Tapping away the Yips

Espn recently ran an article on how Tom Hanson helped Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia get over the “yips” with Thought Field Therapy®

Below is a reprint of the article from ESPN by Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston.com’s Red Sox reporter.

Saltalamacchia says yips are gone

Red Sox catcher swears by his work with sports psychologists

FORT MYERS, Fla. — There are taps to the eyebrow, the side of the eye, below the eye, below the nose, below the lips. A tap below the armpit, below the collarbone, below the pectoral muscles. A tap to the top of the head, then repeat the circuit.

Even if people watch closely during the course of a game, they may never see any of these, because you are taught how to hide these motions. They are intended for you, only you, and for you they are intended to be empowering.

Dr. Tom Hanson

The system is simply called tapping, and while Tom Hanson, the man who teaches this form of what he calls “energy psychology,” describes it as sounding “weird,” Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is a believer.

Once, Saltalamacchia was too proud to acknowledge that he needed help from someone else, be it a longtime sports psychologist like Harvey Dorfman, whom he once worked with, or Hanson, a performance-enhancement coach to whom Saltalamacchia turned when he was having trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher, the simplest of tasks for a catcher.

“When I was first coming up, just being young, your ego plays into it,” Saltalamacchia said Tuesday morning after concluding a workout here with a session of batting practice, along with two other early arrivals at Sox camp, Ryan Kalish and Daniel Nava. “You don’t want anyone to know you’re getting help. But you’re getting help in the training room, why not get help for other issues?

“I didn’t want anyone to know I wanted somebody, I needed somebody. That was a big issue with me. But it’s done wonders for me. Going home after a game two years ago, I could have hit the bed and slept for 18 hours because my head was just going, and now, I’ve learned to be able to work with that. Think smart, think positive. You can’t put negatives in your head, it’s just going to hurt you all around. It’s been great for me.”

Saltalamacchia reached out to Hanson last spring when the throwing problem surfaced — in sporting parlance, it’s known as the “yips,” the same affliction that can affect a golfer’s putting. Saltalamacchia had had surgery the previous September to correct thoracic outlet syndrome, a group of disorders that occur when the blood vessels or nerves in the thoracic outlet — the space between the collarbone and first rib — becomes compressed, causing pain in the shoulders and neck, and numbness in the fingers.

As part of the surgery to alleviate the condition, Saltalamacchia had an impinged rib removed from near his right shoulder. During his recovery, the throwing problems surfaced. They grew acute after he was sent down to the minors by the Texas Rangers one game into the season, after he’d hurt his back. Read more

Tapping Away The Stress Of The Holidays

Tapping Away Stress

The holiday season is typically a stressful time for most of us.This year will be particularly stressful due to the increased financial strain many are facing. And for others it will also be emotionally painful due to the absence of loved ones, either currently away serving their country or lost in the many disasters both man-made and natural that have occurred throughout the world.

A season that historically is supposed to represent peace, love and joy, often turns out to be a nightmare from being stressed out, under-financed, and overwhelmed.

So when those old fashioned holiday tunes are playing, and the sadness starts rising, try tapping away those blues and then remember to smile.

Probably the single most stressful thing facing us this year is feeling the need to buy gifts for many but having limited resources.Another area of stress and concern is feeling the need for entertaining and pleasing others.These challenges can be faced with much more calm and mental clarity if you are tapping away your stress daily.

Our daily Stress Busting Guide is invaluable for relieving stress or anxiety as it comes up, keeping you calm and collected as each new difficulty arises.You can download this tapping guide for free from our web site. Use it morning and night during this busy season.

A Japanese study demonstrated that TFT meridian tapping normalizes cortisol, the stress hormone, levels in the body. Increased amounts of this stress hormone will leave you feeling tense and add to your feeling of being overwhelmed.It is well known that reduced stress contributes to a more robust immune system.

As we shop, interact in public, attend parties and travel, a healthy immune system is vital to maintaining our health. To learn how to use tapping for better health, just use the Stress Busting Guide regularly.

And then lastly, don’t allow your feelings of anger or guilt to linger and take up residence… try tapping them away as they surface.If you feel guilty that you can’t do or provide all that you would like to this season, or others have not met your expectations, tap away those harmful emotions.You can truly give and receive good feelings when your own negative emotions have been resolved. To find out where to tap for anger and guilt, go to the trauma relief blog, and the version for complex trauma with anger and guilt will help you to smile and reach out to others in the holiday spirit.

These are some simple ways that you can help turn your holidays into the peaceful and joyous time that we all wish for.As our gift, from Dr. Roger Callahan and Joanne Callahan, to all, we have provided these free tools to assist you, and wish you all a very blessed and joyous holiday season as we celebrate 30 years of healing with TFT.

Creative Commons License photo credit: MinimalistPhotography101.com

 

Sharing Tapping Therapy

(Photo by Gabe Licht)

WOMEN UNITE!
By Gabe Licht, Daily Reporter Staff

More than 200 women gathered at Legends Social and Events Center Friday night to support Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault, listen to encouraging speakers, dance and laugh together in unity and honor this year’s Outstanding Woman Rhonda Wedeking, who was also the emcee for the event.

Collectively, the events created the 2011 Women’s Night Out.

Following entertainment by Billie James, New Orleans’ residents Ecoee Rooney and Kate Finlayson shared their stories.

Rooney is a trauma nurse who experienced Hurricane Katrina firsthand. Following the disaster, Rooney met a psychologist from Los Angeles who taught her Thought Field Therapy, which is also referred to as Tapping Therapy.

“After the storm, people were so desperate that they would try anything,” Rooney said. “That’s the point where we got. We were so messed up, we were so hurt that we didn’t even care.”

Stress levels started at a level 8 and were reduced to .75 through using the tapping therapy, which Rooney now believes in and shares with others. The method is used throughout the United States in trauma centers and is also utilized by the military to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“Now take that energy home to your families,” Rooney instructed the group.

Read more here…

Thought Field Therapy – The Definitive Guide for Successful Practice

“Thought Field Therapy – The Definitive Guide for Successful Practice” provides a clear path of application, troubleshooting and practice guidelines for all TFT Practitioners. The carefully selected case studies and evaluations are an invaluable resource in clinical application.

As pioneers of TFT in the U.K. Robin Ellis and Ian Graham are in the unique position to understand the challenges that face practitioners and how best to resolve them. This Guide clearly demonstrates their vast knowledge, experience and high degree of professionalism.” Roger Callahan PhD & Joanne M. Callahan MBA

“Thought Field Therapy – The Definitive Guide for Successful Practice” by Robin Ellis & Ian Graham is for all Complementary and Orthodox Medicine Therapists and Practitioners who work with the mind and the body’s meridian system within any discipline.

“This Definitive Guide gives you fast, accurate help about how to use this powerful energy psychology. With clear psychological assessment of each distressing emotion it takes you through the precise TFT treatment of each one.

Together with valuable additional advice – plus the methods of application needed when you are presented with the more difficult complications of those suffering deeper emotional upset – it includes relevant case studies to highlight the amazing capacity of TFT.”

Robin Ellis TFT Dx BCMA Reg. Authorised Callahan Techniques Trainer.

Available at Barnes and Noble

Tapping Away Trauma Around The World

Caroline Sakai, PhD., a psychologist and TFT practitioner, based in Hawaii, headed a team of therapists who worked with children in an orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda. The children survived the Rwandan genocide in 1994, in which 800,000 to 1 million people were slaughtered during the course of 100 days. Dr Sakai was interviewed by Michiko Ishikawa for Share International.

Share International: How did you come to work with the genocide survivors in Rwanda?

Caroline Sakai: The idea came up when I was in New Orleans as part of an ATFT Foundation Trauma Relief Team working with Hurricane Katrina survivors and first responders – doctors, nurses and security people who were working with the survivors. One of the team members, Paul Oas, a psychotherapist and minister, asked me if I could work with the genocide survivors of Rwanda. His church has been helping to support the El Shaddai orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda, by providing necessities like food and shelter. He was seeing the effects of the genocide trauma among the children in terms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, bedwetting, depression, withdrawal and rage. Reverend Oas wanted to take a TFT team there and work with the genocide survivors. Since I had headed the clinical team in New Orleans, he asked if I could do that in Rwanda.

The complete TFT treatment for trauma would be essentially following up with what else comes up for the client after successfully processing through the targeted trauma.

Targeting any residual body sensations often brings up further information to process through, more perturbations. This would be continued until no more perturbations can be found, and client now thinks about the trauma or phobia with clearly changed perspectives, affect, thoughts, intensity, vividness, body sensations, perceptions in all sensory modalities, etc.

Using the Peak Performance protocol to enhance and improve confidence in coping effectively in dealing with the problem is an important component that parallels the future template. The usual instructions for the client to call if there are any recurrence of symptoms would also be in effect, as well as follow-up session(s) to work on residuals or other material that emerges subsequently in awake or dream states.

SI: What is unique about your method of working with trauma?

CS: Thought Field Therapy is the most rapidly effective, and most gentle, treatment of trauma I have come across. Read more

TFT and Gastric Pain

Fading

By Terri Perry, TFT-Dx

From time to time my partner has had attacks of extreme epigastric pain.

On two occasions he was admitted to Accident and Emergency and once was admitted with and overnight administration of morphine. X-rays were inconclusive and the doctors are unable to diagnose the cause of his pain.

His physicians indicated that exploratory surgery might be necessary.

Each time previously I have treated him with Reiki in the emergency department until the pain has resolved and we have walked away. Each time the pain comes on during the night but there is no trace of any discomfort the next day.

The previous attack started at 10.30 p.m. and went on until 4 a.m. while we were on a skiing holiday and staying in a hotel.

My partner has been a nail biter most of his life and has been treated for this with Robin Ellis, my TFT tutor. As a result, he stopped biting his nails. Wheat was found to be a toxin and we have avoided wheat for many months.

However, last Sunday we were invited to a party where virtually all the food was wheat-based. He had a sandwich and also some peanuts. I had suspected peanuts to be a toxin but he had already popped them into his mouth as I was about to warn him. He had only a couple of alcoholic drinks at the party.

He had not had an attack of this epigastric pain for two years. But on that Sunday night at 10.45 p.m. The pain awakened him from his sleep. It had started again.

This time, I had TFT as a tool in my tool box to help deal with this problem and suspected it was caused by toxins. Before the pain took hold, we got out of bed and started arm testing for everything he had consumed at the party.

We treated for wheat and the pain started to go down from a 9 to a 5. I treated for trauma of the last attack and the pain reduced again. I did diagnosis (probably not as well as I would when I was fully awake). I had been asleep for just an hour.

I directed him to tap his index finger, then under eyes and also eyebrows and the gamut for pain reduction.

After a few minutes of tapping the pain had lessened and the arm was strong – we did the 9 gamut to finish and he wanted to get back into bed to sleep. By this time, the pain disappeared!

It had only lasted less than an hour and had not progressed to the point where my partner was doubled up on the floor as before. He certainly won’t be having peanuts again! Next time we are invited to a party we will eat at home first just in case. Avoiding the toxin causing this pain will eliminate the need for an exploratory surgery.

 

ATFT UK Foundation Provides Support and Mentoring to New TFT Practitioners

Left to right: Monika D'Agate, (visiting participant) Chair, Dr. Howard Robson, Ildiko Scurr, Joanne Callahan, Sec/Treasurer, Phyll Robson.

In her recent London trip, Joanne Callahan joined with the other ATFT Foundation UK board members for an important meeting and the launching of a new service for ATFT members.  She worked with other board members and a visiting guest to construct a plan for the UK ATFT Foundation to offer professional mentoring and support to UK and EU TFT practitioners.

The foundation and it’s board members have begun supporting the incorporation of TFT in health care organizations such as the National Health Service. Where possible, they are also encouraging research to provide further evidence of TFT’s efficacy in various health care environments.  This effort will provide much needed leadership, support and supervision for our TFT practitioners throughout the UK and EU.

The Board is in a position to provide support free of charge to practitioners who would like to receive help to increase their understanding and skills, particularly where this would contribute to the achievement of foundation objectives, but also to develop the skills of practitioners to improve the availability of TFT generally. We have already provided some mentoring for practitioners following training, especially within the National Health Service.

The current Foundation Chairperson is Dr Howard Robson, a retired Consultant Physician and Cardiologist, with extensive experience in teaching, training, educational supervision and mentoring. He continues to examine for the Royal Colleges of Physicians. Phyll Robson is Treasurer and is a nurse, qualified Tutor, teacher and has worked as a Freelance Consultant in change management. Both Howard and Phyll are Optimal Health TFT practitioners and have a long association with the National Health Service.

Together, they provide the ATFT Foundation UK board with an in-depth skill set and knowledge of working within the NHS and academic settings, and humanitarian deployments.  This is an invaluable service and resource for our TFT trainees, both newly trained and existing practitioners wishing to make an inroad in the national health care systems.

Initially just these two board members will be involved in providing this service. The service will begin after July 1, 2011 and you can contact them by email:  r.robson2@btinternet.com.

Nearly Eighty People Volunteered for Tapping Tele-Classes in 2010

When I tabulated the demonstration results from our new TFT teleclass series I was amazed.  The number of people and variety of problems we worked with and helped, in a brief period of time, following each class was truly a tribute to the healing power of TFT.

We offered a series of five teleclasses, beginning last January and ending in November.  Each class had a 55-60 minute presentation on TFT and how to use it on yourself at the algorithm level.  Then, we ended each call with live demonstrations with TFT Voice Technology (VT) from Dr. Callahan.  This allowed participants to experience our most successful level of TFT, Voice Technology.  The live demonstrations lasted 20-45 minutes with the average time per class about 30 minutes.

We had 79 volunteers for these demonstrations.  Based on 300 minutes of total demonstration time and 79 volunteers, the average treatment time was a mere 3.797 minutes. This is just truly astounding.

During the classes, we worked on many types of problems.  We eliminated fears for things like driving, freeways, flying, bridges, tunnels, public speaking and even death.  We helped many get rid of cravings or addictive behaviors.  Some eliminated a desire for alcohol, others cigarettes and food, and we helped still others stop biting their nails, pulling hair or picking.

Others learned how to easily and quickly control their anger or rage and improve their relationships. Read more

Tapping Away Anxiety – The Holiday Season

Anxiety Tapping Stress Cures

Fränzi Ng – Transformation Specialist, Centre for Extraordinary Living

Do you remember the days when thinking about the Holidays filled your heart with excitement, your eyes with brilliance, your mind with expectation, and your tummy with dancing butterflies?

You may be wondering: what happened?!

If the same thought now fills you with more anxiety than joy, you are probably not alone. Crowded malls, company dinners, short daylight hours and the swine flu dread don’t help to lift the mood and cause that feeling of anxiety.

If you wish to experience peace of mind and balance even in the weeks to come, you will find the following three simple tips, from the amazing world of Thought Field Therapy, most useful:

* Watch what you eat. My primary concern here is not that you might gain weight if indulging in too many treats. Instead, I caution you to be aware of the Food-Mood Connection. When delicacies of every sort are amply available it is only too easy to overindulge in food stuff that may not agree with you. This can manifest physically in discomfort, even pain, as well as breathing and sleeping difficulties. Emotionally, too much of a good thing can show up in irritability, anxiety and depression. The Food-Mood connection is very real. It is not uncommon for clients to tell me that they feel sad and down after too much chocolate, or hypersensitive and angry after eating yet another cookie. Therefore, limit your food indulgences. Notice what you eat. Your waist line and your balanced, content mood will be your reward.

* Nip stress in the bud: Don’t let stress build up. Don’t wait until you reach the breaking point before you do something. It is so easy to eliminate all stress and anxiety with TFT. Just follow my TFT workout video, “The TFT Power Ritual,” below. Use it under the following circumstances.

* Tap in the morning. Think about the day/s and week/s ahead and tune into all your responsibilities, expectations and past experiences (e.g. traumas). Rate your level of upset on a scale from 0 to 10 (0 = no stress, 10 = extreme stress) and tap along with me on the video.

* Tap before going to bed. Think about the day you had, everything that was said, everything that happened and rate your level of upset, tension or anxiety. Now tap by following the video.

* Tap before you eat. Never, never eat from a place of anxiety. If nothing else, commit to yourself for the next few weeks that you will only eat when you are stress and anxiety FREE. Become aware of the tension in your body or the conversations in your head. Rate their intensity, then tap with the video.  By doing so, you will be able to eat from a place of peace so you can actually notice what you are eating. People tell me that the food tastes better and that they need less of it to feel satisfied. Remember it’s not what you are eating – it’s what’s eating you. Get that out of the way and your meal becomes again a nourishing feast for body, mind and spirit.

* Food or Addiction? If you use Holiday treats as fuel to keep you going (similar to caffeine), you are probably under a lot of stress. There may even be an underlying addiction to these foods, an addiction you may not be aware of – not until you stop eating the treat. If you experience strong cravings, if you feel you just can’t do without a certain food, rate the intensity and use “The TFT Power Ritual” to eliminate the craving.

Implementing these ideas takes a bit of discipline. I know. And it is this discipline that will set you free. The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the world. Unfortunately, the word “praos” (meek) was translated incorrectly. A much better translation is “disciplined.” It is the disciplined that shall inherit the world, those who just do it.

These simple steps, when followed consistently, allow you to move from survival mode to thrive mode, despite whatever might be happening around you.

Creative Commons License photo credit: bionicteaching

TFT Demonstrations in Sign Language

The principles and brief history behind Thought Field Therapy – TFT.

Narrated in American Sign Language. Narrated by Doris Millios.

In our effort to provide free trauma relief throughout the world, we now have our trauma algorithm available in sign language.  It will be posted on our trauma relief blog, along with the videos and print instructions in many languages.  It is Dr. Callahan’s goal, along with the ATFT Foundation, to provide free trauma relief to as many as possible in the world.

Collarbone Breathing Technique with Thought Field Therapy.

How to Overcome Pain and Depression With Thought Field Therapy.

Trauma and Advanced Trauma Techniques in Thought Field Therapy.