, if the treatment provider gives direct service
(Person to Person). VT by phone is not covered by insurance, because the
treatment has to be direct contact with the person. The person can check with
their insurance carrier.
Hollyhock: How
does this therapy help clinical
depression? Especially if the depression is long standing? Is it
effective?
Dr. Patton: We
have found it effective with clinical depression which does require more
treatment time due to its complexity.
David: Joining
Dr. Patton is Phyllis. Phyllis is our support group manager as well as a host
for one of the anxiety
disorders support groups on our site. She has been coping with moderate
to severe anxiety for some time and tried "Thought Field
Therapy" with Dr. Patton recently.
Welcome Phyllis. Can you describe what you've
been dealing with, for how long, and some of the symptoms, along with the
severity of those symptoms?
Phyllis: Good
evening David and Dr. Patton and all users. I have had anxiety in different
forms for many years. For about 5 years I was agoraphobic
and could not leave my home. The symptoms were very high. I would like to add
here that I am now nearly 99% recovered and have been so for nearly 10 years.
David: And
when you spoke with Dr. Patton by phone for your session, what issues were you
dealing with specifically?
Phyllis: When
I spoke with Dr. Patton I had issues of high stress and anxiety. He did not
need to know exactly what these issues were, but I was to visualize them and
rate them on a level of 1-10. I rated mine at a 10.
David: Just
so we all know, what symptoms did the stress and anxiety produce in you?
Phyllis: The
symptoms were lightheadedness, a feeling of agitation, depression to some
degree, and a feeling of being slightly out of control.
David: So
you had severe stress and anxiety. You rated these issues a 10 on a level of
1-10 with 10 being the highest. What happened next?
Phyllis: I
had a session with Dr. Patton this week. I had to visualize the issue and rate
it, as I said. I was given sentences to say and they were used to figure my
own individual sequence of tapping. The sentences were:
- I want to be healthy.
- I want to be over this problem.
- I WILL be over this problem.
- I want to be COMPLETELY over this problem.
By using their Voice Technology, they figured
out a sequence of tapping to unblock negative emotions.
David: Do
you remember how the tapping sequence went?
Phyllis: They
made up a sequence according to what my voice presented to them. There was a
tapping sequence that involved part of the hand, along the eyes and under the
eyes, under the arm, and the collarbones.
David: Now,
when you decided to participate in this, what was your attitude? What were
your feelings about TFT?
Phyllis: I
was skeptical, as I am more used to the traditional "talking"
therapy. However, I was willing to give this a try. I was also told to hum
something with 5 notes, to count to 5 and to do most tapping 5 times.
Periodically Dr. Patton would assess my level
of distress. The first time I went from a 10 to only about an 8, so we
repeated the sequence. By the end my anxiety level was about a 2-3 -- much
improved.
David: And
was that something that was temporary in nature or do you feel that this is a
permanent improvement?
Phyllis: I
cannot honestly say, although it did continue all through the day, but with
added issues it is going up and down. But I feel stronger about the issues now
and really do feel better.
Dr. Patton talked also about toxins that are
produced in the body. They can block some of the release of emotions. For me,
we discovered it was laundry detergent in my shirt and also a smell of smoke.
David: It
also seems, with the tapping and humming, that it was a form of relaxation
therapy. Did you find that to be so, Phyllis?
Phyllis: The
tapping and humming did seem to be a form of relaxation, but I was so busy
trying to do it just perfect (my downfall) that it might have been better for
me to have just relaxed and gone with it.
David: Here's
an audience question, Phyllis:
Italiana: Since
Phyllis is, as she states, "99%" cured for 10 years, I am thinking
maybe this was easier for her. Is this true?
Phyllis: Italiana,
yes, it may have been easier for me. But remember that I had a very high level
of stress when I went into this. This had to be worked on all over again.
David: Dr.
Patton, is TFT a form of relaxation or meditation therapy?
Dr. Patton: This
works the same for everyone, no matter how long they have suffered.
No, relaxation is a benefit of the treatment.
David: I
have a couple of site notes and then we'll continue with our discussion:
Here's the link to the HealthyPlace.com Anxiety
Community. You can click on this link and sign up for the mail list at the
top of the page so you can keep up with events like this.
We are looking for journalers in the
HealthyPlace.com Anxiety Community to keep online diaries of their
experiences. If you are interested in doing that, here is the signup
link. You can read the journals and post your comments on the journalers'
bulletin boards
Also, if you haven't been to any of our Anxiety
support groups, I encourage you to join in. We have trained hosts who run
each group. They do a great job and we get lots of email from our visitors
talking about what a great experience it is. Here is the schedule for the Anxiety
Support Groups.
Of course, we have hosted support groups on our
site for many other mental health topics. For more details and the schedule of
all support groups at HealthyPlace.com, click here.
Dr. Patton's website is here: http://www.tft-treatment.com/
David: Dr.
Patton, I just want to make sure I understand. Are you saying this
"Thought Field Therapy" is a complete solution to certain disorders.
That a person wouldn't need additional therapy or medications after completing
the sessions?
Dr. Patton: For
some, this maybe the case. However, additional treatment and medication are
helpful for those who need it. I, personally, have worked with an individual
who has stopped medication for over 15 months and also worked with an
individual who has decreased their medication.
David: Well,
this has been very interesting. Thank you, Dr. Patton, for being our guest
tonight and for sharing this information with us. And to those in the
audience, thank you for coming and participating. I hope you found it helpful.
We have a very large and active community here at HealthyPlace.com. You will
always find people in the chatrooms and interacting with various sites.
Thank you, too, Phyllis, for being our guest
tonight and sharing your experiences with TFT with us.
Also, if you found our site beneficial, I hope
you'll pass our URL around to your friends, mail list buddies, and others. http://www.healthyplace.com
Dr. Patton: Thank
you for your time. It has been a pleasure to be with you tonight. Thank you,
David.
Phyllis: You
are quite welcome, David.
David: Good
night everyone and I hope the rest of your week goes well.
We hold topical mental health chat
conferences every Wed. and Thurs. nights. The schedule and transcripts from
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